Heat beat lowly Bobcats
Associated Press
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LeBron James had 34 points and eight rebounds, and the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats for the 15th straight time, 104-96 in overtime Saturday night.
James scored six points in the extra period, including two driving layups to lift the Heat to their second win in two nights. Chris Bosh added 25 points and seven rebounds for Miami.
Al Jefferson had 22 points to lead the Bobcats, who were playing their fourth game in five nights. Charlotte lost point guard Kemba Walker in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
The crowd of 19,631 was the largest ever to see a Bobcats game at Time Warner Cable Arena on a night in which the team began selling its Hornets gear for the first time. The Bobcats will become the Hornets after this season.
PACERS 106
CLIPPERS 92
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George scored 36 points and Lance Stephenson added 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Indiana to its fourth straight win, all by double digits.
The Pacers, though, missed a chance to win four in a row by 20 or more points for the first time in franchise history. Indiana retained the league’s top record and improved to 21-1 at home before heading West for a five-game road trip.
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points for the Clippers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Blake Griffin had 19 points and DeAndre Jordan added 12 points and 17rebounds.
TIMBERWOLVES 98
JAZZ 72
MINNEAPOLIS — Nikola Pekovic had 27 points and 14 rebounds in three quarters to lead Minnesota.
Kevin Love had 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and Kevin Martin scored 20 points to help the Timberwolves snap a three-game losing streak that included losses to Sacramento and Toronto. The Wolves scored 28 points off 16 Utah turnovers and outscored the Jazz 50-18 in the paint for a much-needed blowout.
Alec Burks scored 18 points for the Jazz, who trailed by as many as 36 points and shot 28.8 percent, the worst shooting night in franchise history. Derrick Favors had eight points and 10 boards, but was just 3 for 10 from the field.
WARRIORS 97
PELICANS 87
NEW ORLEANS — Stephen Curry scored 28 points, David Lee added 22 and Golden State sent New Orleans to its eighth straight loss.
Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes.
Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. Jordan Crawford added 10 points.
Tyreke Evans scored 14 points in his return to the Pelicans after missing three games with a left ankle sprain. Al-Farouq Aminu added 12 points, but the Pelicans were doomed by 13-of-39 shooting in the second half, during which they scored only 33 points.
ROCKETS 114
BUCKS 104
HOUSTON — Terrence Jones had a career-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, and Houston led from the start.
Jones had 25 points by halftime, matching his previous career-best set on Wednesday, and James Harden added 22 points.
Houston led by 17 points before the Bucks got within six points in the third quarter. The Rockets responded with a big run to extend the lead and hold on for the victory.
Brandon Knight scored 26 points with seven assists for the NBA-worst Bucks, who have dropped eight in a row.
BULLS 103, 76ERS 78
CHICAGO — Joakim Noah had 21 points and 16 rebounds, Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 13 boards, and Chicago won for the seventh time in nine games this month.
Noah extended his streak of double-digit rebound games to 12, the longest stretch of his career.
D.J. Augustin scored nine points and dished out seven assists in the pivotal second quarter, in which Chicago extended its lead from five to 20. He finished with 19 points and eight assists.
Only three 76ers scored in double digits, Thaddeus Young leading the way with 12 points. James Anderson had 11 points and seven rebounds for Philadelphia, which has dropped six of seven.
PISTONS 104
WIZARDS 98
WASHINGTON — Josh Smith overcame a slow start to score 22 points and Rodney Stuckey added 20 to lead Detroit.
Greg Monroe had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Andre Drummond added 10 points and a game-high 13 boards as the Pistons outrebounded the Wizards 44-35.
John Wall scored 34 points, including Washington’s last 10, as the Wizards snapped a three-game winning streak and failed to move past .500 for the first time in more than four years. It was the third time this year they lost at home with a chance to get over the .500 mark.
TRAIL BLAZERS 127
MAVERICKS 111
DALLAS — LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and Portland ran past Dallas for its fifth straight win.
Aldridge, a 28-year-old Dallas native, had his 24th double-double this season.
The NBA’s highest-scoring team reached 30 points in the first quarter for the 14th time in 2013-14, and 100 points in three quarters for the fourth time.
Nicolas Batum scored 21 for the Trail Blazers. Robin Lopez added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points for the Mavericks, who had won four of their previous five games.
Devin Harris played 17 minutes and scored six points in his first game this season following toe surgery.