Heat blast Kings 128-99

Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers, right, drives against Sacramento Kings guard Isaiah Thomas during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013. Chalmers scored 34 points to lead the Heat in a 128-99 win over the Kings. AP

SACRAMENTO, California — Mario Chalmers had career highs with 10 3-pointers and 34 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 128-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

LeBron James had 20 points, seven assists, five steals and a pair of blocks for the Heat, who had a season-high point total. Miami, which hadn’t topped 100 points in its previous four games, got a needed bounceback win after losing two straight and five of eight since Dec. 26.

Chris Bosh had 16 points, Mike Miller 12 and Dwyane Wade 11 for Miami, which shot 56 percent from the field and went 17 for 37 from beyond the arc. Chalmers tied Brian Shaw’s franchise record for 3s and connected on 10-of-13 overall in breaking the previous record of nine 3s at Sleep Train Arena.

Isaiah Thomas made six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 34 points for the Kings, who dropped their fourth straight game.

MAGIC 104, CLIPPERS 101

LOS ANGELES — J.J. Redick gave Orlando its first lead on a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left, Arron Afflalo tied his season high with 30 points, and the Magic beat the Los Angeles Clippers to snap a 10-game skid.

The loss ended the Clippers’ franchise-record 13-game, home-winning streak and provided them with a scare when All-Star guard Chris Paul went down holding his right knee with 54 seconds to go. Paul returned after a timeout and hit a 15-footer to draw his team within one with 33 seconds left.

But the Clippers turned the ball over on Jamal Crawford’s offensive foul. Josh McRoberts found Nikola Vucevic open under the basket, and Vucevic dunked to extend Orlando’s lead to 104-101 with 8 seconds left.

After a timeout, Crawford missed a 3-pointer as time expired.

Redick had 21 points for the injury-riddled Magic, who ended the franchise’s longest skid since 2003-04.

Blake Griffin tied his season high with 30 points for the Clippers.

WIZARDS 93, HAWKS 83

WASHINGTON — John Wall gave his teammates a lift with 14 points and four assists in his first game of the season, and the worst-in-NBA Wizards have their first winning streak.

Wall’s playing time will be limited as he returns from a knee injury, but he appeared to have his old speed and explosiveness back while playing seven minutes in the first half and 15 in the second half.

No. 3 overall pick Bradley Beal, getting to play with Wall for the first time, scored 16 points for the Wizards, who are 6-28 but have strung together two wins in a row following their upset of Oklahoma City on Monday.

Jeff Teague scored 19 points, Al Horford had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Josh Smith added 11 points for the Hawks, who have lost five of six.

MAVERICKS 104, GRIZZLIES 83

DALLAS — Shawn Marion scored a season-high 20 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 17 and the Mavericks won consecutive games for the first time in a month.

All five starters scored in double figures for Dallas, with Chris Kaman scoring eight straight points in the third quarter and finishing with 14. O.J. Mayo had 11 and Darren Collison 10.

The Grizzlies were ragged a night after a big overtime win against Southwest Division-leading San Antonio. Memphis shot 38 percent and Rudy Gay was the only starter in double figures. He led the Grizzlies with 12 points.

76ERS 107, ROCKETS 100

PHILADELPHIA — Jrue Holiday scored 30 points, Thaddeus Young had 18 points and 12 rebounds and the 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak.

Jason Richardson scored 16 points for the Sixers, who finally return home for a lengthy stint as they try to play their way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Sixers opened a stretch of 12 home games in the next 13 and hope they can start to offset a miserable 2-6 road trip that stretched over the new year.

James Harden led the Rockets with 29 points and Chandler Parsons had 23. Jeremy Lin missed 11 of 13 shots for seven points.

Led by 24 points from Holiday, the Sixers built a 14-point lead in the third quarter, and found an offensive touch they’ve missed for most of the season.

SUNS 97, BULLS 81

CHICAGO — Luis Scola scored 22 points to help the Suns snap a five-game losing streak.

Michael Beasley added 20 points for Phoenix, which had lost 12 straight on the road and got its first win away from home since beating Cleveland on Nov. 27.

The Suns got the 2,000th win in franchise history, accomplishing the feat in their 3,599th game to become the fourth-fastest team to the reach the milestone.

Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Joakim Noah added 10 points and 13 boards for Chicago, which continued its inconsistent play at home with its fourth loss in the last six. The Bulls lost for just the second time in 13 games when both Boozer and Noah recorded double-doubles.

Chicago was whistled for four technical fouls, capped by coach Tom Thibodeau’s penalty with 3:57 left in the fourth.

JAZZ 90, PISTONS 87

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Al Jefferson scored 10 of his 20 points in the third quarter, and Utah rallied for the win.

Detroit’s Brandon Knight missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have tied the game after the Pistons trailed by 13 points with 3:26 left.

Jefferson helped the Jazz outscore Detroit 25-11 in the third, powering them to their first lead after trailing by as many as 15 points.

Utah also put together a 17-3 run after Austin Daye’s 3-pointer with 8:38 left gave the Pistons the lead for the last time.

Knight had 16 points and Greg Monroe scored 12 for the Pistons, who got a late lift from reserve Will Bynum, who scored 13 points.

Utah’s Paul Millsap and Randy Foye each scored 17.

PACERS 96, BOBCATS 88

INDIANAPOLIS — George Hill scored 19 points, D.J. Augustin added a season-high 18 and Indiana earned its fourth straight win.

Lance Stephenson had 17 points and David West scored 14 to help the Central Division-leading Pacers, playing without leading scorer Paul George (illness), get their sixth win in seven games.

Ben Gordon scored 21 points for the Bobcats, and Kemba Walker had 16 on 5-for-9 shooting.

Read more...