(The Sports Xchange) –The two-time NBA champion Miami Heat snapped a rare three-game losing streak, beating the Washington Wizards 99-90.
LeBron James led the Heat with 23 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals. However, he did not shoot a free throw for the second straight game, the first time that has happened since his rookie year.
Dwyane Wade, playing on back-to-back nights despite his sore knees for just the third time in 12 opportunities this season, looked fresh in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 of his 22 points.
The Heat (44-17) trails the Indiana Pacers by one game in the battle for the best record in the Eastern Conference. But the teams are tied in the loss column.
The Wizards fell to 33-30.
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Knicks 123, 76ers 110
The New York Knicks won their fourth straight game to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, turning back the Philadelphia 76ers.
Amar’e Stoudemire matched his season best with 23 points, and rookie guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 28 points for New York (25-40), which started the night two games behind Atlanta for the eighth and final berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Michael Carter-Williams registered a triple-double, scoring 23 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Philadelphia (15-48), which has lost 17 straight games, its longest losing streak since a franchise-high 20-game span in 1973.
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Nets 101, Raptors 97
An ailing Paul Pierce buried a three-pointer with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter to help lift the Nets to a win over the Toronto Raptors.
Pierce, who left Sunday’s win over the Kings with a bruised shoulder and was not expected to play on Monday, knocked down a three-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock to give the Nets a 97-94 lead.
Brooklyn (32-30) stretched its season-high home winning streak to eight games while the Raptors (35-27) had their three-game win streak snapped despite 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Kyle Lowrie.
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Bobcats 105, Nuggets 98
Al Jefferson had 26 points and 13 rebounds, guard Kemba Walker scored 24 points, and newly acquired guard Gary Neal scored 19 as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Denver Nuggets.
The Bobcats led by 12 points in the first half and 14 in the second as they matched a franchise record by winning their seventh straight at home.
They are now 30-34 and comfortably in seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Nuggets fell to 27-36 and lost for the eighth time in their last 10 games.
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Bucks 105, Magic 98
Point guard Brandon Knight scored nine of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and forward Khris Middleton hit three three-pointers in the final period as the Bucks rallied for a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Middleton finished with 21 points for the Bucks (13-50), who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Orlando (19-46) made seven of 16 three-pointers through the first three quarters but missed five of seven long-distance attempts in the fourth.
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Clippers 112, Suns 105
Clippers forward Blake Griffin scored 37 points and got into a fourth-quarter skirmish with Suns guard P.J. Tucker in Los Angeles’ victory over Phoenix.
Griffin and Tucker got into a scuffle with 5:28 left. The two got tangled up on the floor under the Clippers’ basket, and Tucker appeared to punch Griffin before players from both teams intervened. Tucker was ejected.
The Clippers (45-20) won their eighth in a row and beat the Suns for the second time in the past week. The Suns (36-27), who lost to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, fell for the second time in as many nights.
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Hawks 112, Jazz 110
Kyle Korver scored 26 points on eight-of-12 shooting, and forward Paul Millsap added 23 points to help the Atlanta Hawks escape with victory over the Utah Jazz.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Hawks (27-35).
Trey Burke had 23 points to lead the Jazz, including two three-pointers in the final five seconds to tighten the score, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Jazz (22-42) from suffering their sixth loss in the past seven games.
