Shaquille O'Neal made his first eight shots and finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes, and the Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 111-92 on Tuesday night in Pat Riley's first home game since replacing Stan Van Gundy as coach.
Gary Payton added 15 points, Dwyane Wade shook off an early injury to score 14 and Antoine Walker had 13 for Miami, which is 4-1 under Riley.
O'Neal had six dunks and two layups in the opening half. Miami held Atlanta to a season-low nine points in the first quarter and built a 56-35 halftime lead on the way to beating the Hawks for the ninth straight time.
PHOTO: AFP
Marvin Williams had 17 of his career-high 26 points in the fourth quarter for Atlanta, which trailed by 38 points midway through the third quarter before trimming the deficit against Miami's reserves.
Joe Johnson added 13 points and Al Harrington had 12 for the Hawks, who fell to 2-12 on the road.
Cavaliers 110, Jazz 85
In Cleveland, LeBron James scored 25 points and took an early seat on the bench after Cleveland used a flurry of 3-pointers in the third quarter to rout Utah.
Damon Jones made four 3s in a stretch of 3:17 in the third as the Cavs won their third straight and improved to 10-3 at home. James added six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in 29 minutes before spending the entire fourth quarter resting after the Cavs outscored the Jazz 33-15 in the third.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who was questionable until game time after sustaining a mild concussion on Saturday in a win over Miami, added 18 points along with seven rebounds.
Gordan Giricek scored 16 to pace the Jazz, who were without forward Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms) and couldn't do anything on defense to stop the Cavs while missing all eight of their 3-pointers.
Bucks 109, Spurs 107, OT
In Milwaukee, rookie Andrew Bogut made a fadeaway jumper as time expired to give Milwaukee an overtime victory over San Antonio.
The No. 1 pick in the 2005 NBA draft also scored the tying basket with 14 seconds left in overtime and finished with 19 points.
Maurice Williams scored 28 points and Michael Redd added 20 for the Bucks, who had lost six of their last seven games against the Spurs.
Tim Duncan had a season-high 34 points before fouling out with 22 seconds left in OT. Tony Parker added 22 and Nazr Mohammed 11 in the defending champion Spurs' second straight loss.
Suns 111, SuperSonics 83
In Phoenix, Shawn Marion scored 29 points to lead five Phoenix players in double figures and the Suns rolled past Seattle.
Reserve Eddie House added 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting. The Suns, who had lost four of five, moved into a tie with the Los Angeles Clippers for first in the Pacific Division.
Ray Allen, who scored 26 for Seattle, sank four 3-pointers to pass Glen Rice into third on the NBA career list with 1,662. Reggie Evans added a career-high 21 points, 17 in the first half, and grabbed 18 rebounds for Seattle. Rashard Lewis had 16 points.
Pistons 93, Trail Blazers 89
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 23 points and Tayshaun Prince added 21 to lead Detroit over Portland for its fifth straight win.
The Pistons improved to an NBA-best 20-3, the best 23-game record in franchise history. Chauncey Billups had 19 points and 10 assists, Ben Wallace had 13 points and 14 rebounds and Rasheed Wallace scored 11 points.
Zach Randolph scored a career-high 37 points for the Trail Blazers, who made a strong showing but fell to 7-17, the worst record in the Western Conference.
Nets 99, Clippers 85
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vince Carter scored 35 points and added nine assists and seven rebounds, leading New Jersey over Los Angeles for its season-high third straight victory.
Richard Jefferson scored 20 points and Nenad Krstic had 17 for Nets (12-12), who returned to .500 for the first time since they were 7-7 after beating Denver on Nov. 28. Carter had 20 points in the first half.
Elton Brand had 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season. Cuttino Mobley added 15 points for the Clippers, who have lost four of five.
Bobcats 105, Bulls 92
In Chicago, Brevin Knight shook off a bruised right forearm and finished with 20 points and 10 assists as Charlotte beat Chicago.
Raymond Felton scored 21 points to go with six assists as the Bobcats (8-18) won for the third time in four games and beat the Bulls for the first time.
Gerald Wallace added 19 points, Primoz Brezec finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Keith Bogans and Jumaine Jones added 11 points apiece.
Chris Duhon did his best to keep the Bulls in it, hitting several 3s in the fourth quarter and finishing with 16 points. Othella Harrington scored 16.
Notebook
AP, HOUSTON
Houston center Yao Ming is expected to miss several NBA games after undergoing surgery on Monday on his infected left big toe.
Yao, who is averaging 19.9 points and nine rebounds, flew from LA to Houston on Sunday, missing the Rockets' game against the Lakers.
Yao's toe is infected with osteomyelitis, a common inflammation of the bone caused by bacteria, the Rockets said. The surgery was performed on Monday by Rockets chief physician Dr. Tom Clanton at the Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston.
The Rockets said the procedure was successful and that Yao will require antibiotics and rest for several weeks in order to allow the infection to properly heal.
Before Sunday, the 25-year-old Chinese center had missed only two games in his first three NBA seasons. He started all of Houston's first 22 games this year.
Yao isn't the only Houston big man who is hurting heading into Wednesday's game against Toronto.
Dikembe Mutombo started for Yao on Sunday, but left the game with a dislocated left finger with 4:51 left. His status for Wednesday's game was not immediately known, and the Rockets have no other centers on their roster.
Injuries have been a problem for the Rockets (10-13), who already had to play eight games -- all losses -- when leading scorer Tracy McGrady was out with a back injury.
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