CLEVELAND: LeBron James scored 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds and passed out eight assists against his former club Wednesday to spark the Miami Heat over the host Cleveland Cavaliers 95-84.

James, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, guided the two-time defending NBA champions to their eighth victory in a row as well as Miami’s eighth consecutive victory in matchups against the Cavaliers, the home-area club James played for until leaving for the Heat in 2010.

“It’s always a little weird,” James said of playing against Cleveland and fans who still feel spurned by his departure. “I just wanted to come out and take care of business.”

Dwyane Wade added 22 points for the Heat, and Michael Beasley scored 17 off the bench for Miami, which is 11-1 overall against Cleveland since James joined the Heat.

James will host his teammates at his Ohio home on Thursday for a US Thanksgiving holiday celebration.

Dion Waiters scored 24 points to lead the Cavaliers, who have lost four in a row and seven of their last eight. Kyrie Irving scored 16 points and Earl Clark netted13 for Cleveland.

The Heat, who have not lost since falling to Boston on November 9, will visit Toronto on Friday.

Pacers 99, Bobcats 74: Reserve guard C.J. Watson scored 18 points on six three- pointers, as the Indiana Pacers easily accounted for the Charlotte Bobcats.

The NBA-leading Pacers (14-1) held Charlotte to just 31.3 percent shooting to record their fifth successive victory.

Mavericks 103, Warriors 99: Dirk Nowitzki scored a game-high 22 points on 11-of-19 shooting, as the Mavericks improved to 10-6.

Golden State guard Stephen Curry led the visitors with 29 points and knocked down six three-pointers. Guard Klay Thompson struggled with his shooting (5-for-16) but still managed to score 20 and grab 10 rebounds.

Thunder 94, Spurs 88: Guard Reggie Jackson came off the bench and tied a career high with 23 points to propel the Oklahoma City Thunder to a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

The loss ends the Spurs’ 11-game win streak and extends the Thunder’s winning streak to five games.

Kevin Durant had a game-high 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder (10-3) while Tony Parker paced the Spurs (13-2) with 16 points and seven assists.

Suns 120, Trail Blazers 106: Goran Dragic scored 12 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Suns used 10 three-pointers to rally from a 16-point deficit in the second quarter to snap Portland’s 11-game winning streak.

Forward Channing Frye added a season-high 25 points for the Suns.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and guard Damian Lillard added 16 for Portland (13-2).

Rockets 113, Hawks 84: The Houston Rockets were buoyed by the bench combination of 42 points from swingman Francisco Garcia and guard Aaron Brooks’ to record an easy win over Atlanta.

Garcia scored a season-high 21 points while Brooks also scored 21 for the Rockets (11-5), who have won three successive games.

Nuggets 117, Timberwolves 110: Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson led seven other teammates who also scored in double-digits with a 23-point performance as Denver won their fourth successive game.

Kevin Martin had 29 points for the Timberwolves (8-9) who lost their third consecutive game and their sixth in the last eight.

Lakers 99, Nets 94: The Los Angeles Lakers squandered a 27-point lead to allow Brooklyn to tie the game at 92-92 with two minutes remaining but managed to pull away with good free throw shooting.

Los Angeles guard Nick Young had a game-high 26 points.

Bulls 99, Pistons 79: Luol Deng scored a season-high 27 points as the Chicago Bulls snapped a four-game losing streak by toppling the Detroit Pistons.

Forward Taj Gibson had a season-high 23 points for Chicago (7-7), who have beaten the Pistons in 19 of the last 20 meetings.

Magic 105, 76ers 94: Nikola Vucevic had 21 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead the Orlando Magic to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Magic never trailed after the first quarter, using a well-balanced attack that included forward Glen Davis adding 19 points.

Grizzlies 100, Celtics 93: The Memphis Grizzlies, leading for virtually the whole game, held off a wild late charge by Boston and ended their two-game losing streak.

The Celtics were down by 13 with 2:40 left but cut the deficit to three with 14.4 seconds remaining before Memphis sealed it at the free throw line.

Jerryd Bayless had a season-high 20 points off the bench for the Grizzlies (8-7).

Wizards 100, Bucks 92 (OT): Center Marcin Gortat scored 25 points as the Washington Wizards held off the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime.

Gortat made 11 of 12 shots and was one of four Wizards (7-8) to score in double figures.

Milwaukee (2-12) lost their 10th consecutive game.

Clippers 93, Knicks 80: Los Angeles beat New York but lost All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who left the game in the third quarter with a strained right hamstring.

Paul scored 15 points for the Clippers (11-5), as did Blake Griffin, before hobbling to the locker room.

Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (3-11) with 27 points but they lost their seventh straight.