Heat avoid epic collapse in Philly
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PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade had 12 points and 10 rebounds and the Miami Heat held on to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 84-78 on Friday night.
The Heat almost had an epic collapse after leading by 29 points in the third quarter. Led by a hard-charging Lou Williams and Evan Turner, the Sixers sliced Miami’s lead to four points.
James, though, refused to let the lead completely slip away. He hit a pull-up jumper and sank a pair of free throws in the final 90 seconds to help the Heat end a four-game road losing streak. The Heat had lost two straight games overall.
Sixers part owner Will Smith brought his power family — wife Jada Pinkett Smith and son Jaden Smith — to the Wells Fargo Center, and sat courtside for the second time this season. He stood and applauded when the Sixers went on their burst, and waved and smiled at fans.
Turner had 13 points, Williams 12, and Andre Iguodala had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Smith, filming a movie in the area, showed up at halftime and worked his movie star mojo on the Sixers.
Down 61-32 early in the third, the Sixers whittled the lead to 13 by the end of the quarter, then got hot in the fourth. Jodie Meeks hit a 3-pointer, followed with a dunk, then Turner made a 3 to cut it to 73-68.
Turner has turned into Philadelphia’s best player since his recent promotion to the starting lineup. He had six points through three quarters, but scored seven in the first 9 minutes of the fourth. His jumper made it a five-point game, and then he fought for an offensive rebound and wiggled his way through a pair of defenders to make it 77-72.
Knicks 115, Pacers 100
NEW YORK — Tyson Chandler scored 16 points, Jeremy Lin had 13, and the New York Knicks rolled to their second straight dominant victory under Mike Woodson, beating the Indiana Pacers.
Reserves JR Smith (16 points) and Steve Novak (12) had big games again for the Knicks in the opener of a home-and-home series. Two nights after beating Portland by 42 on the day Mike D’Antoni resigned, New York led this one by as much as 32 and shut down Pacers star Danny Granger, who had angered them by saying Friday and Saturday were two “very winnable games.”
Instead, the Pacers never led and had their two-game winning streak snapped. Granger shot 4 of 15 for nine points, while All-Star Roy Hibbert was 2 of 8 and scored four. Darren Collison led Indiana with 15 points.
Magic 86, Nets 70
ORLANDO, Fla. — Dwight Howard scored 18 points, Jameer Nelson and Glen Davis each had 13 and the Orlando Magic easily beat the New Jersey Nets.
Ryan Anderson added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who built a 20-point lead and cruised from there. Orlando won for the fourth time in five games and extended its winning streak against the Nets to 10.
Reserve Gerald Green scored 15 points to lead the Nets. DeShawn Stevenson, who scored 11 points, was the only New Jersey starter to reach double figures.
Hawks 102, Wizards 88
ATLANTA — Joe Johnson matched his season high with 34 points, including the first two baskets of a decisive 11-0 run in the fourth quarter, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards.
Josh Smith had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Hawks.
Trevor Booker scored 18 points for the Wizards, who have lost eight straight in Atlanta since 2008.
After trailing 54-50 at halftime, the Hawks took the lead with a 24-8 run that turned a 60-56 deficit in the third quarter into an 80-68 lead less than 3 minutes into the final period. After the Wizards scored six straight, the Hawks stretched the lead with an 11-0 run which started with back-to-back baskets by Johnson.
Trail Blazers 100, Bulls 89
CHICAGO (AP) — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and Wesley Matthews added 18 and the revamped Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Chicago Bulls 100-89 on Friday.
After an emotional victory against the Heat without Derrick Rose on Wednesday, the Bulls were unable to win a second straight game with the reigning MVP sitting on the bench with a strained groin.
One day after trading starters Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby then firing head coach Nate McMillan, the Blazers hung with the Bulls through three quarters then pulled away in the fourth quarter.
