Associated Press
Associated Press
MIAMI — LeBron James twisted his ankle falling over a videographer, got smacked in the back by a referee, took what he thought was excessive contact twice while attempting dunks and dealt with more pain from his injured left ring finger.
All worth it by night’s end.
James had 34 points and 10 assists, Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and the Miami Heat rallied to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 98-93 on Wednesday night to extend the NBA’s longest home winning streak this season to 17 games.
The Heat were down 11 in the second quarter before getting a boost from two hard Oklahoma City fouls, the second being Russell Westbrook pulling James down from behind on a fast break.
And if this was a 1-on-1 battle for the NBA MVP, then advantage James. Kevin Durant scored 30 points for the Thunder, but had a career-high nine turnovers.
“You take the personal challenge,” James said.
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points, and Chris Bosh had 12 for Miami (39-14), which moved within two games of Chicago (42-13) in the race for the NBA’s best record. Oklahoma City fell to 40-14.
Westbrook scored 28 points for Oklahoma City, but like Durant, he also had his struggles, shooting 9 for 26. James Harden had 12 for the Thunder, who lost despite holding Miami to 37 percent shooting.
“We could have played a lot stronger,” Durant said, “but you have to give credit to Miami.”
Durant had two shots late that would either have given Oklahoma City the lead or pulled the Thunder into a tie. He backed James down with about 1:30 left and the Heat up by one, then tried a turnaround that caromed off the top of the backboard. Later, with it still a one-possession game out of a timeout, the Thunder went for the quick 3, but Durant’s try to tie hit the front of the rim and went out of bounds.
Wade made a pair of foul shots, stretching the lead to five, and it was soon over.
“It was a physical game,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. “I like that. I’m sure they like it. Neither team backed down.”
Oklahoma City’s win at home over Miami last week was largely one-sided. For a while, this one looked as if it would go the same way.
Westbrook’s three-point play with 7:27 left in the second quarter gave Oklahoma City a 36-25 lead, and that sort of margin typically means a Thunder win — they came into Wednesday 32-2 when they held a double-digit lead.
Then the game’s complexion changed.
The first salvo came with 5:45 left in the half, when Perkins struck Wade in the head while trying to block a shot and both got called for technical and personal fouls, much to the ire of both sides — Brooks couldn’t understand why Perkins merited both, while Heat coach Erik Spoelstra asked why contact to the head wasn’t worth a flagrant foul.
The flagrant came 12 seconds later.
Wade stole the ball from Westbrook, flipped it ahead to James, who leaped for a dunk. Westbrook came from behind James, wrapping his left hand over the Heat star’s left shoulder and using his right hand to grab him around the waist.
James fell to the court, and emotions started boiling over.
“A scary play. … A dangerous play,” James said.
Referees Bill Kennedy and Olandis Poole jumped into the fray, making sure players didn’t go at one another.
Heat President Pat Riley got out of his seat three rows from the court and took a long look at the scene, while normally mild-mannered Miami assistant coach Bob McAdoo had some choice words for anyone who would listen. The end result was a flagrant-1 for Westbrook. James swished a jumper as time in the half expired, and Miami led 50-49.
It was one of the NBA’s marquee games this season, and Jets quarterback Tim Tebow — who James raves about — was among those watching.
“Don’t know who’s gonna win,” Tebow tweeted in the third quarter, “but KingJames isn’t playing around.”
Neither were the Thunder.
As soon as the Heat went up by nine late in the third, their biggest lead to that point, the Thunder came back with a 10-0 run to reclaim the lead. Durant started the burst with a 12-footer with 3 seconds left in the quarter, then Oklahoma City scored the first eight of the fourth to go back on top 81-80.
By that point, it was clear this one was going to the wire.
“Two very good teams,” Wade said. “It was a playoff atmosphere here tonight. Good game, great for the fans and great competition.”
The Heat believe that there’s a perception around the league that they’re a “soft” team, one that can be beaten when opponents take it to them physically.
Winning a game like this — with James getting pulled down, Bosh sporting a fat upper lip after needing a stitch, Wade getting hit in the face at one point as well — might change that, Spoelstra said.
“Our truth,” Spoelstra said. “That’s what tonight was about and that’s what really every day is about for our group. … We know what we’re capable of.”
LAKERS 113, CLIPPERS 108
LOS ANGELES — Andrew Bynum scored 36 points, Kobe Bryant added 31 and the first-place Lakers outlasted the Clippers 113-108, widening their Pacific Division lead to 2½ games over the second-place Clippers and snapping their rival’s winning streak at six games.
By taking two out of three against their Staples Center co-tenants, the Lakers also earned the head-to-head tiebreaker in a game that could help decide the division winner and playoff seeding in the West. The division winner will likely earn the No. 3 seed behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio.
Former Laker Caron Butler scored 28 points to lead six Clippers in double figures. Chris Paul added 22 points and 16 assists, Blake Griffin had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 13 rebounds for the West’s fourth-place team — the designated home team. Their winning streak was the franchise’s best in 20 years.
Ramon Sessions added 16 points and eight assists to help the Lakers win their fourth in a row.
SPURS 87, CELTICS 86
BOSTON — Tim Duncan had 10 points and 16 rebounds and San Antonio won its ninth straight game, recovering to beat Boston after blowing a 17-point, first-half lead.
Duncan also stopped Paul Pierce on the final play, forcing him into a fallaway jumper that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Danny Green scored 14 points, and Gary Neal had 13, including a 3-pointer with 2 minutes left that gave the Spurs the lead after Boston went on a 13-4 run to move in front.
Rajon Rondo had 17 points and 11 assists for Boston. The Celtics had won five in a row.
Pierce had 15 points and 10 rebounds, but he couldn’t maneuver into open space after Boston inbounded the ball with 7.9 seconds left. Avery Bradley scored 19 points off the bench for Boston, and Kevin Garnett had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Ray Allen returned after missing six games with a sore right ankle and added seven rebounds and five points, including a 3-pointer in the final minute.
BUCKS 107, CAVALIERS 98
MILWAUKEE — Monta Ellis scored 16 of his 30 points in the final 5 minutes, helping Milwaukee fend off a Cleveland team missing Kyrie Irving.,
Brandon Jennings scored 19 points, and Ersan Ilyasova added 18 for Milwaukee. The Bucks have won four of their past five to close within a game of New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks were off Wednesday.
Anthony Parker had a season-high 27 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost nine straight and 12 of 13. Irving reinjured his sprained right shoulder Tuesday night in a blowout loss to San Antonio.
PACERS 109, WIZARDS 96
WASHINGTON — Danny Granger scored 20 points, and Indiana won its third straight game, shooting a season-high 58 percent in a victory over Washington.
Darren Collison added 17 points and 11 assists for Indiana. The Pacers have won eight of 11 to move into third place in the Eastern Conference.
Jordan Crawford scored 28 points, and Kevin Seraphin had a career-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds for Washington. The Wizards have lost eight of nine.
MAVERICKS 95, GRIZZLIES 85
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points and Dallas used a big fourth-quarter run to beat Memphis.
Shawn Marion scored 10 of his 16 points when the Mavericks went ahead with a 21-4 run over a 7-minute span in the fourth quarter. It was the first of two games in four days between the teams in a virtual tie for fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
O.J. Mayo had 17 points to lead Memphis.
SUNS 107, JAZZ 105
SALT LAKE CITY — Steve Nash hit two shots in the final 14 seconds and Phoenix won its seventh straight meeting against Utah to jump over the Jazz in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Suns (28-26) are in ninth place, a half-game ahead of the Jazz (28-27) and a game behind Denver, which lost Wednesday at New Orleans, and idle Houston. Phoenix also owns the tiebreaker with the Jazz.
Michael Redd led the Suns with 19 points, and Nash finished with a 13 points and nine assists. Paul Millsap led Utah with 25 points and had a chance to force overtime, but his putback came just after the buzzer.
WARRIORS 97, TIMBERWOLVES 94
MINNEAPOLIS — David Lee had 31 points and eight rebounds, and Golden State rallied from a 20-point deficit to top Minnesota.
Charles Jenkins had 19 points and seven assists,and Richard Jefferson scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to help the Warriors snap a six-game losing streak. They trailed by 20 with less than 2 minutes to play in the first half, but outscored Minnesota 40-19 over the next 8 minutes.
Kevin Love had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Wayne Ellington scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for Minnesota. The Timberwolves have lost four in a row and five of their last six to fall out of contention in the Western Conference playoff race.
HORNETS 94, NUGGETS 92
NEW ORLEANS — Eric Gordon scored 15 points in his first action in three months, capping the performance with two free throws in the final seconds to lift New Orleans past Denver.
Trevor Ariza scored 15 points, and Chris Kaman added 14 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans.
Ty Lawson scored 22 points for Denver, which tied it at 92 on Al Harrington’s 3 from the corner with 10 seconds left, only to see Gordon bait Arron Afflalo into a foul on an up-fake near the lane with 2 seconds left. Gordon was returning from a right knee bruise that required arthroscopic surgery.
Afflalo finished with 15 points and a career-high seven assists.
RAPTORS 99, 76ERS 78
PHILADELPHIA — Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points, DeMar DeRozan had 18 and Toronto beat Philadelphia for its third straight victory.
Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday had 20 points each for Philadelphia. The 76ers have lost eight of 12 games to fall to seventh in the Eastern Conference.
TRAIL BLAZERS 101, NETS 88
PORTLAND, Ore. — LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and nine rebounds and Portland rallied after surrendering the lead to New Jersey in the fourth quarter.
Nic Batum added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who led by 16 points in the third quarter. Kris Humphries had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.
HAWKS 120, BOBCATS 93
ATLANTA — Josh Smith scored 24 points, Jeff Teague added 17 and Atlanta beat Charlotte.
Joe Johnson finished with 16 points for Atlanta. Rookie Kemba Walker led Charlotte with 21 points. The NBA-worst Bobcats have lost nine straight to drop to 7-45.