LeBron James of the Miami Heat drives against Nick Young of the Washington Wizards during the game at the Verizon Center on February 10, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
Heat 106, Wizards 89
WASHINGTON — Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, putting in more than his share of poetry-in-motion moments during a second-quarter run, and the Miami Heat topped the Washington Wizards 106-89 Friday night.
Wade either scored or got the assist on 20 consecutive Heat points, starting with a drive to the basket that began with a behind-the-back dribble at the free-throw line followed by a 360-degree move in the paint and ending with a shot off the glass.
Then came another spin move at the baseline for a basket on the next possession, and a driving layup the next time the Heat had the ball.
Wade and LeBron James combined to score Miami's last 18 points of the first half, including a pair of one-handed throw-down alley-oop Wade-to-James dunks during a 10-0 spurt.
Chris Bosh had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and James finished with 18 points and nine assists for the Heat, who bounced back from a loss at Orlando on Wednesday to move to 1-1 on their six-game road trip.
Miami has won six straight and 12 of 13 against the Wizards, and seven in a row in Washington.
Knicks 92, Lakers 85
NEW YORK — Jeremy Lin had the most astounding performance of his remarkable week, scoring a career-high 38 points and outduelling Kobe Bryant as the New York Knicks held off the Los Angeles Lakers 92-85 on Friday night.
Buried deep on the bench a little more than a week ago, Lin led the Knicks to their fourth straight win, tying their longest streak of the season. His two free throws with 52 seconds left and "MVP! MVP!" chants booming stopped the Lakers' final rally and allowed the undrafted Harvard product to pass Carmelo Anthony for the highest-scoring game by a Knicks player this season.
Iman Shumpert added 12 points for the Knicks, who are still without Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. But they have Lin, the point guard that two other teams gave up on in December and didn't get his chance in New York until three other players couldn't do the job.
Bryant finished with 34 points, but he got off to a horrendous start and finished only 11 of 29 from the field.
Bulls 95, Bobcats 64
CHARLOTTE — Joakim Noah had 17 points and 14 rebounds, Carlos Boozer scored 16 points and the Chicago Bulls throttled the Charlotte Bobcats 95-64 Friday night despite the absence of reigning MVP Derrick Rose.
The Bulls (23-6) won their fifth straight overall and improved to 5-1 this season without Rose, who sat out because of a lower back strain.
Derrick Brown scored 10 points to lead the NBA-worst Bobcats, who shot 33 per cent and lost their 13th straight game to fall to 3-23. Brown was the only Bobcats player to finish in double figures.
Corey Maggette returned to action after missing the last 19 games with a strained hamstring and had four points on 2-of-7 shooting in 14 minutes.
Noah was dominant inside, hitting 7 of 9 shots as the Bulls' lead hovered around 30 points for most of the second half.
Clippers 78, Sixers 77
PHILADELPHIA — Chris Paul had 24 points, including the game-winning 17-footer with 3.2 seconds left, Blake Griffin added 16 points and 11 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 78-77 on Friday.
Mo Williams added 14 points, Randy Foye had 10 and Reggie Evans added a season-high 10 rebounds for the Pacific Division-leading Clippers, who improved to 16-8.
The Clippers are still coping with the loss of veteran guard Chauncey Billups, who suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.
Foye, who starred at nearby Villanova, received his second straight start and scored four points in the fourth quarter.
Elton Brand had 12 points and 10 rebounds while Andre Iguodala contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists one day after being selected to the all-star team as a reserve for the first time in his eight-year career.
Hawks 89, Magic 87 (OT)
ORLANDO, Fla. — Josh Smith had 23 points and 19 rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks hit enough free throws late in overtime to slip past the Orlando Magic 89-87 Friday night.
Joe Johnson scored four of his 14 points in the extra period and added five assists for the Hawks, who won their fourth straight regular-season meeting with the Magic dating to last season. Atlanta won its second straight overall since snapping a three-game losing streak.
Ryan Anderson led the Magic with 21 points, and Dwight Howard had 18 points and 18 rebounds in Orlando's first meeting with the Hawks since being eliminated by them in last season's playoffs.
The Magic dropped their second in three games and lost for the first time this season to a Southeast Division opponent.
Pistons 109, Nets 92
AUBURN HILLS — Greg Monroe had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and the Detroit Pistons routed the New Jersey Nets 109-92 Friday night for their fourth straight victory.
It's the longest winning streak for the Pistons since a five-game run in December 2009.
Detroit (8-20) spotted the Nets seven straight points to start the game, then answered with a 12-0 run. Jonas Jerebko scored 20 points for the Pistons and Rodney Stuckey added 19.
Johan Petro scored 16 points for New Jersey (8-20), which lost its fifth straight.
After falling behind 7-0, the Pistons began asserting themselves inside. Monroe had a pair of tip-ins to give Detroit a 12-7 lead, and Stuckey began hurting the Nets with his ability to finish around the basket.
Bucks 113, Cavaliers 112 (OT)
CLEVELAND — Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and made a big layup in overtime as the Milwaukee Bucks rallied for a 113-112 win Friday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were without rookie guard Kyrie Irving and lost centre Anderson Varejao in the third quarter with a sprained wrist.
Jennings added eight assists for the Bucks, who trailed by 10 late in the third period — right after Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles was ejected.
Drew Gooden scored 19 points and made two free throws with 4.4 seconds left in overtime for Milwaukee.
Antawn Jamison had a season-high 34 points but missed two free throws with 3.7 seconds to go in regulation that would have put Cleveland ahead.
Ramon Sessions added 16 assists in his second start in place of Irving, who missed his second straight game with a concussion.
Mavericks 104, Timberwolves 97
MINNEAPOLIS — Dirk Nowitzki welcomed Kevin Love back from his two-game suspension with a season-high 33 points, winning the matchup of Western Conference all-star power forwards and helping the Dallas Mavericks stave off a Minnesota rally with 104-97 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday.
Nowitzki topped 24 points for the fourth straight game by shooting 11 for 19 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from three-point range. Love finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, going 14 for 14 from the free-throw line, and sparked a late-third-quarter surge by the Wolves to slash a 17-point deficit to 78-75 on Nikola Pekovic's putback to open the fourth.
But they missed a chance to sweep the season series from the Mavericks for the first time since 1995-96.
Trail Blazers 94, Hornets 86
NEW ORLEANS — Jamal Crawford scored a season-high 31 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped a two-game skid while handing New Orleans its eighth straight loss, 94-86 on Friday night.
Raymond Felton scored 18 points, including a pair of free throws that gave the Blazers an 88-84 lead in the final minute.
Newly selected all-star LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace each scored 14 points.
Crawford, playing 30 minutes in a reserve role, scored 12 of his points during a 15-5 Portland run that began late in the third quarter and gave Portland a six-point lead early in the fourth.
Trevor Ariza had 23 points and nine rebounds for New Orleans, which briefly led 78-77 in the middle of the fourth quarter before losing for the 23rd time in 25 games.
Grizzlies 98, Pacers 92
MEMPHIS — Rudy Gay scored 21 points, Marreese Speights added a season-high 19 points and nine rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Indiana Pacers 98-92 on Friday night.
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley finished with 15 points each, Conley added six assists. O.J. Mayo added 13 for Memphis, which won its second straight.
David West led the Pacers with 22 points on 8 of 13 from the field and 13 rebounds. Danny Granger had 19 points, and Dahntay Jones added 10 as a reserve, primarily on 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
The game was close throughout with 18 lead changes and 17 ties. Neither team managed to hold a double-digit lead.
The teams were tied 86-86 with 4:30 left, but Memphis outscored Indiana 12-6 the rest of the way, including converting 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch.
Thunder 101, Jazz 87
SALT LAKE CITY — Russell Westbrook scored 28 points and Kevin Durant had 19 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 101-87 on Friday night.
The Jazz seemed determined to limit Durant's offence — he had only 10 field goal attempts — but Westbrook found extra room to drive to the basket and created some fast breaks with five steals.
Serge Ibaka had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Kendrick Perkins added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Jazz's big men often helped on Westbrook and Durant, allowing the Thunder to out-rebound the Jazz 46-32.
Al Jefferson led Utah with 20 points while Raja Bell and Gordon Hayward each had 13 points, but the Jazz dropped their fifth game in their past six.
Once Utah's reserves drew within 78-73 early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder answered with a 7-0 run, capped by Nick Collison's driving layup.
