MIAMI — The Miami Heat stretched their record win streak to 25 straight games Friday but once again they had to dig deep in the second half to rally past a spirited opponent. The Heat, who own the second-longest streak in National Basketball Association history, beat the Detroit Pistons 103-89 behind a game-high 29-point effort from LeBron James. James shot 12-of-15 from the field and finished with eight rebounds and eight assists for the Heat in front of a crowd of 20,350 at American Airlines Arena. Miami now trails the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers — who hold the NBA record — by eight games for the longest winning streak ever. Miami got off to another slow start and trailed the Pistons 54-51 at halftime. The Heat had to battle back from two big deficits in their previous two games before facing Detroit. Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player James said he's not worried about the slow starts because the Heat know they can always grind teams down in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade had 19 points and Shane Battier scored eight of his 11 points in a dominant second half by the Heat. Knicks 99, Raptors 94: The New York Knicks clinched a playoff spot for the third year in a row as they survived a late push from the Toronto Raptors to pick up a 99-94 victory. Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 36 points while Kenyon Martin had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Alan Anderson had 33 points for the Raptors, including 20 in the second quarter alone. Thunder 97, Magic 89: Kevin Durant had 25 points, including 11 in the final six minutes, to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 97-89 victory over the Orlando Magic. The Thunder (51-19) snapped a two-game losing streak while the Magic (18-52) lost their sixth consecutive game. Durant came to the rescue after a second-half Magic rally that tied the game at 86-86. He added eight rebounds. Russell Westbrook had 19 points and nine assists. Serge Ibaka had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Magic rookie Maurice Harkless scored a career-high 25 points, including 18 in the second half to lead the Magic comeback. Tobias Harris had 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Trail Blazers 104, Hawks 93: The Portland Trail Blazers, fighting for their playoff lives, rode the three-point shot late to beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-93. Wesley Matthews led the Blazers with 28 points, including 10 points in the second quarter while cashing in on 5-of-8 3-pointers. Pacers 102, Bucks 78: Tyler Hansbrough scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Indiana Pacers' 102-78 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Paul George added 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Pacers. Monta Ellis scored a team-high 22 points for Milwaukee. Rockets 116, Cavaliers 78: Rockets center Omer Asik provided the oomph Houston needed to control the interior throughout the Rockets' 116-78 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Asik recorded his 29th double-double, pairing 13 points with 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes as the Rockets (38-31) dominated the Cavaliers (22-47) on the glass. Hornets 90, Grizzlies 83: Robin Lopez scored 23 points, including a critical rebound follow with 1:11 left, and rookie Anthony Davis had 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 90-83 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Mavericks 104, Celtics 94: The Boston Celtics still haven't recovered from their draining home defeat against the Miami Heat earlier this week and dropped their second consecutive road game, 104-94 to the Dallas Mavericks. Spurs 104, Jazz 97: Tony Parker had 22 points in his return to the San Antonio Spurs, as they defeated the Utah Jazz 104-97 in overtime. Tim Duncan added 19 points and 16 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard also had 21 and Danny Green 15 as San Antonio (53-16) welcomed back their All Star point guard. Wizards 103, Lakers 100: John Wall finished with 24 points and a career high 16 assists as Washington rallied from an 18-point deficit to edge Los Angeles 103-100 Friday, spoiling the return of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Trevor Ariza scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who trailed by 18 (59-41) a minute into the third quarter. — Agencies
