James, Heat win rematch against Oklahoma City

Harden, Lin power Houston to victory over Chicago.

LeBron James finished with 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 21, and the Miami Heat survived a frantic finish to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97 in an NBA Finals rematch on Tuesday.

“I’m tired as hell right now,” James said - and that was more than an hour after the game ended.

Mario Chalmers scored a season-high 20 for the Heat, who matched the franchise’s best 25-game start at 19-6. Chris Bosh added 16 for Miami, which has beaten the Thunder five straight times going back to last June’s title series.

Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 21 for Oklahoma City, but both Thunder stars missed potentially game-tying 3-point attempts in the final seconds. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin each added 15 for the Thunder, who have dropped two straight for the first time this season.

“It was a great game. I can’t complain,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “We could have done a better job of not turning the ball over in the first half. All in all, it was a great game to play and a great game to coach. Unfortunately, we didn’t come out with the win.”

The Heat went 19 for 19 from the foul line, the second-best effort in franchise history. They were 30 for 30 at Boston on March 24, 1993.

Rockets 120, Bulls 97: James Harden scored 26 points, and Jeremy Lin added 20 points and 11 assists as Houston cruised by host Chicago for its sixth win in seven games. Omer Asik returned to the United Center and had a double-double with 20 points and 18 rebounds in his first trip back to Chicago since signing with the Rockets in the offseason. The Rockets starters all scored in double figures. Chandler Parsons added 23 points and Marcus Morris had 10.

Celtics 93, Nets 76: Rajon Rondo scored 19 points in his first full game against Brooklyn this season, and Boston Celtics beat the host Nets in another game with some heated moments between the division rivals. Rondo, hurt in the first meeting and thrown out of the second after shoving Nets forward Kris Humphries into the courtside seats, outplayed counterpart Deron Williams and helped the Celtics take control early. Rookie Jared Sullinger tied a season high with 16 points and Jeff Green had 15 for the Celtics (1413), who avoided falling under .500 with just their second victory in six games. Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez each scored 15 for the Nets, who have lost four of five.