Wade, James lead Heat to franchise-record 15th straight victory

MINNEAPOLIS: Dwyane Wade had 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, LeBron James shrugged off a sore left knee to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds, and the Miami Heat earned their franchise-record 15th straight victory with a 97-81 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
Chris Bosh added 11 points and nine rebounds, and James played 35 minutes despite being listed as a game-time decision with a twisted left knee.
Derrick Williams had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Ricky Rubio had 14 points, eight assists, six steals and five rebounds for the Timberwolves. J.J. Barea had four points on 1-for-11 shooting and was ejected in the fourth quarter after getting a Flagrant-2 foul for a hit on Heat guard Ray Allen.
Minnesota was down six points with eight minutes to play when Barea was ejected. The Heat then went on a 17-5 run to put away the game.
Officials initially ruled it a Flagrant 1, but changed the call upon reviewing it, eliciting strong protests from Barea and Wolves coach Rick Adelman, who also picked up a technical foul.
Knicks 102 Cavaliers 97: In Cleveland, Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points, J.R. Smith added 18 and New York overcame a 22-point deficit without All-Star Carmelo Anthony to beat Cleveland.
Steve Novak made three of New York’s seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Knicks rallied and shook off a tough home loss on Sunday, when they blew a 16-point lead to Miami.
The Knicks trailed 52-30 in the second quarter of this one when Anthony injured his right knee. He stumbled and fell awkwardly after catching a pass and did not return.
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in his return after missing Cleveland’s past three games with a hyperextended right knee.
Magic 105 Hornets 102: In New Orleans, Arron Afflalo scored five of his game-high 26 points in the final 38 seconds, and Orlando snapped a three-game skid.
Jameer Nelson, returning from a left knee injury that sidelined him six games, scored 15 points and Tobias Harris also scored 15 for Orlando, which trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half and erased a nine-point deficit during the final 3:15.
Afflalo scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter, including an 11-foot turnaround over Eric Gordon in the lane that gave Orlando the lead for good at 101-100.
Afflalo hit two free throws soon after to make it 103-100, but found himself back on the free-throw line in a one-point game with 12 seconds left after Anthony Davis’ tip-in made it 103-102.
Afflalo missed his second of two free throws, but Harris got the offensive rebound and hit one of two free throws to make it a three-point game with 10.6 seconds left.
Bucks 109 Jazz 108, OT: In Milwaukee, Monta Ellis scored 34 points, Brandon Jennings added 20 points and 17 assists, and Milwaukee beat Utah in overtime.
J.J. Redick scored 17 for the Bucks, including their first eight in overtime. Milwaukee won its fourth consecutive game after dropping three in a row following the All-Star break.
Larry Sanders chipped in with eight points, 16 rebounds and six blocked shots for Milwaukee.
Derrick Favors tied a career high with 23 points and added 15 rebounds for Utah, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Paul Millsap had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Alec Burks added 19 points and Enes Kanter had 18 points.
Nuggets 104 Hawks 88: In Denver, Corey Brewer scored 22 points and Ty Lawson had 18 in Denver’s win over Atlanta.
The Nuggets won their 11th straight game at the Pepsi Center and matched Miami’s NBA-best 26-3 home record, but for most of three quarters it wasn’t the cakewalk many expected against a banged-up, tired team playing the final game of a six-game trip.
Eventually, they ran out of gas and bodies, though.
Al Horford scored 18 points for Atlanta, and Josh Smith chipped in 15 points, becoming the 24th player in league history to collect 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 2,000 assists and 1,000 blocks. His milestone came on a night when many of his teammates were spectators as the Hawks were without Kyle Korver (toe), Zaza Pachulia (sore right Achilles) and DeShawn Stevenson, who skipped the second game of this back-to-back like he normally does because of balky knees.
Trail Blazers 122 Bobcats 105: In Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Portland handed Charlotte its seventh straight loss.
Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard each finished with 20 points for the Blazers, who had seven players in double figures and shot nearly 60 percent from the field. Meyers Leonard, Portland’s 7-foot rookie center, came off the bench to score a season-high 15 points.





Warriors 125 Raptors 118: In Oakland, California, David Lee had 29 points and 11 rebounds to back Andrew Bogut’s strong return, and Golden State snapped a four-game losing streak by outlasting Toronto.
Stephen Curry added 26 points and tied a season high with 12 assists, and Klay Thompson scored 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help the Warriors pull away with a 9-0 run late. Bogut had four points and eight rebounds in a season-high 30 minutes after missing the last six games because of a bad back.
Andrea Bargnani scored 26 points and tied a career high with five 3-pointers, and Amir Johnson added 23 points and 15 rebounds in Toronto’s fifth straight loss. Kyle Lowry finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, and Rudy Gay scored 26 points after missing the Raptors’ loss at Milwaukee on Saturday night with back spasms.