Heat win 12th straight with 40 points by James

MIAMI - The Associated Press

LeBron James (L) of the Miami Heat posts up the Sacramento Kings’ Travis Outlaw during a game at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. AFP photo

LeBron James had 40 points and 16 assists, and Dwyane Wade scored 39 as the Miami Heat pushed their winning streak to 12 games by outlasting the Sacramento Kings 141-129 in double overtime on Feb. 26.

Ray Allen added 21, Chris Bosh finished with 15 and Chris Andersen had 10 for the Heat, who remained six games clear of second-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings.
Miami’s 12-game winning streak is the longest in the NBA and matches the second-longest in club history.

“It was probably like 20 innings if it were a baseball game,” James told reporters. “But we needed double overtime and we did it.” 

While on paper it figured to be an easy win for the Heat over the Conference’s last-place team, the Kings made things tough for their high-flying opponents.

Miami led 110-101 with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter before visiting Sacramento (19-39) ran them down with an 11-2 run that included three consecutive three-pointers from Marcus Thornton, who had a team-high 36 points.

After both teams scored 12 points in the first overtime, James tallied 11 points in the second as the home team outscored the Kings 17-5 to finally put the game away.

“We had every opportunity to win that game but it didn’t fall our way this time,” said Sacramento coach Keith Smart. “I thought our guys stayed right there.”

Sacramento starters Tyreke Evans scored 26 and DeMarcus Cousins recorded 24 and 15 rebounds but they were outshone by Miami’s high-scoring duo.

LeBron thrashes decade-old record 

James became the first player to total 40 points and 16 assists since Phoenix’s Kevin Johnson in April 1994. 

In Indianapolis, David West had 28 points and seven rebounds as the Indiana Pacers overcame the ejection of Roy Hibbert following a fourth-quarter scuffle to beat the Golden State Warriors 109-97. West also was called for a technical foul, along with the Warriors’ David Lee, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, for the altercation that began with 6:10 remaining in the game.

George Hill had 23 points and seven assists, and Paul George had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won five straight.

Curry scored a season-high 38 points and Thompson had 13 for the Warriors. Brooklyn’s Deron Williams scored 33 points and Brook Lopez added 20 while playing against his twin brother Robin as the Nets beat the New Orleans Hornets 101-97.

Keith Bogans added 12 points for Brooklyn, hitting all four of his shots, including three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, when New Orleans nearly erased a deficit that had been as large as 22 points in the second quarter.

Greivis Vasquez scored 20 and Robin Lopez 14 for New Orleans, which has lost four of five.
Dion Waiters scored 25 points for Cleveland as the Cavaliers broke an 11-game losing streak against the Chicago Bulls with a 101-98 victory, and the Milwaukee Bucks downed the Dallas Mavericks 95-90, despite Dirk Nowitzki making 20 points and 20 rebounds for the first time in 10 years.

In other games, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Carolina Bobcats 106-84, the Orlando Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers 98-84 and the Phoenix Suns were 94-83 overtime winners over the Minnesota Timberwolves.