Heat extend streak to 26, get 32 from James in win vs. Bobcats

MIAMI: LeBron James wasn’t about to be upstaged by the stars in the crowd, scoring 32 points as the Miami Heat won their 26th straight game with a 109-77 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Some of the world’s leading sportsmen were watching from courtside on Sunday night. Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player. Wladimir Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing king. Rory McIlroy, who sits atop the golf rankings for at least one more night.
And James responded with another sterling performance, making 11 of 14 shots while helping Miami move within seven wins of matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the league record of 33 in a row.
“I think it’s very humbling that you can have some of the greats from other sports come to see your team play, come to see you play,” James said. “You try to leave an impression on them, as a team and as an individual, absolutely. So it was great to have them in the building, for sure.”
Chris Bosh and Norris Cole had 15 points apiece for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade, held from the lineup because of right knee soreness that the team believes is minor.
The show now goes on the road for a four-game trip that begins in Orlando on Monday, a swing that also will take the Heat to Chicago, New Orleans and San Antonio. And the Heat will start that trip 21/2 games ahead of San Antonio in the race for the NBA’s best record.
James Harden sank an off-balance jumper with 4.5 seconds left to lift the Houston Rockets to a 96-95 home win over the Spurs.
Harden scored 18 of his 29 points in the second half as the Rockets rallied from three down in the final minute to end a four-game losing streak to their state rivals.
Tony Parker scored 23 points, including 10 in a row to put San Antonio ahead with just under 2 minutes left. The Spurs led 95-94 when Harden got the ball from Omer Asik, drove to the free-throw line and hit the winning jumper with Tim Duncan in front of him.
In other matches, the Hawks had a 104-99 win over the Bucks at Milwaukee, Kevin Durant had 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 103-83 at Oklahoma City, the Bulls beat the Timber Wolves 104-97 at Minneapolis, the Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz 113-108 and the Nets held off the Suns 102-100 at Phoenix.
At Sacramento, Dorell Wright hit six 3-pointers and scored 22 points as Philadelphia ended its longest road losing streak in more than 25 years.
The Sixers won 117-103 against the Kings, ending their 15-game road skid on the road dating back to New Year’s Day against the Lakers.
Philadelphia’s road losing streak was its longest since the club dropped 20 in a row from Dec. 28, 1987-March 4, 1988.
Al Horford scored 24 points to help Atlanta rally for the win.
Josh Smith added 23 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks, who trailed 98-95 with 1:05 remaining. Devin Harris added 16 points and Jeff Teague finished with 14.
Smith converted a layup with 33.8 seconds to tie it at 99. After the Bucks turned it over, Dahntay Jones was fouled. He made the first and missed the second, but Anthony Tolliver grabbed the rebound for Atlanta and called timeout.
Horford was fouled with 20.1 seconds remaining and hit both free throws to give the Hawks a 102-99 lead. Monta Ellis missed a 3-pointer for Milwaukee, and Teague made two foul shots to put the game away.
Ellis scored 20 points for Milwaukee, and Ersan Ilyasova added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Nate Robinson had 22 points and 10 assists for Chicago, and Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Luol Deng scored 17 points and Taj Gibson had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who were missing Joakim Noah for the second straight game because of plantar fasciitis. They still dominated the boards, 52-32, including 20 offensive rebounds.
Derrick Williams scored 28 points and Ricky Rubio had 15 points and eight assists for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota got as close as five points in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls overpowered the Wolves down the stretch to win back-to-back road games for the first time since Jan. 16-18.