MIAMI — LeBron James compared the game to a heavyweight fight.
If so, then the final punch was thrown by the Miami Heat — and it missed.
Anthony Davis scored 33 points, James had 28 while coming within a rebound of a triple-double and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Heat 113-110 on Friday night.
“Two teams that are playing extremely well right now in this part of the season,” James said. “Two teams that play physical, play together, play hard. That’s why they are where they are at this point in the season and that’s why we are where we are.”
James had 12 assists and nine rebounds and Davis grabbed 10 rebounds. The Lakers improved to 23-3 and remained tied with Milwaukee for the NBA’s best record. They also extended the second-longest road winning streak in franchise history to 13 games and rallied from a double-digit deficit to win for the eighth time already this season.
It wasn’t over until the very last second — Jimmy Butler knocked over James on his way to getting free enough to take the last shot, but his 3-pointer over Davis’ outstretched arm bounced off the rim.
“It’s always great to go against a great competitor in our league,” James said about Butler. Including playoffs, they’ve squared off 34 times — going 17-17.
Butler led Miami with 23 points, Derrick Jones Jr. had 17, Kendrick Nunn added 16 and Kelly Olynyk had 15 . Bam Adebayo had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which had been 11-0 at home.
“All things being equal, these are two really good teams playing back and forth,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We were able to create some separation in the first half, and then in the third quarter they were able to impose their will.”
The Lakers outrebounded Miami 50-34, and the last of those was the biggest. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed a free throw with 8 seconds left to keep the Heat within two, but Miami couldn’t get the rebound. Caldwell-Pope went back to the line with 4.2 seconds left, made one of two again and the Lakers’ lead was pushed to three.
Butler took the last shot for Miami, a 3-pointer with about a second left. It hit the rim and bounced off, the Heat argued that he was fouled to no avail, and the Lakers survived in James’ lone trip this season to the city where he won championships in 2012 and 2013.
“We were able to get that stop,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said.
CLIPPERS 124, TIMBERWOLVES 117
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Paul George scored 46 points, Kawhi Leonard had 42 and Los Angeles held on to beat Minnesota for its fourth consecutive victory.
It was the highest combined scoring output of the season for the Clippers’ new superstar duo. Leonard and George’s previous high came Dec. 1 when they combined for 65 points against Washington. They became the first set of teammates in Clippers’ history to each score 40 points. It was the 21st time in NBA history it has happened.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 39 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which lost its seventh in a row. Towns had 14 points, including a 4-point play, in a 22-6 fourth-quarter run that trimmed a 21-point Los Angeles lead to five.
Andrew Wiggins added 34 points for the Timberwolves.
ROCKETS 130, MAGIC 107
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — James Harden scored 54 points, hitting 10 of 15 3-pointers and 19 of 31 shots overall, in Houston’s win over Orlando.
Harden scored 50 or more for the fifth time this season and the fourth time in the last seven games. He also had seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in 36 minutes.
Russell Westbrook added 23 points for Houston. The Rockets were 22 of 39 from 3-point range.
The Rockets pulled away in the second quarter, with Harden scoring 18 points, including Houston’s last 11 for a 59-49 lead.
Evan Fournier led Orlando with 27 points. Aaron Gordon added 21. The Magic have lost three straight after winning four in a row.
76ERS 116, PELICANS 109
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 31 points, Ben Simmons had 24 points and 11 assists, and Philadelphia survived a late scare and beat New Orleans.
Joel Embiid finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds in Philadelphia’s fifth straight victory. It was also the 14th consecutive home victory for the 76ers, the franchise’s longest streak to start a season since winning 22 straight home games in their NBA championship season in 1966-67.
Brandon Ingram scored 32 points and J.J. Redick had 19 for the Pelicans, who have lost 11 in a row.
PACERS 110, HAWKS 100
ATLANTA (AP) — Malcolm Brogdon had 19 points and 12 assists, Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Indiana beat Atlanta.
T.J. Warren scored 18 points as all five Indiana starters finished in double figures.
The Pacers improved to 5-2 this month and 17-9 overall. They are eight games over .500 for the first time this season.
Trae Young had 23 points, but missed 21 of 30 shots from the field, as Atlanta lost for the 14th time in 16 games. DeÁndre Hunter scored 21 and Jabari Parker 20 for the Hawks.
HORNETS 83, BULLS 73
CHICAGO (AP) — Devonte’ Graham scored 16 points, Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington each had 13 and Charlotte bounced back after squandering an early 15-point lead, beating Chicago for its third straight win.
Zach LaVine and Ryan Arcidiacono each had 12 points, Thaddeus Young and Lauri Markkanen added 10 apiece as Chicago lost for the fourth time in five games.
It was the lowest offensive output of the season for both teams.
Charlotte shot 38% from the floor, but the Bulls were even worse at 30% in a sloppy game between sub-.500 teams. Bismack Biyombo had 12 points for the Hornets.
BUCKS 127, GRIZZLIES 114
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 17 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter to help Milwaukee pull away for its 17th straight victory.
The Bucks overcome Jaren Jackson Jr.’s career-high 43 points. He scored 26 in the third quarter to give Memphis a 95-90 lead heading into the fourth. But Milwaukee outscored Memphis 37-19 in the final period to improve its record to 23-3, keeping pace with the Los Angeles Lakers for the best in the league.
The 17-game winning streak is second-longest in franchise history, trailing only a 20-game run in the 1970-71 season.
Antetokounmpo converted 12 of 23 shots and had 11 rebounds for Milwaukee, which has not lost since Nov. 8 against Utah. Khris Middleton added 26 points for the Bucks, while Eric Bledsoe finished with 12 before leaving in the third quarter with an injury.
Dillon Brooks had 19 points for Memphis, while Jae Crowder had 15 points.
Memphis played without star rookie Ja Morant, who took the night off for injury maintenance on a bad back.
JAZZ 114, WARRIORS 106
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Bojan Bogdanovic hit eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points and Donovan Mitchell added 28 points in Utah’s win over Golden State.
Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz. Joe Ingles chipped in 13 points and eight assists, and Royce O’Neale added 14 points.
Alec Burks scored 24 points and Damion Lee added 21 for the Warriors. D’Angelo Russell added 18 points.
Golden State lost despite outscoring Utah 52-12 in bench points.
KNICKS 103, KINGS 101
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Elfrid Payton had seven of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, Marcus Morris scored off an offensive rebound with 9.1 seconds left and New York rallied from 16 down to beat Sacramento.
Julius Randle had 24 points and nine rebounds, Mitchell Robinson added 14 points and nine boards, and Damyean Dotson scored 11 points. The Knicks (6-20) won back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Buddy Hield scored 34 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds for Sacramento. Harrison Barnes had 18 points and Nemanja Bjelica added 12 points and seven assists. The Kings had won their previous three.