Heat Streak Reaches 20 – NBA Roundup For March 14th

UNDATED (AP) — It wasn't the Miami Heat's best game of the season, but it was good enough for them to become the fourth team in NBA history to win 20 straight games in a single season.

LeBron James poured in 27 points and Dwyane (dwayn) Wade added 21 as the Heat rallied to beat the 76ers 98-94 in Philadelphia. The Heat blew a 12-point halftime lead and trailed 83-82 with 5:26 remaining before winning the opener of a five-game road trip.

The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, 2007-08 Houston Rockets and the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks are the only other NBA teams with winning streaks of at least 20 games in one season.

Oklahoma City is within one game of West-leading San Antonio after the Thunder clobbered Utah 110-87 to improve to 29-4 at home. Kevin Durant contributed five points and six turnovers in the first 22 minutes before finishing with a team-high 23 points. Russell Westbrook added 19 points and Kevin Martin had 15 as the Thunder sent the Jazz to their eighth loss in 10 games.

Also in the NBA, Denver picked up its 10th consecutive win as Wilson Chandler scored 24 points to lead six Nuggets in double-figures during a 117-94 romp over New York. Former Nugget Carmelo Anthony scored just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting in his first game back in Denver as the Knicks were blown out for the second straight game.

Marc Gasol (gah-SAHL') scored 21 points and Tayshaun Prince delivered 18 as Memphis topped the Los Angeles Clippers 96-85. Mike Conley added 17 points and 11 assists in the Grizzlies' sixth straight victory and 14th in their last 15 games.

Indiana was a 107-91 winner against Minnesota behind Roy Hibbert's season-high 27 points and 12 rebounds. Paul George had 17 points and George Hill added 16 points with six assists to the win.

Tyreke (ty-REEK') Evans dropped in 26 points and Isaiah Thomas added 22 as Sacramento ripped Chicago 121-79. The Bulls trailed by 29 at halftime and fell into a tie with Boston and Atlanta for fifth place in the East.

Kevin Garnett passed Jerry West for 15th on the NBA's career scoring list while contributing 12 points in Boston's 112-88 rout of Toronto. Paul Pierce cracked the top-20 in all-time scoring and finished with 15 points.

Stephen (STEH'-fehn) Curry had 31 points and eight assists in Golden State's 105-97 win over Detroit. David Lee finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Jarrett Jack added 19 points and five assists to help the Warriors improve to 4-2 on their seven-game homestand.

Donatas Motiejunas (doh-NAH'-tuhs moh-tay-YOO'-nuhs) scored a career-high 19 points in Houston's 111-81 pounding of Phoenix. James Harden hit three three-pointers and finished with 18 points to help the Rockets beat the Suns for only the fourth time in their last 14 meetings.

John Wall's 23 points and 10 assists led Washington's 106-93 win over Milwaukee. Wall also had six rebounds and four assists in the Wizards' third straight home win.

ATLANTA (AP) — Just when the Lakers were finally looking like the team everyone expected them to be, Kobe Bryant crumpled to the court.

Now, that playoff push in Los Angeles looks a lot more tenuous.

Bryant went down with a severely sprained left ankle after missing a game-tying shot in the closing seconds of a 96-92 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

While X-rays were negative, the Lakers said their star was out indefinitely. Bryant conceded it was the worst ankle sprain of his 16-year career but wouldn't speculate on how long he might be out.

The 34-year-old said, "I'll just do what I have to do."

With 16 games left in the regular season, Los Angeles holds a half-game lead over Utah for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani (ahn-DRAY'-uh barn-YAH'-nee) is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season with an elbow injury.

The Raptors say the injury is not related to Bargnani's previous right elbow ailment that forced him to miss 26 games earlier this season.