James, Heat hold off Cavs; Trailblazers set record in win over Sixers

Miami Heat’s LeBron James drives around Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarret Jack during the first half of their game in Miami. AP

MIAMI — LeBron James scored 25 points against his former team, leading the Miami Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA on Saturday.

Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, who squandered a 19-point third-quarter lead and rallied from a two-point deficit with eight unanswered points late in the fourth quarter.

Ray Allen’s two free throws with 2:16 remaining capped the run and put the Heat ahead 106-100. Mario Chalmers’ corner 3-pointer with 1:36 left increased the lead to 109-101.

Kyrie Irving scored 19 points for the Cavaliers, who played the second half without coach Mike Brown. He was ejected late in the second quarter after he stormed onto the court looking for a foul on Shane Battier’s block of Alonzo Gee’s layup.

Bosh had a season-high 12 rebounds and James was one rebound and assist short of a triple-double.

TRAIL BLAZERS 139, 76ERS 105

PHILADELPHIA — LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 16 rebounds, Nicolas Batum added 17 points and Portland set a franchise record for 3-pointers with 21 against skidding Philadelphia.

Damian Lillard scored 16 and Dorell Wright had 15 on 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Wesley Matthews added 14 points for the Northwest Division leaders, who won their third in a row and improved to 20-4. They became the second NBA team to reach 20 wins, joining the Indiana Pacers (20-3).

Mo Williams also had 14 points for Portland, which put eight players in double figures and moved to 10-2 on the road.

Tony Wroten led the reeling Sixers with 18 points. The 76ers have dropped six straight and 10 of the last 11 games.

CLIPPERS 113, WIZARDS 97

WASHINGTON — Chris Paul had 38 points and 12 assists as Los Angeles shared the ball impeccably in a win over Washington.

The Clippers shot 56 percent to finish 4-3 on a road trip that included six Eastern Conference teams, leaving them 6-6 on the season against the pedestrian East and 10-3 against the mighty West.

Paul went 11 for 14 from the field, including 5 for 7 from 3-point range, and made all 11 of his free throws. Jamal Crawford, making his first start since April 2012, finished with 17 points. Blake Griffin added 16 points and nine rebounds. Jared Dudley also had 16 points.

John Wall had 24 points and 12 assists for the Wizards, who have lost four straight since reaching .500 for the first time since 2009. They have lost seven in a row when Nene (foot) doesn’t play and are 3-24 without the Brazilian forward since the beginning of last season.

LAKERS 88, BOBCATS 85

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 21 points as Los Angeles defeated Charlotte for its first win since Bryant returned from a torn Achilles tendon four games ago.

Bryant was 8 of 15 from the field and hit two free throws with 37 seconds left to put the Lakers ahead for good after they trailed most of the game. Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill had 15 points apiece for Los Angeles. Nick Young scored 13 off the bench.

Kemba Walker had 24 points and eight assists for the slumping Bobcats, who have lost three straight and five of seven. Ben Gordon’s 3-pointer fell short as time expired.

SPURS 100, JAZZ 84

SALT LAKE CITY — Tim Duncan had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead San Antonio to its fourth straight victory.

Tony Parker scored 15 points and Kawhi Leonard added 13 to help the Spurs coast comfortably past the Jazz after a big first-half run.

Sparked by his 23-point, 21-rebound performance against Atlanta on Dec. 2, Duncan has returned to vintage form after a slow start to the season. The 37-year-old forward is averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds over his last six games.

Trey Burke had 20 points and Gordon Hayward scored 18 for the Jazz, who shot 39 percent from the field.

KNICKS 111, HAWKS 106

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony scored 35 points, Andrea Bargnani added 23 and New York pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Atlanta.

Pablo Prigioni had a season-high 11 points and was a spark in the decisive 11-0 run midway through the final period as the Knicks finished strong one night after a fourth-quarter flop cost them in Boston.

Lou Williams scored a season-high 27 points in his best game since returning from knee surgery, but the Hawks committed 27 turnovers — most in the NBA this season — that led to 36 points and negated their 60.6 percent shooting.

Paul Millsap scored 18 but fouled out, and Al Horford finished with 17.

MAVERICKS 106, BUCKS 93

DALLAS — Brandan Wright scored 19 points in his season debut and Jose Calderon had 18 as Dallas shrugged off the absence of Dirk Nowitzki and coach Rick Carlisle to beat Milwaukee.

Nowitzki and Carlisle missed the game with an undisclosed illness. Carlisle has been fighting an upper respiratory problem since before a four-game road trip that started last week.

Wright, who missed the first 23 games with a shoulder injury, scored seven straight points in a 19-5 run that put Dallas in control early in the second quarter.

John Henson led the Bucks with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

RAPTORS 99, BULLS 77

CHICAGO — Kyle Lowry scored 16 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points and 11 rebounds in Toronto’s victory over Chicago.

DeMar DeRozan scored 15 and Amir Johnson added 14 points and eight rebounds to help the Raptors earn their second win in two nights after dropping six of seven. They led by 16 early in the third and pulled away in the fourth after the gap dwindled to four, sending the Bulls to their 10th loss in 13 games.

Luol Deng led Chicago with 17 points and Mike Dunleavy Jr. scored 14. The Bulls shot just 36 percent and were 6 of 18 on 3-pointers.