James scores 35 to fuel Heat’s victory over Bulls
Miami — LeBron James scored 35 points and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose wasted two chances in the final 23 seconds as the Miami Heat escaped with a 97-93 win Sunday over the Chicago Bulls.
Chris Bosh had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who never trailed — but this win in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals was not easy. Dwyane Wade added 15 points for Miami.
Rose scored 34 points for the Bulls, but missed a pair of foul shots that would have given Chicago the lead with 22.7 seconds left. He had made all 28 of his free throws in the fourth quarter this season.
Rose also had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but his short jumper bounced off the rim.
Bosh sealed it with two free throws with 0.1 seconds left for Miami.
Mavs 101,
Spurs 100, OT
At Dallas, Jason Terry scored a season-high 34 points, including four in the last 42 seconds of overtime, as Dallas rebounded after blowing an 18-point lead against San Antonio.
Terry put the Mavericks back in the lead to stay when he took a pass from Dirk Nowitzki for a 12-foot baseline jumper with 42 seconds left. After Shawn Marion stole the ball from Gary Neal, Terry hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to make it 101-98.
Neal, who finished with 19 points, then drove for a layup and was fouled by Marion. But Neal missed a potential tying free throw that was rebounded by Ian Mahinmi, who missed two free throws.
Carter had 21 points, his most with the Mavericks. Nowitzki, playing for the first time after a four-game hiatus to strengthen his sore right knee and do conditioning work, had 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting with 13 rebounds.
Cavs 88, Celtics 87
At Boston, Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, sinking a layup with 2.6 seconds left as Cleveland scored the last 12 points of the game to beat Boston.
Anderson Varejao had 18 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which had lost five of six.
Ray Allen returned from an ankle injury and scored 22 points, making 4 of 6 from 3-point range. But he missed a jumper from the left corner when Boston still held a one-point lead on its second-to-last possession.
Paul Pierce scored 18 points with six rebounds and five assists for the Celtics, who had won four in a row.
Clippers 109, Nuggets 105
At Denver, Chauncey Billups’ homecoming couldn’t have gone better as he scored a season-high 32 points and drew a crucial foul in the waning seconds to help seal Los Angeles’ victory that ended Denver’s six-game winning streak. OTHER RESULTS: Hawks 94, Hornets 72; Raptors 94, Nets 73; PACERS 106, MAGIC 85. AP
