James added 11 rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which won for the eighth time in nine games and ended up with six players in double figures. Chris Bosh and Norris Cole each scored 12 for the Heat, and Mario Chalmers added 11.
Miami was down 45-33 midway through the second quarter, then outscored New Orleans 76-50 the rest of the way.
Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry each scored 14 for New Orleans, which lost for the 17th time in 19 games after a 2-0 start. The Hornets managed 25 rebounds — the lowest total in the NBA this season.
In Los Angeles, Chris Paul had 26 points and 14 assists, Blake Griffin added 22 points and a monstrous dunk, and Los Angeles snapped Oklahoma City’s four-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders.
Caron Butler also scored 22 points and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Pacific-leading Clippers won their third in a row, dunking with high-flying abandon against the team with the NBA’s best record at 16-4.
Kevin Durant had 36 points and 13 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 31 points for the Northwest-leading Thunder, whose league-best road record dropped to 8-3. They had won 11 of their previous 12.
Griffin’s one-handed jam over Kendrick Perkins early in the third sent the crowd into a frenzy, with Jordan grabbing Griffin from behind in a celebratory bear hug as the basket got replayed over and over.
In Washington, Derrick Rose scored a season-high 35 points, Carlos Boozer had 18 and Kyle Korver added 17 to lead Chicago over Washington.
One day after a four-point loss in Miami, the Bulls rebounded to improve their Eastern Conference-leading record to 18-5. They had dropped two of three.
Meanwhile, the Wizards have lost 16 of 20. Washington won two of its previous three games — both against the woeful Charlotte Bobcats, who have the worst record in the NBA.
Rose, who was 10 for 20 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line, had 34 points in his previous two games. He had 13 in the first quarter for the Bulls, who never trailed.
John Wall led the Wizards with 20 points.
In Phoenix, Vince Carter scored 21 points against a Phoenix team that’s still paying him and Dallas took advantage of Steve Nash’s absence to rout the Suns.
Nash, the NBA assists leader, was out with a bruised left thigh.
Carter was waived by Phoenix when the lockout ended, but his contract still guaranteed him $4 million. He would have made $18 million had he stayed with Phoenix.
Dallas was without starting point guard Jason Kidd for the second game in a row because of a strained right calf. But the Mavericks rolled right along without him, amassing a season high in points for a half (66) as well as a game.
Delonte West scored a season-high 25 on 9-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 6 3-pointers, in the Mavs’ eighth straight win over Phoenix.
Longtime Sun Shawn Marion scored 20 for the Mavericks, winners of three straight and six of seven. Dirk Nowitzki had 10 points in his second game back after missing four to rest his sore right knee.
In Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the surprising Philadelphia 76ers past Orlando for their third straight win.
The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantage of a soft schedule for the first third of the season, but it gets tough from here. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winning teams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.
Led by Iguodala’s burst in the third quarter, the Sixers (15-6) outlasted the stumbling Magic and won despite posting their lowest point total of the season. Dwight Howard’s 17 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough in Orlando’s fourth straight loss.
Ryan Anderson had 14 points and 20 rebounds.
In Houston, Michael Beasley scored 34 points, Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists and Minnesota beat the Rockets in coach Rick Adelman’s return to Houston.
Kevin Love had 29 points for the Timberwolves, who broke open a close game with 42 points in the third for their highest-scoring quarter this season. Minnesota shot a season-best 58 percent (43 of 74) from the field and eclipsed its previous high point total for the season by 14.
Kevin Martin had 29 points after missing two games with inflammation in his right heel. The Rockets lost for only the second time in 11 games.
Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with Houston and turned down the team’s offer to renew his contract after last season.
In Memphis, Matt Bonner scored 15 points, going 5 of 9 from outside the arc, and Tim Duncan added 14 as San Antonio sent Memphis to its fourth straight loss.
Rookie forward Kawhi Leonard had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped a two-game skid. Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, while Danny Green finished with 11.
O.J. Mayo led the Grizzlies with 17 points, shooting 7 of 11. Mike Conley had 15 points but Memphis was held to 37 percent shooting primarily because leading scorers Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol were a combined 3 of 18 from the field. Gay finished with one point, missing all seven of his shots.
San Antonio built the lead to 17 in the first half and Memphis never got it under double-digits after halftime. It was the Spurs’ first trip to Memphis since the Grizzlies ousted them in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
In Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings had 21 points, reserve Mike Dunleavy added a season-high 20 on 8-of-10 shooting and Milwaukee rolled to an easy victory over skidding Detroit.
Drew Gooden shot 7 of 9 and scored 16 points for the Bucks, including seven straight in the third quarter during a decisive 12-2 run to open the second half. Detroit, which has lost five straight and nine of 10, never led in falling to 4-18.
Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 19 points, and Greg Monroe added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Milwaukee has won four of six after losing three straight.
In Salt Lake City, Paul Millsap had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Utah used a 13-0 fourth-quarter surge to beat Portland.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 25 points, including 14 in the third quarter as the Blazers built an 11-point lead. But the Jazz fought back, even without starting center Al Jefferson and guard Raja Bell, who did not play because of injuries.
The loss was the eighth in 11 road games for the Blazers, who had beaten Utah three consecutive times.
Wesley Matthews’ runner pulled Portland to 90-89 with 5.6 seconds left before C.J. Miles made one of two free throws. Gordon Hayward, who started 0 of 8 from the field, grabbed the rebound of Miles’ miss and sank a pair of foul shots for the final margin.
Hayward finished with 12 points. Josh Howard had 11 points and seven rebounds in his first start for the Jazz.
