LeBron James had 34 points and 10 assists, Dwyane Wade, returning to the starting lineup after sitting out one game with a sore left knee, scored 19 points and the Heat avenged a loss at Oklahoma City last week, rallying to beat the Thunder, 98-93, Wednesday night in Miami for their 17th straight home victory.
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points, and Chris Bosh had 12 for Miami, which trailed by 11 in the first half before a comeback fueled in part by Russell Westbrook pulling James down from behind on a fast break in the second quarter.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, and Westbrook added 28, but shot 9 for 26. James Harden had 12 for the Thunder.
The win moved Miami (39-14) within two games of Chicago (42-13) in the race for the NBA’s best record.
Durant could have given Oklahoma City the lead with 1:30 left, backing down James and then trying a turnaround from the left side. His shot was way off, hitting the top of the backboard.
Bosh made a jumper on the next Miami possession to make it 96-93. Kendrick Perkins then missed two free throws with 43.6 seconds left, the first Thunder misses from the line all night after starting 18 of 18.
And after James couldn’t connect on the ensuing Miami trip, it was still a one-possession game. The Thunder called a timeout with 19.5 seconds left and went for the quick 3, Durant’s try hitting the front of the rim and going out of bounds. Wade made a pair of foul shots, stretching the lead to 5.
Lakers 113, Clippers 108 - Andrew Bynum scored 36 points, Kobe Bryant added 31 and the first-place the Lakers outlasted the Clippers in Los Angeles, widening their Pacific Division lead to 2 1/2 games and snapping their rivals’ six-game winning streak.
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.
With the Lakers clinging to a 2-point lead, Bryant hit a jumper over Randy Foye to make it 110-106 with 24 seconds left. Paul missed a jumper and Griffin was called for a loose ball foul on Pau Gasol, who made one of two free throws with 18 seconds left.
Raptors 99, 76ers 78 - Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points and DeMar DeRozan had 18 to lead visiting Toronto to its third straight victory by downing fading Philadelphia.
Back in January, the Sixers thumped Toronto, 97-62, en route to a sizzling 20-9 start. Those days are over. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday had 20 points in Philadelphia’s eighth loss in the last 12 games.
The Sixers have lost their grip on first place in the Atlantic Division - and are in danger of losing a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 85 - Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points and host Dallas used a big fourth-quarter run to pull away from 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 to take control.
Trail Blazers 101, Nets 88 - LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and nine rebounds and host Portland rallied in the fourth quarter after losing all of a 16-point third-quarter lead to New Jersey.
Suns 107, Jazz 105 - In Salt Lake City, Steve Nash hit two shots in the final 14 seconds and Phoenix won its seventh straight meeting against Utah.
Pacers 109, Wizards 96 - Danny Granger scored 20 points and Indiana won its third straight by shooting a season-high 58 percent in dumping host Washington.
Hawks 120, Bobcats 93 - Josh Smith scored 24 points, Jeff Teague added 17, and host Atlanta sent woeful Charlotte to its ninth straight loss.
Bucks 107, Cavaliers 98 - Monta Ellis scored 16 of his 30 points in the final five minutes, helping host Milwaukee fend off a Cleveland team missing Kyrie Irving (sprained right shoulder).
Hornets 94, Nuggets 92 - 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 host New Orleans over Denver.
Warriors 97, Timberwolves 94 - David Lee had 31 points and eight rebounds, and Golden State rallied from a 20-point deficit to top Minnesota in Minneapolis.
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