Heat buck slow start, rout Hornets 109-95

MIAMI — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 22 points, and Mike Miller added 14 off the bench as the Miami Heat shook off a slow start to beat the New Orleans Hornets 109-95 on Monday.

James added 11 rebounds and eight assists for Miami, which won for the eighth time in nine games and ended up with six players in double figures. Chris Bosh and Norris Cole each scored 12 for the Heat, and Mario Chalmers added 11.

Miami was down 45-33 midway through the second quarter, then outscored New Orleans 76-50 the rest of the way.

BULLS 98, WIZARDS 88

At Washington, Derrick Rose scored a season-high 35 points, Carlos Boozer had 18 and Kyle Korver added 17 to lead Chicago over Washington.

One day after a four-point loss in Miami, the Bulls rebounded to improve their Eastern Conference-leading record to 18-5. They had dropped two of three.

Meanwhile, the Wizards have lost 16 of 20. Washington won two of its previous three games — both against the woeful Charlotte Bobcats, who have the worst record in the NBA.

MAVERICKS 122, SUNS 99

At Phoenix, Vince Carter scored 21 points against a Phoenix team that’s still paying him as Dallas took advantage of Steve Nash’s absence to rout the Suns.

Nash, the NBA assists leader, was out with a bruised left thigh.

Carter was waived by Phoenix when the lockout ended, but his contract still guaranteed him 4 million. He would have made 18 million had he stayed with Phoenix.

Delonte West scored a season-high 25 on 9-of-12 shooting.

76ERS 74, MAGIC 69

At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Philadelphia past Orlando for its third straight win.

The Sixers raced to their best start in nearly a decade by taking advantage of a soft schedule for the first third of the season, but it gets tough from here. Orlando was the first opponent in a long run of games against winning teams that includes home games this week against Chicago and Miami.

Led by Iguodala’s burst in the third quarter, the Sixers (15-6) outlasted the stumbling Magic and won despite posting their lowest point total of the season. Dwight Howard’s 17 points and 11 rebounds weren’t enough in Orlando’s fourth straight loss.

Ryan Anderson had 14 points and 20 rebounds.

TIMBERWOLVES 120, ROCKETS 108

At Houston, Michael Beasley scored 34 points, and Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists as Minnesota beat the Houston in coach Rick Adelman’s return.

Kevin Love had 29 points for the Timberwolves, who broke open a close game with 42 points in the third for their highest-scoring quarter this season.

SPURS 83, GRIZZLIES 73

At Memphis, Tennessee, Matt Bonner scored 15 points and Tim Duncan added 14 as San Antonio sent Memphis to its fourth straight loss.

Rookie forward Kawhi Leonard had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who snapped a two-game skid. Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, while Danny Green finished with 11.

O.J. Mayo led the Grizzlies with 17 points, shooting 7 of 11. Mike Conley had 15 points but Memphis was held to 37 percent shooting primarily because leading scorers Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol were a combined 3 of 18 from the field. Gay finished with one point, missing all seven of his shots.

BUCKS 103, PISTONS 82

At Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings had 21 points and reserve Mike Dunleavy added a season-high 20 as Milwaukee rolled to an easy victory over Detroit.

Drew Gooden shot 7 of 9 and scored 16 points for the Bucks, including seven straight in the third quarter during a decisive 12-2 run to open the second half. Detroit, which has lost five straight and nine of 10, never led in falling to 4-18.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 19 points, and Greg Monroe added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

JAZZ 93, TRAIL BLAZERS 89

At Salt Lake City, Paul Millsap had 19 points and 15 rebounds as Utah used a 13-0 fourth-quarter surge to beat Portland.

LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 25 points, including 14 in the third quarter as the Blazers built an 11-point lead. But the Jazz fought back, even without starting center Al Jefferson and guard Raja Bell, who did not play because of injuries.

Hayward finished with 12 points. Josh Howard had 11 points and seven rebounds in his first start for the Jazz.