By IAN HARRISON By IAN HARRISON ADVERTISING Associated Press TORONTO — LeBron James scored a season-high 35 points, Dwyane Wade had 20 and the Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 104-95 on Tuesday for their first road victory in three
By IAN HARRISON
Associated Press
TORONTO — LeBron James scored a season-high 35 points, Dwyane Wade had 20 and the Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 104-95 on Tuesday for their first road victory in three tries this season.
Ray Allen scored 14 points for Miami, which lost at Philadelphia on Oct. 30 and was beaten 101-100 at Brooklyn on Nov. 1.
James also had a season-high eight rebounds and eight assists as Miami topped 100 points for the fifth straight game, extending their team-record run to begin the season.
With a putback dunk at 2:31 of the first quarter, James became the fifth player in NBA history to score 10 points or more in 500 consecutive games.
A four-time MVP, James joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (with streaks of 787 and 508 games), Michael Jordan (866), Karl Malone (575) and Moses Malone (526) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
It was the 162nd time during the streak that James has reached 10 points in the opening quarter.
James has reached double figures in every game since being held to eight points at Milwaukee on Jan. 5, 2007. He scored 19 at New Jersey the following night.
James has more regular-season games of scoring at least 50 points (nine) than nights where he’s scored less than 10 (eight). Factor playoff games into the mix, and he’s reached double figures 898 times in 907 career games.
The Heat have won 12 straight against the Raptors since a 111-103 road loss on Jan. 27, 2010, when Miami forward Chris Bosh played for Toronto.
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 21 points while Jonas Valanciunas had 18. Rudy Gay had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double.
Leading 78-74, Miami took control by opening the fourth with a 12-0 run as Toronto went scoreless for the first 4:28, a drought that ended when Tyler Hansbrough converted a pair of free throws.
Bosh was unavailable following the birth Monday of his daughter, Dylan Skye Bosh. Shane Battier started in place of Bosh, who is expected to return when the Heat host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
With Bosh out, Toronto took advantage of Miami’s small lineup early. Valanciunas had 10 points midway through the first as the Raptors opened a 17-8 lead.
After a Heat timeout, James scored four straight baskets as Miami cut the gap to 25-23 after one quarter.
Toronto led 45-34 after Valanciunas made a hook shot at 4:56 of the second, but James scored seven points as the Heat closed the half on a 18-5 run to take a 52-50 lead. Mario Chalmers hit a 3 with less than a second left, giving Miami the lead for the first time.
Wade scored 10 points in the third and James had eight as the Heat took a four-point lead into the final quarter.
PACERS 99, PISTONS 91
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Paul George scored 31 points, and the Indiana Pacers remained the NBA’s only unbeaten team with a 99-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
The Pacers matched their best start in franchise history. They are 4-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Indiana blew a 15-point lead in the first half but took control again with a strong third quarter.
C.J. Watson had 15 points and David West finished with 12 for the Pacers.
Brandon Jennings scored 17 points for the Pistons, who were done in by their 5-for-25 shooting from 3-point range.
The Pacers were without George Hill (sore left hip) for a second straight game, and Danny Granger is still out with a strained left calf, but they’ve been holding teams to progressively lower field-goal percentages through this undefeated start. Detroit finished at 38 percent and could not overcome its poor showing from the perimeter.
MAVS 123, LAKERS 104
DALLAS — Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Dirk Nowitzki was one of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Lakers.
Ellis, Nowitzki’s new pick-and-roll partner, put on a show for Steve Nash, the big German’s buddy and old running mate. He was 11 of 14 from the field, made all eight of his free throws and had just one turnover.
Nash was scoreless until the second half and finished with five points. Nick Young led the Lakers with 21.
BOBCATS 102, KNICKS 97
NEW YORK — Kemba Walker scored 25 points, Gerald Henderson added 18 and the Bobcats held off a late run by New York to beat the Knicks.
Charlotte led by 13 in the third quarter before New York cut it to two points late in the game. Henderson hit two free throws with 13 seconds left and Walker one seven seconds later to seal the victory.
Carmelo Anthony scored 32 points to lead the Knicks, but was 10 for 28 from the field.. His back-to-back baskets late in the fourth quarter twice brought the Knicks within two, but every attempt that the Knicks had to take the lead faile
New York lost starting center Tyson Chandler midway through the first quarter with a right knee injury.
NETS 104, JAZZ 88
NEW YORK — Brook Lopez scored a game-high 27 points, Deron Williams had 10 points and eight assists and the Nets ended their four-game losing streak to the Jazz.
There were several firsts for Brooklyn, who beat the Jazz for the first time since January 2011. Williams got his first victory over the team that traded him to the Nets in February 2011, and it was first-year coach Jason Kidd’s first regular-season game on their home court. He missed the home-opening win over Miami because of a two-game suspension.
Joe Johnson had 12 points for the Nets, and Paul Pierce and Shaun Livingston each had 11.
Gordon Hayward led Utah with 22 points. The Jazz have lost four straight to start the season. They had lost their first three games by an average of 3.6 points.
SUNS 104, PELICANS 98
NEW ORLEANS — Eric Bledsoe had 25 points, Gerald Green tied a career high with six 3-pointers and the Suns rallied to beat the Pelicans.
Trailing 60-50, the Suns scored 28 points in the last 6:23 of the third quarter to go ahead 78-69 and led the rest of the way.
The Pelicans cut the deficit to 87-85 in the fourth, but Bledsoe finished them off with three driving layups.
Green scored 18, Markieff Morris had 17 points and twin brother Marcus Morris added 16 points for the Suns.
Eric Gordon led New Orleans with 20 points but had only six in the second half. Anthony Davis had a quiet first half before finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
