Heat beat Bucks to extend streak to 21

MILWAUKEE: LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 28 points as the Miami Heat beat the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 on Friday for their 21st straight win.
The Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) for longest winning streaks in the NBA.
Miami led by as much as 17 in the third quarter, then withstood a push by the Bucks to remain unbeaten since a loss at Indiana on Feb. 1. The Heat next play Sunday at Toronto, where the winning streak began on Feb. 3.
Dwyane Wade finished with 20 points as the Heat avenged a loss at Milwaukee in late December.
The Los Angeles Lakers found a way to win without injured star Kobe Bryant, holding off the Indiana Pacers 99-93.
Bryant, who hurt his ankle two nights ago against the Atlanta Hawks, was 0 for 4 in the first quarter before going to the bench. He did not return and was held scoreless for only the 15th time in his 17-year NBA career.
“It really just continued to swell and I couldn’t put any weight on it, so I called it a night,” Bryant said. “I told them before the game, ‘I don’t know how much I have, but whatever I have, I’ll give you.’” Dwight Howard finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Metta World Peace had 19 points for the Lakers.
Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Russell Westbrook added 23 to help the Oklahoma City Thunder keep up their dominant play at home with a 117-104 victory over Orlando.
The Thunder scored a season-high 73 points in the first half, shooting 64 percent from the floor and converting 18 of 22 free throws. Oklahoma City led by 27 in the second quarter before Orlando pulled to 73-56 at the break.
James Harden scored 37 points and Jeremy Lin had 24 as the Houston Rockets rallied from 20 points down in the third quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-100.
Harden also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out eight assists for the Rockets, who stayed two games ahead of the Lakers in the No. 7 spot in the NBA Western Conference.
The Timberwolves led 59-39 after halftime, but only managed 16 field goals the rest of the way.
In Atlanta, Josh Smith made a strong return to the Hawks’ lineup with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists in a 107-94 victory over Phoenix.
Smith had missed one game with a sprained left knee. All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures, with Al Horford adding 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Chicago Bulls bounced back from their most lopsided loss of the season to whip Golden State 113-95.
Luol Deng scored 23 points and Carlos Boozer had 21 points and nine rebounds for Chicago, two nights after a 121-79 shellacking at Sacramento that renewed calls for Derrick Rose’s return.
Kosta Koufos scored 18 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds, helping the Denver Nuggets rally to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 87-80.
It was Denver’s 11th straight victory, its longest streak in 30 years.
Danilo Gallinari had 15 points, including two free throws to break a tie with just over two minutes remaining, as the Nuggets won their 15th in a row at home.
At Dallas, Rodrigue Beaubois scored 18 points off the bench and keyed a fourth-quarter run to lead the Mavericks past the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-86.
Beaubois had seven points and two assists in a 17-4 run that gave Dallas the lead for good to start the fourth.
In other games, John Wall scored a season-high 29 points as the Washington Wizards beat the New Orleans Hornets 96-87 and Rudy Gay scored 28 points and Amir Johnson had 12 points and a career-high 21 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 92-78.