LeBron James twisted his ankle falling over a videographer, got smacked in the back by a referee, took what he thought was excessive contact twice while attempting dunks and dealt with more pain from his injured left ring finger. All worth it by night's end.
James had 34 points and 10 assists, Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, and the Miami Heat rallied to beat Oklahoma City 98-93 on Wednesday night for their 17th straight home win.
Miami (39-14) moved two games back of Chicago (42-13) in the race for the NBA's best record. Oklahoma City, which was led by Kevin Durant's 30 points, fell to 40-14.
The Heat were down 11 in the second quarter before getting a boost from two hard Oklahoma City fouls, the second coming when Russell Westbrook pulled down James from behind on a fast break.
"It was a physical game," Oklahoma City head coach Scott Brooks said. "I like that. I'm sure they like it. Neither team backed down."
Lakers 113, Clippers 108:
Andrew Bynum scored 36 points, Kobe Bryant added 31 and the Lakers widened their Pacific Division lead to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Clippers. ... The Lakers won their fourth straight. The Clippers' winning streak ended at six games. By taking two of three against their Staples Center co-tenants, the Lakers earned the head-to-head tiebreaker for the division title and likely the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Spurs 87, Celtics 86:
Tim Duncan had 10 points and 16 rebounds, and visiting San Antonio won its ninth straight game after blowing a 17-point, first-half lead. ... Duncan also stopped Paul Pierce on the final play, forcing him into a fadeaway jumper that bounced off the rim at the buzzer. ... Rajon Rondo had 17 points and 11 assists for Boston, which had won five in a row.
Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 85:
Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, and Dallas used a big fourth-quarter run to top visiting Memphis. ... It was the first of two games in four days between the teams that are in a virtual tie for fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
Suns 107, Jazz 105:
Steve Nash scored 13 points and dished out a game-high nine assists as visiting Phoenix replaced Utah in ninth place in the West. ... Utah's Paul Millsap had 25 points and eight rebounds.
Bucks 107, Cavaliers 98:
Monta Ellis scored 16 of his 30 points in the final five minutes, helping host Milwaukee fend off a Cleveland team missing Kyrie Irving with a sprained shoulder. ... The Bucks have won four of five to close to a game back of New York for the final Eastern playoff spot.
Hornets 94, Nuggets 92:
Eric Gordon scored 15 points in his first action in three months, capping the night with two free throws in the final seconds to lift host New Orleans.
Raptors 99, Sixers 78:
Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points and DeMar DeRozan had 18 to lead Toronto to its third straight win. Host Philadelphia has lost eight of 12.
Pacers 109, Wizards 96:
Danny Granger scored 20 points, and visiting Indiana won its third straight by shooting a season-high 58 percent against Washington.
Hawks 120, Bobcats 93:
Josh Smith scored 24 points, Jeff Teague added 17, and host Atlanta handed Charlotte its ninth straight loss.
Trail Blazers 101, Nets 88:
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and nine rebounds and Nic Batum added 20 points and 10 rebounds as host Portland rallied to win after leading by as many as 16 in the third quarter.
Hornets close to staying:
Commissioner David Stern says the NBA is close to finalizing a deal with one of three groups to keep the Hornets in New Orleans with a very favorable lease, important capital improvements, extensive tax benefits and a new TV deal.
This article appeared on page B - 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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