Associated Press
Associated Press
MIAMI — LeBron James scored 38 points, Michael Beasley made two free throws with 9.2 seconds left to put Miami up for good, and the Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 121-119 in overtime on Monday night.
The Heat wasted an early 13-0 lead, then rallied from seven points down in the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter. Ray Allen made three free throws with 8 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime, after getting fouled by Atlanta’s DeMarre Carroll.
Allen finished with 19 points, Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen each scored 12 and Chris Bosh finished with 11 for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade and still beat the Hawks for the ninth straight time.
Jeff Teague scored 26 points, Paul Millsap made seven 3-pointers on the way to a 25-point night, and Al Horford finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for Atlanta.
Kyle Korver scored 15 for the Hawks, who had a chance to win it at the end of overtime, but never got a good look. Chalmers used Miami’s foul to give with 2.3 seconds left, sending Atlanta back to the huddle where it used its last time out to draw a play.
MAVERICKS 111
ROCKETS 104
HOUSTON — Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter for Dallas.
Houston cut the lead to six after a 3-pointer by Aaron Brooks with about 3 ½ minutes left, but Nowitzki knocked down consecutive baskets to push the Mavericks lead to 107-97.
Dwight Howard had 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets, who were playing their second straight game without leading scorer James Harden, who was out with a sprained left ankle.
Dallas started the final period by using a 9-4 run powered by three 3-pointers, including two from Jae Crowder, to push the lead to 95-82.
Jeremy Lin, who has been out since Dec. 13 because of back spasms, scored 20 and Chandler Parsons had 21 for Houston.
PACERS 103
NETS 86
NEW YORK — Lance Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in his hometown, Paul George also had 26, and the Indiana Pacers went on to their third straight easy victory.
Stephenson, who recorded his NBA-leading third triple-double of the season Sunday in a rout of Boston, did most of his damage as a scorer, back where he did plenty of it in high school. He became the career scoring leader in New York state, scoring nearly 3,000 points at Abraham Lincoln High School.
David West finished with 13 points for the Pacers, who pulled away in the third period, when Paul Pierce was ejected for a flagrant foul in only the second scoreless game of his career.
Indiana followed its only losing streak of the season by beating Houston and Boston by a combined 60 points, then blew this one open after a competitive first half.
Joe Johnson scored 17 points for the Nets, who lost their third straight. Kevin Garnett, moving to the center spot after Brook Lopez was lost to a broken right foot, had 12.
BOBCATS 111
BUCKS 110, OT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Al Jefferson had a season-high 26 points, and Kemba Walker nearly had a triple double as the Bobcats won for the fourth time in five games.
Jefferson was 12 of 23 from the field as the Bobcats (14-15) overcame an 18-point first half deficit.
Walker had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Anthony Tolliver had 12 points on four 3-pointers. Rookie Cody Zeller added a career-high 12 points.
It’s the third time in the last four games the Bobcats have come back from at least 16 points down to win.
Brandon Knight had 26 points and 14 assists to lead the Bucks (6-22), who have lost five of their last six games.
KNICKS 103
MAGIC 98
ORLANDO, Fla. — Carmelo Anthony had 19 points before leaving the game with a sprained left ankle in the third quarter.
New York led by 25 points before having its lead cut all the way to a point in the fourth quarter. Beno Udrih hit six straight free-throws in the final 26 seconds to help preserve the win.
J.R. Smith added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Knicks also got a boost from the return of Raymond Felton, who had missed six games with a strained left hamstring. They earned their eight straight victory over the Magic.
Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 26 points. Glen Davis added 20 and Jameer Nelson 17.
The Magic have lost three straight and 11 13.
PISTONS 115
CAVALIERS 92
CLEVELAND — Josh Smith scored 25 points, Brandon Jennings added 21 and Detroit won for the seventh time in eight road games.
Jennings also had 13 assists for Detroit, which went ahead for good midway through the first quarter and built a 21-point lead late in the first half. The margin reached 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Pistons rolled to their biggest win of the season.
Kyrie Irving scored 21 points for Cleveland, which last lost four of five.
Cavaliers center Andrew Bynum was scoreless in 22 minutes, missing all 11 shots from the field and getting seven rebounds.
Detroit is 6-10 on its own court and was coming off home losses to Charlotte and Houston, but took control early.
SPURS 112
RAPTORS 99
SAN ANTONIO — Tony Parker had 26 points and eight assists for San Antonio.
Manu Ginobili had 18 points and Danny Green was 4 for 6 on 3-pointers in scoring 14 points for San Antonio (21-7). Kawhi Leonard added 13 points and 10 rebounds after missing Saturday’s game due to a dental procedure.
Kyle Lowry and Terrence Ross had 23 points each and DeMar DeRozan added 13 points for Toronto (11-15).
The Raptors had won two straight and four of five entering Monday’s game. They got within three or less on numerous occasions in the second half, but couldn’t complete the rallies against the Spurs.