(The Sports Xchange) – Chicago dominated the second-chance points 27-6 and started the overtime period with seven of them, leading to a 95 points to 888 victory over Miami on Sunday.
Joakim Noah had a monster game, finishing with 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks for the Bulls (35-28), while Jimmy Butler finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and stripped a LeBron James layup attempt that ended regulation.
Miami (43-17) lost its third straight game overall. Dwyane Wade, a Chicago native, led Miami with 25 points. James finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but hit just 8 of 23 shots from the field.
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Mavericks 105, Pacers 94
The Dallas Mavericks knocked off a second consecutive NBA heavyweight, beating the Indiana Pacers to hand the Eastern Conference leaders their fourth straight defeat.
Guard Devin Harris came off the bench to contribute 20 points, five assists and four steals for the Mavericks (38-26) and Monta Ellis also scored 20 and grabbed eight rebounds.
Dallas also beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
Paul George had game highs in points (27) and rebounds (11) but the skid continued for the Pacers (46-17) who stayed 1 ? games ahead of Miami after the Heat also lost.
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Rockets 118, Trail Blazers
113 (Overtime)
After giving the Rockets their first lead with a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, guard Jeremy Lin gave Houston the lead for good with his fadeaway jumper with 1:22 left in an overtime victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Rockets (44-19) extended their home winning streak to eight games by erasing a 12-point deficit entering the fourth quarter. Houston also claimed the season series against the Blazers (42-21) as Lin scored 26 points off the bench and served to compliment guard James Harden.
Harden finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six steals in the victory.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Blazers.
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Warriors 113, Suns 107
Klay Thompson poured in 13 of his 22 points during a game-changing third quarter, helping the Golden State Warriors run away from the Phoenix Suns.
In a battle of teams jockeying for lower-end playoff positions in the Western Conference, the Warriors (40-24) pulled three games ahead of the Suns (36-26) while at the same time tying the season series 2-2.
The 38-point period included a 16-0 flurry.
Gerald Green hit three of his five 3-pointers en route to 25 points.
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Lakers 114, Thunder 110
Jodie Meeks scored a career-high 42 points, including 20 in the third quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Meeks connected on 11 of 18 shots from the field, including 6 of 11 on 3-pointers, and the Lakers (22-42) ended a three-game losing streak and handed the Thunder (46-17) their second straight defeat.
Kevin Durant recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, but Oklahoma City fell to second place to San Antonio (46-16) in the Western Conference.
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Pelicans 111, Nuggets
107 (Overtime)
Second-year forward Anthony Davis scored 32 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked six shots — including a critical layup attempt by point guard Ty Lawson in overtime — to power the New Orleans Pelicans to a victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The Pelicans (26-37) trailed 94-90 with 1:20 left in regulation but sent the game into overtime on two free throws by guard Brian Roberts and a 15-foot jumper by guard Anthony Morrow with .9 second left.
Kenneth Faried had 22 points for Denver (27-35), but it wasn’t enough.
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Raptors 111, Timberwolves 104
Kyle Lowry got a triple double (20 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists), and six Raptors scored 12 or more points as Toronto overpowered Minnesota.
The Timberwolves got 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists from forward Kevin Love. But shaky team defense doomed the Wolves (31-31) to their second loss in three games, both at home.
The Raptors (35-26) shot 48.7 percent overall and better than 58 percent on 3-pointers while winning its third straight game and its sixth in seven.
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Celtics 118, Pistons 111
The Boston Celtics exploded for a 38-point third quarter and went on to defeat the Detroit Pistons.
The 38 points were a third-quarter high this season for the Celtics (22-41) who got 18 assists from Rajon Rondo.
Detroit’s mammoth frontcourt of center Andre Drummond and forwards Josh Smith and Greg Monroe combined for 68 points and 47 rebounds.
The Pistons, though, fell to 3-10 under interim coach John Loyer since Maurice Cheeks was fired.
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Nets 104, Kings 89
Playing against his former team, Nets guard Marcus Thornton recorded 27 points off the bench, helping Brooklyn beat the Sacramento Kings.
The Nets (31-30) won for the fifth time in six games.
Thornton was acquired by Brooklyn in a trade that sent forward Reggie Evans and guard Jason Terry to the Kings on Feb. 20.
DeMarcus Cousins had 28 points and 20 rebounds in the loss for the Kings (22-41).
