MIAMI'S LeBron James had 33 points and 13 assists as the host Heat made light of the absence of Dwayne Wade by crushing the Indiana Pacers 118-83 in the NBA yesterday.

Chris Bosh added 22 points as the Heat turned up the defensive intensity without their star guard. Wade sat out with a sore left foot, and his status for today's game at Atlanta is uncertain.

Wade, a six-time All-Star, injured his foot in the second quarter at Charlotte on December 28. He missed the first 10 minutes of the third period but played regular minutes the rest of the game and in the two that followed.

Roy Hibbert had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Indiana.

BULLS 99, PISTONS 83

In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 14 points in his return to The Palace as Chicago shut down Detroit.

Hamilton started after missing the previous two games with a sore groin. He received a warm welcome from Detroit fans, appreciative of the nine years he gave the Pistons before being waived prior to this season.

Derrick Rose had 17 points and 10 assists for the Bulls, who had five players in double figures as they won their 12th in a row over Detroit.

Greg Monroe had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, while guard Rodney Stuckey sat out the second half with a groin strain.


BOBCATS 118, KNICKS 110

In New York, Boris Diaw rebounded from a dreadful game a night earlier with a season-high 27 points as Charlotte snapped a four-game losing skid with victory over New York.

Gerald Henderson added 24 for the Bobcats, who capped a three-game road trip by winning for the first time since their season opener.

The return from injury of Amare Stoudemire and Iman Shumpert put the Knicks' offense back on track but they simply couldn't guard Charlotte.

Stoudemire had 25 points and 12 rebounds after missing two games with a sprained ankle. Shumpert scored 18 off the bench.

MAVERICKS 98, SUNS 89

In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points in his 1,000th NBA game to lead Dallas over Phoenix.

Jason Terry had 18 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, to help the defending NBA champions string together consecutive wins for the first time this season.

Steve Nash had 15 points and 12 assists for the Suns.

SPURS 101, WARRIORS 95

In San Antonio, Tony Parker scored San Antonio's final six points to lead the Spurs past Golden State.

The Spurs were playing their first game without leading scorer Manu Ginobili, who will have surgery on his broken left hand and is expected to be out at least two months. The Warriors, meanwhile, lost Stephen Curry to a sprained ankle in the third quarter.

Monta Ellis scored 38 points on 15-of-30 shooting to lead Golden State. The Warriors led 75-70 entering the fourth quarter but Parker scored 10 points in the period.

The Spurs have won 27 straight games at home against the Warriors, last losing in 1996-97.

CELTICS 89, NETS 70

In Boston, Paul Pierce scored nine of his 24 points during a game-breaking, third-quarter run that helped Boston overcome New Jersey.

Avery Bradley hit his first career 3-pointer for the Celtics, who have won four straight since dropping all three on a season-opening road trip.

Boston broke it open with an 18-3 run to close the third quarter.

MarShon Brooks' 17 points in his first career start led the Nets, who have lost six straight since a season-opening win at Washington.

New Jersey was without injured trio Deron Williams, Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez and lost Damion James to a foot injury in the second quarter.

RAPTORS 92, CAVALIERS 77

In Toronto, Andrea Bargnani scored 31 points to lift Toronto to a comfortable win over Cleveland.

DeMar DeRozan added 25 points for the Raptors, who took the lead late in the first quarter and held it the rest of the way for their second victory of the season over the Cavaliers.

Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with 19 points.

MAGIC 103, WIZARDS 85

In Orlando, Dwight Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds as Orlando overran winless Washington.

Ryan Anderson added 23 points and 15 rebounds for the Magice, who had four players in double figures while beating the Wizards for the seventh straight time.

The Wizards got 17 points from Nick Young, but shot poorly all night and trailed by as many as 28 in falling to 0-6 for the first time in franchise history. They remain the NBA's only winless team.

76ERS 101, HORNETS 93

In New Orleans, Jrue Holiday scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, leading Philadelphia over New Orleans.

Holiday, who was 3 for 9 from the field after three quarters, drained three 3-pointers and five of six shots the rest of the way. The 76ers trailed 73-67 at the end of the third, but Holiday scored 10 points as Philadelphia took the lead and pulled away.

Evan Turner added 21 points for the 76ers, who won for the third time during a franchise-record five-game road trip to start the season.

Eric Gordon led New Orleans with 22 points after missing four consecutive games with a bruised knee.

GRIZZLIES 90, TIMBERWOLVES 86

In Minneapolis, Rudy Gay had 19 points and eight rebounds, lifting Memphis over Minnesota in its first game since learning Zach Randolph would be out for six to eight weeks.

O.J. Mayo scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Kevin Love had 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, becoming the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to record 20 points and 12 rebounds in each of his team's first six games.

NUGGETS 110, KINGS 83

In Denver, Al Harrington scored 15 points as Denver won its third straight, downing Sacramento.

Rudy Fernandez had 12 points to go with eight assists for the Nuggets, who have won their past six meetings with the Kings in Denver.

Playing the second of three games in three days, the Kings played from behind most of the night and lost guard Tyreke Evans for the last two quarters after he became ill.

The Kings, who remained winless in three road games this season, got 26 points from DeMarcus Cousins who was playing his second game since returning from a one-game team suspension for demanding a trade. Cousins denied making the demand.