Heat take down Orlando, 120-92
ORLANDO, Fla.—LeBron James scored 21 points and handed out seven assists, Chris Bosh scored 18 points and the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 120-92 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory.
James Jones scored 14 of his 17 points in the third quarter, when the Heat turned what was a five-point game into a runaway.
All five Miami starters sat out the fourth quarter for the second straight night, and Dwyane Wade sat out the whole way once again to give his knees more rest.
Michael Beasley scored 14 points and Chris Andersen added 10 for the Heat, who opened the game on a 16-0 run, lost the lead briefly in the second quarter, then dominated after halftime.
Spurs 104, Celtics 93
SAN ANTONIO—Tony Parker scored 19 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics to win their eighth straight overall and remain undefeated at home.
Kawhi Leonard had 16 points and Tim Duncan scored 13 points. Boris Diaw had 12 points, Tiago Splitter added 11 points and 10 rebounds and Danny Green 11 points for the Spurs (10-1).
Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger each had 19 points for Boston, which has lost five straight.
There were 10 lead changes and 14 ties in the first half, as neither team was able to sustain any momentum.
San Antonio was able to pull away midway through the third quarter behind strong individual efforts by Leonard, Parker and Manu Ginobili.
pacers 103, Knicks 96, ot
NEW YORK—Paul George made three free throws to tie it with 5.2 seconds left in regulation, then scored nine of his season-high 35 points in overtime as the Indiana Pacers pulled out a victory.
George Hill added 23 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, who beat the Knicks in six games in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals. Just as in the clincher of that series, Roy Hibbert had a pivotal block on Carmelo Anthony’s drive to the basket.
Anthony had 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks.
Clippers 102, timberwolves 98
MINNEAPOLIS—Blake Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds while dominating his matchup with Kevin Love and Chris Paul scored 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a victory.
Paul finished with 20 points and 11 assists for his 12th straight double-double to open the season, breaking Magic Johnson’s previous mark of 11 straight in 1990-91.
He scored 12 straight points for the Clippers in the final 3:41 to hold off another late charge from the Wolves.
Kevin Martin had 28 points and 10 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves.
But Love managed just 10 points on 2-for-14 shooting to go with 12 rebounds for the Wolves, who have lost two straight to start a tough stretch of five games in seven nights.
Bobcats 95, Nets 91
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Kemba Walker scored a season-high 31 points and the Charlotte Bobcats handed the turnover-prone Brooklyn Nets their sixth loss in their past seven games.
Walker was 12 of 20 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers as the Bobcats (6-6) snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Nets. Walker hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to seal the win.
Andray Blatche led the Nets with a season-high 25 points while Joe Johnson chipped in with 19.
Hawks 93, pistons 85
ATLANTA—Paul Millsap had 19 points to steal the spotlight in Josh Smith’s return to Atlanta, leading the Hawks to a win.
Smith, who signed with Detroit after nine seasons with the Hawks, had 11 points while shooting 5 of 15 from the field.
The Hawks pulled away after leading 66-64 through three quarters. Jeff Teague scored 18 points and DeMarre Carroll had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Brandon Jennings led Detroit with 21 points. Rodney Stuckey had 18 before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
raptors 108, 76ers 98
PHILADELPHIA—DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points and Rudy Gay had 18 to help the Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers.
DeRozan and Gay dominated the Sixers in the second half to turn this one into a rout. Gay hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 15 points in the third quarter, and DeRozan scored 30 points through the first three quarters to build a 16-point lead.