The Miami Heat continued their domination over Houston by beating the Rockets 114-108 on Wednesday behind 32 points from LeBron James, and Dwyane Wade’s 31 points and eight assists.
Wade also had four steals for the defending NBA champions, who have now won seven consecutive games over the Rockets.
Shane Battier finished with 12 points and Norris Cole scored 10 for the Heat, who are 20-3 at home this year.
Photo: Reuters
“We had to dig for this. We will take it,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The Rockets’ loss came one day after they blitzed Golden State for a record-tying 23 three-pointers in an eye-popping 140-109 victory.
James Harden finished with 36 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Houston, who have not won in Miami for over five years, losing four straight in that time.
The Rockets went just nine-of-25 from beyond the arc on Wednesday.
Omer Asik had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, Patrick Patterson finished with 15 points and Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin added 13 points each.
Miami played without Chris Bosh who was out with the flu.
The Heat have won three in a row, four of five and eight of 10. Wednesday’s contest was third in a five-game homestand.
The Heat were coming off a hard-fought 99-94 victory at home over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis, San Antonio’s Danny Green hit eight three-pointers and scored a career-high 28 points to help the Spurs win their 11th straight game, 104-94 over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Tony Parker added 31 points and eight assists, while Kawhi Leonard finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs.
Nikola Pekovic had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota.
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Russell Westbrook added 22 as the Thunder beat the Golden State Warriors 119-98 for their first consecutive win in nearly three weeks.
Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson had 19 points each for the Warriors.
Dallas gave coach Rick Carlisle his 500th career victory as O.J. Mayo scored 28 points and Vince Carter hit a critical jumper in the final minute of the Mavericks’ 105-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 10 rebounds a week after he beat the Mavericks at the buzzer in Portland.
Washington broke New York’s five-game winning streak as John Wall had 21 points and nine assists in the Wizards’ 106-96 win over the Knicks.
Martel Webster added 19 for Washington, while Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 31 points.
The Clippers rallied behind Eric Bledsoe’s 27 points, including 19 in the second half, to down the Orlando Magic 86-76 and end a three-game losing streak, while Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 27 points with 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics edged the Toronto Raptors 99-95 for their fifth straight win.
Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving scored 22 points in just three quarters and rookie Dion Waiters added 19 as the Cavaliers downed the Charlotte Bobcats 122-95.
The Central Division-leading Indiana Pacers downed the Philadelphia 76ers 88-69 for their third victory in three nights.
In other games, the Hawks beat the Grizzlies 103-92, the Nets defeated the Pistons 93-90, the Hornets downed the Suns 93-84 and the Jazz were 100-86 winners over the Bucks.
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