MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, Ray Allen hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with just under a minute left and the Miami Heat erased a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 97-94 on Wednesday night.
MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, Ray Allen hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with just under a minute left and the Miami Heat erased a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat the Indiana Pacers 97-94 on Wednesday night.
LeBron James scored 24 on a bad left ankle for the Heat, who closed within a game of the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers. Chris Bosh added 15 points for Miami, including a 3 that tied it late in the fourth.
James set up Allen for the 3 that put Miami in front for good with 59.5 seconds left, capping a 10-0 run.
Paul George scored 25 points but missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it with 4 seconds left. David West had 23 and Lance Stephenson added 13 for the Pacers, who have dropped two straight.
Down by one, the Pacers saw their best chance go awry when George Hill turned the ball over on a bad pass with 14 seconds left. Allen made two free throws with 10.3 seconds remaining to put Miami up by three, and that capped a big comeback win for the two-time defending NBA champions.
Pacers center Roy Hibbert got his fourth foul early in the third, and Indiana coach Frank Vogel opted to leave him in the game. The gamble appeared to backfire 46 seconds later when Hibbert picked up his fifth with 8:34 remaining in the quarter.
Hibbert went to the bench — but the Pacers didn’t miss a beat.
George made three free throws after getting hit beyond the arc by Mario Chalmers to put Indiana up 66-51 midway through the third, and the Pacers’ lead was still 14 with 4:17 left in the period.
But Norris Cole’s 3-pointer, Miami’s first in 10 tries to that point, started what became a 13-4 Heat run and made it a 76-71 game entering the fourth. Nonetheless, Indiana remained in control, and when West connected with 3:21 left, the Pacers were up 92-85 and seemed well on their way to closing things out.
And then the Heat — for the first time all night — put together a run.
The Heat scored the next 10 points — Bosh’s 3-pointer, his first in 15 attempts, tied it at 92. And after George missed in the lane at the other end, James brought the ball the other way and found Allen for a 3-pointer that put the Heat ahead for the first time since the score was 14-13.
They didn’t trail again.
TIMBERWOLVES 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 109
MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love had 29 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, powering Minnesota to the victory.
Nikola Pekovic had 30 points and nine rebounds and Kevin Martin scored 22 for the Timberwolves, who led by 32 in the second quarter and held off a charge in the second half from the Blazers.
Damian Lillard had 36 points, six assists and six rebounds and LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 14 boards for the weary Trail Blazers, who lost for the first time in six games. It was just their fifth loss of the season in 27 games and it came at the end of a four-game road trip.
CLIPPERS 108, PELICANS 95
LOS ANGELES — Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan each had a double-double, and the Clippers beat the Pelicans to give coach Doc Rivers a victory over his son’s team.
Griffin had 21 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out with 4:05 left, and Jordan added 14 points and 20 boards in the Clippers’ third straight victory. Chris Paul added his own double-double against his former team, with 12 points and 11 assists.
Jared Dudley had 20 points as Los Angeles placed seven players in double figures.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 24 points and 12 rebounds in his return after missing seven games with a broken left hand. Austin Rivers, the 21-year-old son of Doc Rivers, had two points while playing 14 minutes in a reserve role.
SPURS 108, SUNS 101
PHOENIX — Manu Ginobili scored 11 of his 24 points in the final four-plus minutes, and San Antonio snapped Phoenix’s five-game winning streak.
Tim Duncan added 17 points and 13 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard scored 14 for the Spurs, who were without injured point guard Tony Parker.
Channing Frye scored 15 of his 22 points in the first quarter for the Suns. Goran Dragic had 18 points and Eric Bledsoe 15, but the two guards were a combined 12 of 33 from the field.
Led by Ginobili, the Spurs outscored the Suns 15-6 over the final 4:11 after Phoenix took a 95-93 lead.
MAVERICKS 105, GRIZZLIES 88
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points in his return to the lineup and Dallas defeated short-handed Memphis.
The Mavericks (15-10) have won two straight to equal their season high of five games over .500. Memphis (10-15) has lost five in a row and seven of eight.
Monta Ellis scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half for Dallas. Nowitzki added six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
While the Mavericks got their star forward back following a one-game absence due to a stomach virus, Memphis was without three injured starters.
Tayshaun Prince missed his first game this season because of a sore left knee, and the Grizzlies already were without point guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol. Tony Allen led Memphis with 16 points and 11 rebounds — 10 on the offensive end.
ROCKETS 109, BULLS 94
HOUSTON — Dwight Howard scored 23 points and James Harden and Chandler Parsons added 19 each as Houston used a big third-quarter run to pull away from Chicago.
The Bulls trailed by three with 5½ minutes left in the third before their offense went cold. Houston took advantage of the scoring drought, using a 15-1 spurt to make it 83-66 entering the final period.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale returned after missing the previous three games following the death of his mother.
Jimmy Butler’s 20 points led the Bulls, who have dropped three in a row and 12 of 15.
WIZARDS 113, NETS 107
NEW YORK — John Wall scored 21 points and made two big defensive plays against Deron Williams down the stretch to lead Washington over Brooklyn.
Nene added 17 points in his return from injury for the Wizards, who completed a New York sweep after a victory over the Knicks on Monday following a four-game losing streak.
Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal each finished with 15 points.
Paul Pierce had a season-high 27 points for the Nets, and Brook Lopez added 22 after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. Joe Johnson finished with 20.
The Nets shot 53 percent from the field, but the Wizards put seven players in double figures and made 12 3-pointers.
HAWKS 124, KINGS 107
ATLANTA — Kyle Korver made seven consecutive 3-point attempts on his way to a season-high 28 points, pushing Atlanta to the victory.
Al Horford added 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of seven. Jeff Teague finished with 18 points and tied a career high with 15 assists.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 28 points, Rudy Gay had 22 and Isaiah Thomas 20 for the Kings, who allowed a season high in points.
The Hawks outscored the Kings 39-20 in the fourth quarter of their 12th consecutive victory against Sacramento. Horford made consecutive jumpers to help Atlanta open a 117-105 lead with 2:49 left.
JAZZ 86, MAGIC 82
ORLANDO, Fla. — Trey Burke had a career-high 30 points and eight assists, leading Utah to the road win.
Orlando had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Jameer Nelson’s layup rolled off the rim and was rebounded by Utah with just 3 seconds left. Gordon Hayward, who scored 15 points for the Jazz, then made a pair of free throws.
The Jazz snapped a two-game losing streak and extended their win streak over the Magic to six games.
Orlando played without leading scorer Arron Afflalo, who was sick. He had started every game this season.
Nelson led Orlando with 17 points. Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
BOBCATS 104, RAPTORS 102, OT
TORONTO — Kemba Walker hit a buzzer-beating jumper in overtime, and Charlotte snapped a three-game losing streak in Toronto.
Walker had 29 points and Al Jefferson collected 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Bobcats won their second straight. Five of Jefferson’s points came in overtime.
Charlotte had six players score in double figures. Josh McRoberts had 13 points, Ramon Sessions and Gerald Henderson each scored 11 and Anthony Tolliver finished with 10 points.
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and Kyle Lowry had 17 for the Raptors. Amir Johnson fouled out with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
PISTONS 107, CELTICS 106
BOSTON — Brandon Jennings led Detroit to its third win in four games, scoring 28 points and matching his season high with 14 assists.
Andre Drummond had 14 points and 16 rebounds and Josh Smith added 20 points for the Pistons, who won for the seventh time in 11 games overall.
Jared Sullinger scored 19 points, Jordan Crawford had 17 and Avery Bradley 14 for the Celtics, who lost for just the third time in nine games.
Boston’s Jeff Green missed a driving one-hander wildly just before the horn sounded. He had 13 points.
KNICKS 107, BUCKS 101, 2OT
MILWAUKEE — Tyson Chandler returned from his broken leg and J.R. Smith hit a go-ahead jumper in the second overtime to help New York beat Milwaukee.
Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and Beno Udrih added a season-high 21 for the Knicks. Chandler, who had been out since Nov. 5, had nine points and nine rebounds. Smith scored 19.
Brandon Knight had a career-high 36 points for the Bucks, who have lost four straight. John Henson had 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Khris Middleton added 20 points.
By wire sources