MIAMI: LeBron James hit two free throws for the winning points after a scary tumble with 4.1 seconds left as the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 92-91 on Monday.
Dwyane Wade, who missed a jump shot at the buzzer, finished with 32 points for Miami, all but two of them in what was an epic first half shootout between superstars. But he missed two big free throws with 41.2 seconds left, part of a 1 of 6 showing from the line by the Heat in the fourth quarter — and it cost Miami dearly.
Shaquille O’Neal scored 19, Daniel Gibson had 15 and Anderson Varejao finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland.
Wade had 10 rebounds and five assists for Miami. Jermaine O’Neal finished with 18 points, Michael Beasley had 16 and Rafer Alston and Udonis Haslem each scored 10 for the Heat.
Cletics 95, Clippers 89: At Boston, Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Rajon Rondo had 16 points and 12 assists to lead Boston to a win on a TD Garden floor that had to be continually wiped because of condensation.
Boston forward Kevin Garnett played his second straight after missing 10 consecutive games with a hyperextended right knee. He finished with 17 points in 30 minutes.
Rasual Butler led the Clippers with 17 points.
The slippery parquet floor forced ball boys to mop one end while play was going on at the other for most of the game.
Early in the game, it appeared a few players slipped, causing a brief delay with 2:28 left in the first quarter.
Pacers 109, 76ers 98: At Philadelphia, Danny Granger scored 26 points and Dahntay Jones had 18 points as Indiana earned a split of the home-and-away series with Philadelphia.
Jones scored seven straight points late in the fourth quarter that helped the Pacers put this one away and improve to 6-18 on the road.
Brandon Rush scored 16 points, and Troy Murphy had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers.
Andre Iguodala scored 22 points and Allen Iverson had 20 for the Sixers.
Grizzlies 99, Magic 94: At Memphis, Tennessee, Zach Randolph had 23 points and 19 rebounds, and O.J. Mayo added 20 points as Memphis won its 11th straight home game.
Marc Gasol added 19 points, and Rudy Gay had 15 for Memphis. Mike Conley finished with 14 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies, who snapped the Magic’s three-game winning streak.
With the victory, the Grizzlies matched their 24-win total from last season.
Dwight Howard led Orlando with 27 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, while Rashard Lewis scored 19 points. Vince Carter had 15, while Jameer Nelson and J.J. Redick had 11 each.
Hawks 102, Rockets 95: At Houston, Josh Smith had 22 points and 10 rebounds as Atlanta snapped a 10-game losing streak in Houston.
Joe Johnson scored 20 points and Jamal Crawford added 17 as the Hawks won in the Toyota Center for the first time in seven visits.
Aaron Brooks scored 15 points and had five assists and Carl Landry added 16 points for the Rockets. Houston has lost seven of 11, including three of its past four home games.
Bulls 98, Spurs 93: At San Antonio, Derrick Rose shook off flulike symptoms to score 27 points as Chicago beat San Antonio for its third straight win.
Kirk Hinrich added 18 points for the Bulls, who again impressively beat a Western Conference team with a winning record on their seven-game road swing. They surprised Houston and Phoenix last week.
Tony Parker scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have lost five of six. Manu Ginobili scored 14 but was denied twice while barreling to the rim in the final 33 seconds.
Jazz 124, Suns 115: At Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 21 points and 20 rebounds, and rookie Wesley Matthews scored 10 of his career-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Utah rallied for a win.
Andrei Kirilenko had 25 points and Deron Williams finished with 18 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who trailed by 17 in the third quarter.
Steve Nash had 15 points and 15 assists, making him the eighth player in NBA history to surpass 8,000 assists.
Nuggets 104, Bobcats 93: At Denver, Chauncey Billups scored 27 points, and Aaron Afflalo matched his career high with 24 points as a depleted Denver beat Charlotte for a season-high seventh straight win.
Stephen Jackson had 22 points and Gerald Wallace added 20 for the Bobcats, who lost their third in a row since a franchise-tying six-game winning streak.
The Nuggets were playing without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who sprained his left ankle in overtime Saturday against New Orleans. They lost forward Kenyon Martin to an ejection late in the second quarter, and early in the fourth quarter, Denver’s Chris Anderson got his feet tangled underneath the basket going for a rebound and crashed to the floor and didn’t return.
Hornets 98, Trail Blazers 97: At Portland, Oregon, Chris Paul made a 15-foot jump shot with 3.8 seconds remaining to lift New Orleans over Portland.
With the Hornets trailing by a point, Paul was left wide open at the free throw line when he caught a pass and buried the shot. Paul led all scorers with 24 points and had 12 assists.
Marcus Thornton had 19 points, David West scored 18 and Emeka Okefor added 14 for New Orleans.
Juwan Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points apiece for Portland.
