Associated Press
The NBA roundup …
ATLANTA ó LeBron James scored 43 points, including 23 in a dominant third quarter, and the Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 106-85 on Friday night.
Chris Bosh had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Dwyane Wade had 14 points as Miami rolled to the runaway win in its first visit of the season to Atlanta.
James made 16 of 21 shots, including five 3-pointers.
The Heat took the lead for good midway through the opening period and put the game away in such convincing fashion that James and the other starters sat out the final period.
Pacers 115, Bulls 108, OT
INDIANAPOLIS ó Tyler Hansbrough had 29 points and 12 rebounds to help Indiana beat Chicago in overtime, snapping the Bullsí eight-game winning streak.
Danny Granger scored 19 points and Darren Collison added 17 for the Pacers, who have won three of four.
Derrick Rose tied a career high with 42 points for the Bulls. He scored 19 points in the fourth quarter and made three free throws with 1.2 seconds left to force overtime. Luol Deng added 21 points for the Bulls.
Chicago entered the game with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and could have been the first team in the East to win 50 games.
Spurs 97, Mavericks 91
DALLAS ó Tony Parker scored 33 points, Manu Ginobili had 25 and Tim Duncan added 22, lifting San Antonio over Dallas.
Playing for the first time since losing to Miami by 30 on Monday night, the Spurs looked hungry and rested from the start, jumping ahead by 18 early in the second quarter. Then the Mavericks cranked up the defense and made things interesting.
Rockets 93, Celtics 77
HOUSTON ó Kevin Martin scored 25 points, rookie Patrick Patterson had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds and Houston routed Boston.
Kyle Lowry scored 20 and had nine assists and Chuck Hayes had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, whoíve won three in a row and moved within 11/2 games of Memphis in the race for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Jeff Green scored 17 points and Glen Davis added 16 for the Celtics, whoíve lost four of six. Boston slipped a half game behind Chicago for the best record in the East.
Thunder 99, Bobcats 82
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Serge Ibaka added 12 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Oklahoma City beat Charlotte.
James Harden added 21 points for the Thunder, who extended their winning streak to a season-best six games, all against Eastern Conference foes. The Thunder are 22-6 this season against the East with two games left, including against Toronto on Sunday.
The Thunder had won their last three games with defense, limiting Cleveland, Washington and Miami to sub-40 percent shooting. Charlotte shot 44.6 percent but the Thunder hit 52.8 percent of their shots and went on a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game.
1:Bucks 110, Nets 95
MILWAUKEE (AP) ó Carlos Delfino scored 26 points, making a career-high eight 3-pointers, and Milwaukee beat New Jersey to halt a three-game losing streak.
John Salmons added 25 points to help the Bucks, who still cling to hopes they can reach the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Milwaukee (27-41) is 21/2 games behind eighth-place Indiana and a game back of Charlotte in the Eastern Conference with 14 to play. The Bucks also are hoping to get Drew Gooden, Ersan Ilyasova and Michael Redd back from injuries in the next week.
Brook Lopez scored 25 points for his ninth straight game with at least 20, while Deron Williams had another tough shooting night despite 18 points as the Nets lost their second in two nights.
1:Raptors 116, Wizards 107
TORONTO (AP) ó Andrea Bargnani scored 33 points, DeMar DeRozan had 30 and Toronto handed hapless Washington its 13th loss in 14 games.
Jose Calderon had 17 points and Leandro Barbosa scored 15 for the Raptors, who won for just the sixth time in 31 games. Toronto had lost seven of nine.
Washington rookie Trevor Booker fouled out after scoring a career-high 26 points and matching his career best with 13 rebounds. One game after scoring a career-high 27 points, rookie Jordan Crawford had 25 for the Wizards.
Washington is 1-31 on the road, where it must play nine of its final 15 games.
The Associated Press
03/18/11 23:53