Lebron James helps Miami Heat to 20th consecutive win; Bryant injured in Lakers’ loss to Hawks

PHILADELPHIA: LeBron James scored 27 points as the Miami Heat rallied to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-94 on Wednesday night and become the fourth team to win at least 20 consecutive games in a season.
Dwyane Wade added 21 as the Heat needed big baskets over the final 2 minutes to top the Sixers for the milestone win.
Only three teams have won at least 20 consecutive games in the same season: the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33), the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) and the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20).
Hawks 96, Lakers 92: At Atlanta, Devin Harris scored 17 points, Ivan Johnson hit a key basket and short-handed Atlanta shook off a 20-point third quarter by Kobe Bryant to end a three-game losing streak.
Bryant finished with 31 points, but made just 11 of 33 shots. He drove the baseline with a chance to force overtime but watched his jumper slide off the rim with 3 seconds remaining.
Grizzlies 96, Clippers 85: At Los Angeles, Marc Gasol scored 21 points, Tayshaun Prince added 18 and surging Memphis got its 14th victory in 15 games.
Mike Conley had 17 points and 11 assists, and Zach Randolph scored 13 points as the Grizzlies hung on in the fourth quarter of back-to-back games for their sixth straight victory.
Nuggets 117, Knicks 94: At Denver, Carmelo Anthony’s return to the Pepsi Center was a flop as Wilson Chandler scored 24 points and Denver blew out ailing New York.
Celtics 112, Raptors 88: At Boston, Kevin Garnett scored 12 points, passing Jerry West for 15th on the NBA’s career scoring list, and Paul Pierce joined him among the top 20 scorers in league history with 15 points to lead Boston.
Pacers 107, Timberwolves 91: At Indianapolis, Roy Hibbert had a season-high 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead Indiana.
Wizards 106, Bucks 93: At Washington, John Wall had 23 points and 10 assists as Washington beat Milwaukee.
Rockets 111, Suns 81: At Houston, Donatas Motiejunas scored a career-high 19 points to lead five Houston starters in double figures.
Thunder 110, Jazz 87: At Oklahoma, Kevin Durant scored 23 points, Russell Westbrook added 19 and Oklahoma City cruised past Utah.
Kings 121, Bulls 79: At Sacramento, California, Tyreke Evans had 26 points and seven assists in Sacramento’s most lopsided victory of the season.
Warriors 105, Pistons 97: At Oakland, California, Stephen Curry had 31 points and eight assists and David Lee added 20 points and 15 rebounds as Golden State grinded out a victory over struggling Detroit.
Jarrett Jack finished with 19 points and five assists off the bench and hit some big shots late to make sure the Warriors avoided a monumental setback. They improved to 4-2 on their season-high, seven-game homestand, which ends Friday against Chicago, and remained 1½ games ahead of Houston for sixth place in the Western Conference.
Rodney Stuckey scored 22 points and Kyle Singler had 16 in Detroit’s seventh straight loss. Reserve Will Bynum added 16 points to help fill the void left by Brandon Knight, who sat out with a sprained left ankle.