MIAMI – LeBron James scored 30 points, Dwyane Wade added 21 points and seven assists, and the Miami Heat rode the strength of a big third-quarter run to beat the Utah Jazz 105-89 on Saturday night.
James added nine rebounds and seven assists for the Eastern Conference-leading Heat, who won their fourth straight game and next play on Christmas against Oklahoma City in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals. Shane Battier scored 15 and Ray Allen added 13 for Miami, which opened the second half on a 22-6 run to build a 69-49 lead.
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Marvin Williams scored 16 for Utah, which got 15 from Gordon Hayward and 11 from Paul Millsap.
The Jazz played the second half without Mo Williams, who appeared to hurt his right thumb. Miami was without Chris Bosh, home with what the team said was a cold.
PISTONS 96, WIZARDS 87: Charlie Villanueva scored 19 points, Rodney Stuckey added 18 and Detroit got its second win in as many nights over Washington.
It was only the second time this season that Detroit had won consecutive games.
The Wizards, who trailed throughout the game, have lost seven straight and dropped to an NBA-worst 3-22.
For the second straight night, Detroit had 58 rebounds, a season high.
HAWKS 92, BULLS 75: Al Horford had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and every Atlanta starter scored in double figures as the Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak.
Lou Williams added 16 points in his first start, and the Atlanta native led the way as the Hawks outscored the Bulls 61-33 in the second and third quarters combined. Both teams played on Friday, but the Bulls were the only one that looked tired.
Luol Deng paced Chicago with 11 points, but the Bulls (15-11) couldn’t build on its 110-106 victory over the Knicks in New York on Friday. The Hawks (16-9), however, bounced back from a poor fourth-quarter performance in a 99-80 loss at Philadelphia.
ROCKETS 121, GRIZZLIES 96: James Harden scored 31 points with eight assists, and Houston earned its third straight win.
The Grizzlies entered the game allowing an NBA-low 89.2 points a game. But they had no answer for Harden. He did all his scoring in the first three quarters and reached at least 20 points for an eighth straight game.
Memphis hadn’t allowed 100 points since the Clippers scored 101 in the season-opener – an NBA-best streak of 23 games.
CAVALIERS 94, BUCKS 82: Dion Waiters scored 18 points and Cleveland snapped a six-game losing streak.
PACERS 81, HORNETS 75: David West scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and Indiana overcame a 22-point deficit to hand New Orleans its 11th straight loss.
KINGS: DeMarcus Cousins was suspended indefinitely for “unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team.”
Cousins and Coach Keith Smart exchanged words in the locker room during halftime of Sacramento’s 97-85 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
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