LeBron James scored 34 points with 10 assists and seven rebounds Wednesday as the Miami Heat held off Oklahoma City 98-93 in a game billed as a possible preview of the NBA Finals. The Heat stretched their NBA home winning streak to 17 games, somewhat making up for a blowout defeat two weeks ago in Oklahoma city. Dwyane Wade, returning after sitting out Tuesday with a bruised left knee added 19 points for the Heat, who also got 12 from Chris Bosh. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 30 points and Russell Westbrook added 18 points in a game that turned testy at times. Thunder center Kendrick Perkins was assessed a technical foul and Westbrook a flagrant foul in two separate second quarter incidents. With the victory Miami improved to 39-14 and moved within two games of Chicago (42-13) for the NBA's best record. Oklahoma City fell to 40-14 and found themselves just one game in front of San Antonio for the best record in the West after the Spurs' dramatic 87-86 victory over Boston. Lakers 113, Clippers 108: The Lakers kept their noses ahead of the Clippers in the Pacific Division race with a tense victory in the battle between the well-matched Los Angeles teams. Much like the rivalry itself, the Lakers' early control dissolved into a tight affair before Kobe Bryant nailed a jumper to put his team four points ahead with 21 seconds left and his team held on. Bryant had 31 points and big man Andrew Bynum returned from a one-game absence with an ankle injury to score 36. Spurs 87, Celtics 86: Tim Duncan had 10 points and 16 rebounds as San Antonio won its ninth straight game, beating host Boston after blowing a 17-point lead. The reserve Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 19 points. Raptors 99, 76ers 78: Andrea Bargnani scored 24 points to lead visiting Toronto past Philadelphia as the Sixers lost for the eighth time in 12 games. Elton Brand and Jrue Holiday scored 20 points each for Philadelphia. Mavericks 95, Grizzlies 85: Host Dallas went on a 21-4 run in the fourth quarter to seize a victory over Memphis. Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points for the Mavericks. O. J. Mayo led the Grizzlies with 17 points. Pacers 109, Wizards 96: Indiana won its third straight game, making a season-high 58 percent of its shots to prevail in Washington. Danny Granger had 20 points for the Pacers. Jordan Crawford scored 28 to lead the Wizards. Suns 107, Jazz 105: Steve Nash scored only 13 points but made two shots in the final 14 seconds to lift Phoenix past host Utah. Paul Millsap led the Jazz with 25 points. Warriors 97, Wolves 94: Golden State rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat host Minnesota. David Lee had 31 points and 8 rebounds for the Warriors. Kevin Love had 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves. In other games Monta Ellis scored 30 points to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat Cleveland, 107-98; Josh Smith had 24 points as the host Atlanta Hawks handed Charlotte its ninth straight defeat, 120-93; The New Orleans Hornets won at home against Denver, 94-92, as Chris Kaman had 14 points and 10 rebounds; and Portland downed New Jersey 101-88.
