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December 27, 2010

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Heat burn Lakers in Xmas clash

Source: Agencies | December 27, 2010, Monday | Print Edition

THE Miami Heat gave their fans some Christmas cheer with a dominating 96-80 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

LeBron James collected 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while Chris Bosh added 24 points and 13 rebounds to ensure it would not be a happy holiday for the Lakers (21-9), who have now been blown out in two consecutive games.

The Lakers were hammered 98-79 by Milwaukee on Tuesday.

"I don't care if we lose by 20 or by one - I just don't like to lose," Kobe Bryant told reporters. "I'm just upset with how we're playing. These games mean more to our opponents than they do us and we need to correct that."

Bryant struggled to break down a stifling Miami defense and finished with just 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

Miami (23-9) seized the lead midway through the first quarter and never trailed after that, holding Los Angeles to 40 percent shooting for the game.

The Christmas Day meeting between the Lakers and Heat had been much anticipated since James and Bosh signed with Miami to join fellow All-Star Dwyane Wade.

Wade returned from a sore knee that kept him out of the Heat's previous game and had 18 points as Miami earned its 14th win in 15 games. Against the reigning two-time champion, the Heat raced out to a nine-point lead at halftime and built a 21-point advantage in the fourth.

"We don't pay much attention to the score but we're happy to win the game," Bosh said. "We made it tough on them. A (defensive game) is our type of game."

Los Angeles slogged through the opening quarter where it managed just 14 points, Bryant and Spain's Pau Gasol combined to shoot 0-for-11 from the field.

The Lakers left the court to a shower of jeers from the home fans. LA was also beaten on Christmas Day last year by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In Orlando, the hosts ended yet another long winning run, beating Boston 86-78 to snap the Celtics' 14-game streak.

Having halted San Antonio's 10-game run in the previous game, the new-look Magic got into its stride in the second half after Boston had taken a 12-point lead.

Revenge

Brandon Bass scored 21 points and Hedo Turkoglu added 16 for the Magic, who took a measure of revenge for last season's defeat by Boston in the Eastern Conference finals.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points for the Celtics in their first loss in over a month.

In New York, the home team limited Chicago to just two baskets in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, setting up a 103-95 victory over the Bulls.

Amare Stoudemire and Raymond Felton each scored 20 points for the Knicks, the NBA's highest-scoring team but 28th in defense. Stoudemire anchored the defensive effort, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking six shots.

In Oklahoma City, NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant had a season-high 44 points - 21 in the third quarter - for Thunders 114-106 win over Denver.

In Oakland, Golden State scored 11 straight points to erase a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat Portland 109-102.

Basketball

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