Miami: LeBron James scored 32 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on Tuesday to lead the reigning NBA champions Miami Heat over New Orleans 107-88.
Eight days after his 29th birthday, the NBA’s four-time Most Valuable Player once again sparked Miami to victory, while Chris Bosh added 12 points and Ray Allen contributed 11.
The hosts Heat trailed 49-43 at half-time but outscored the Pelicans 64-39 in the second half.
Reserve Chris Andersen added 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting for the Heat, who were without injured starters Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier.
Miami improved to 27-8, second only to the Indiana Pacers (28-6) in the Eastern Conference, while the Pelicans fell to 15-18 with their third loss in four games.
Anthony Davis had 22 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause, while Eric Gordon added 15 points and Tyreke Evans contributed 13.
Elsewhere, Roy Hibbert scored 22 points and powered a tough defensive performance to spark the Pacers, the NBA’s top team, over the Toronto Raptors 86-79.
The Pacers won for the eighth time in nine games, avenging their only loss in that span which came at Toronto on New Year’s Day, and improved their league-best record to 28-6 while the Raptors fell to 16-17.
Indiana’s Lance Stephenson had 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Paul George struggled with foul trouble and scored only 11 points.
The Pacers held the Raptors to only 37 per cent shooting from the court while Indiana connected on 21 of 26 free throw attempts, led by Hibbert’s 12-for-13 night at the line.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 28 points, while reserve Patrick Patterson netted 20 for the Raptors, who lost their second in a row after a season-high five-game win streak.
