Pacers can't stand the Heat as James stars in crushing victory

Miami: LeBron James carried the extra load without Dwyane Wade as the Miami Heat recovered from their first loss of the season to crush the Indiana Pacers 118-83 on Wednesday.

James just missed a triple-double, posting 33 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds to ensure the Heat (6-1) kept their offence running smoothly while Wade sat out with a foot injury.

"We were able to get a lot of different contributions [from James]," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"He had 13 assists, but a lot of defensive plays and the rebounds in traffic really got us out in the open court in the first half."

Having lost to the Atlanta Hawks two days earlier to end their undefeated start, Miami quickly returned to business as usual.

They buried Indiana with a 33-12 second quarter run sparked by James Jones, who caught fire with a trio of three-pointers in quick succession and finished with 14 points after starting in place of Wade.

Never threatened

Chris Bosh added 22 for the Heat, who continued to pad out their lead and were never threatened by the visitors.

"We just really wanted to focus and play the same game we've been playing, and not slow down because [Wade's] out," Bosh said.

"We wanted to do a better job defensively. It's about time for us to start sticking more to our principles and holding each other accountable."

The Pacers moved within 77-65 late in the third but Miami closed the quarter on an 11-1 run and outscored the visitors 30-17 in the fourth for the final margin.

Roy Hibbert led the way with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers (4-2) who managed just 34 per cent shooting as they fell to their second loss in three games.

Danny Granger made just two-out-of-13 shots to continue his shooting slump. Indiana's leading scorer last season with more than 20 points per game, Granger entered the night shooting 36 per cent from the field this season.

Wizards thrashed

Meanwhile, Chicago improved to a 6-1 record with a similar lopsided victory, while the Washington Wizards remained the NBA's only winless club after being routed at Orlando.

Orlando improved to 5-2 by thrashing Washington 103-85, knocking the Wizards to 0-6, the worst start in franchise history.

Dwight Howard scored 28 points and pulled down 20 rebounds to power the Magic to victory, while Ryan Anderson added 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Hedo Turkoglu and JJ Redick each added 14 points for Orlando. Nick Young paced the visiting Wizards with 17 points.

At Detroit, Chicago's Carlos Boozer scored 19 points and Derrick Rose contributed 17 points and ten assists in the Bulls' 99-83 victory over the Pistons.

Joakim Noah added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls while Detroit were led by Greg Monroe's 19 points and 13 rebounds.

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