MIAMI (AP) – Dwyane Wade scored 21 of his 32 points in the first half, Goran Dragic added 20 and the Miami Heat handed LeBron James another loss on his former home floor with a 106-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Mario Chalmers finished with 16 points off the bench for the Heat, who won both of James’ regular-season trips to Miami this season – his first two games back since leaving the team and returning to Cleveland last summer.
Miami closed the first half on a 19-5 run to take a 56-38 lead and pushed the margin to 25 in the third.
James scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for Cleveland, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Kyrie Irving added 21.
RAPTORS 117, PACERS 98
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Kyle Lowry had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Lou Williams scored 24 points, and Toronto pulled away from Indiana.
The Raptors (40-27) set a franchise record by earning their 40th win in just 67 games. They had never achieved that feat in fewer than 70.
Indiana (30-36) lost its second straight despite getting 23 points from George Hill and 20 from Rodney Stuckey.
WIZARDS 105, TRAIL BLAZERS 97
WASHINGTON (AP) – John Wall had 21 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Washington let a 25-point lead dwindle to three before beating Portland.
Two nights after becoming the first NBA team to trail by 18 at halftime before eventually winning by 16, in a home victory against Sacramento, the Wizards were the ones who nearly blew a large advantage.
But they held on for their fourth consecutive victory, a streak that began right after a 4-13 stretch.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Nicolas Batum added 12 points and a season-high 15 boards for Portland, which had won three games in a row and eight of its last nine.
CELTICS 108, 76ERS 89
BOSTON (AP) – Tyler Zeller scored a career-high 26 points, Avery Bradley had 20 and Boston won its season-high fifth straight game.
Brandon Bass added 12 points and Marcus Smart 11 for Boston, which entered the day in a group of four teams separated by one game for the Eastern Conference’s final two playoffs spots. Bradley also had 10 rebounds and six assists.
Nerlens Noel led Philadelphia with 18 points and seven boards, and reserve Ish Smith had 16 points in the 76ers’ 14th straight road loss.
Boston swept the season series, 4-0, for the first time since 2008-09.
The Celtics were 4 of 5 on 3-pointers and shot 66.7 percent in the opening quarter en route to a 38-18 lead.
GRIZZLIES 92, NUGGETS 81
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Zach Randolph had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Memphis thwarted a fourth-quarter rally by Denver.
Marc Gasol and Tony Allen each added 14 points, while Nick Calathes finished with 12 as Memphis won its second straight. Memphis broke a 79-all tie in the fourth quarter by outscoring Denver 13-2 the rest of the way.
Jameer Nelson scored 24 points for the Nuggets on 11-of-18 shooting, while starting backcourt mate Randy Foye finished with 16 points. Wilson Chandler scored 13 for Denver, making both his 3-point shots.
The Nuggets, who had won four straight, were coming off a double-overtime win at New Orleans on Sunday. Denver rested starters Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari, eliminating an average of 38.6 points, plus their leading rebounder (Faried) and assist leader (Lawson).
NETS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 106
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Joe Johnson scored 22 points, rookie Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 and Brooklyn beat short-handed Minnesota.
Thaddeus Young chipped in 19 for the Nets in his first game against Minnesota since being dealt to Brooklyn for Kevin Garnett at the trade deadline.
The Nets, who entered play three games out of the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, won their second straight following a five-game losing streak.
Kevin Martin scored 23 points and Zack LaVine added 20 for the Timberwolves, who had just eight healthy players and were missing three starters due to injury.
Garnett sat out with a sore left knee.
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