(The Sports Xchange) – – – -LeBron James received very little down time during a busy All-Star weekend but had plenty of energy in his return as he posted 42 points, nine rebounds and six assists while carrying the Miami Heat past the Dallas Mavericks 117-106.
Dallas led 95-92 when swingman Vince Carter completed a four-point play with 7:47 left in the game, but the Heat produced a 16-0 run to put things away.
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists
James wound up hitting 16-of-23 shots. Miami guard Dwyane Wade was limited to 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting, but also had seven assists.
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Pacers 108, Hawks 98
All-Star forward Paul George scored 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field and forward David West had 17 points and six rebounds as the Indiana Pacers downed the Atlanta Hawks.
Indiana (41-12) got off to a quick start in the second half of the NBA season. A 25-4 run during the middle of the first quarter put the Pacers on course to avoid back-to-back home losses for the first time this season.
Kyle Korver led Atlanta with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 from three-point range.
Atlanta (25-27) has lost a season-high six consecutive games.
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Grizzlies 98, Knicks 93
Point guard Mike Conley scored 22 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter, in his first game back from an ankle injury and the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the New York Knicks.
Conley had missed seven games with an ankle sprain, but he and swingman Mike Miller (19 points, nine in the fourth quarter and 5-for-7 from three-point range) brought the Grizzlies (30-23) back from a seven-point deficit with 5:39 to play.
Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr finished with 23 points, and Carmelo Anthony had a
double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds for New York (20-33).
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Bobcats 108, Pistons 96
Center Al Jefferson collected 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats won the first game of a home-and-home series with the Detroit Pistons.
Charlotte (24-30) moved 1 1/2 games ahead of Detroit in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The teams play again on Wednesday in Charlotte.
Point guard Brandon Jennings led the Pistons (22-31) with 24 points and seven assists.
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Cavaliers 114, 76ers 85
Center/forward Tyler Zeller recorded a season-high 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to a rout of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Cavaliers (21-33), who earned their fifth consecutive victory, received a 14-point contribution from guard Kyrie Irving, the MVP of Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Michael Carter-Williams and forward Thaddeus Young scored 15 points each to front Philadelphia (15-40), which lost its ninth straight.
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Raptors 103, Wizards 93
Point guard Kyle Lowry keyed a decisive third quarter and finished with 24 points and 10 assists as the Toronto Raptors returned from the All-Star break with a win over the Washington Wizards.
The Raptors (29-24) have won three straight games overall.
All-Star guard John Wall scored 22 points for the Wizards (25-28), who have lost three straight and five of six.
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Bucks 104, Magic 100
Guard Nate Wolters’ three-pointer with 29 seconds to play gave the Milwaukee Bucks the lead for good in a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Starting in place of guard Brandon Knight, who injured his foot earlier in the day, Wolters scored 15 points and finished with eight assists and seven rebounds.
The Magic (16-39) got 21 points from guard Aaron Afflalo.
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Spurs 113, Clippers 103
With injured San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker sitting out, Patty Mills came off the bench to score 18 of his 25 points in the second half as the Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers.
Mills connected on 9-of-15 shots from the floor. He also had five rebounds and five assists. Guard Marco Belinelli added 20 points, forward Tim Duncan had 19 points and 13 rebounds.
The Spurs (39-15) snapped a three-game winning streak for the Clippers (37-19) as well as handing Los Angeles a rare home defeat.
Forward Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 35 points and 12 rebounds, while guard Jamal Crawford finished with 25 points.
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Suns 112, Nuggets 107 (overtime)
Gerald Green scored eight of his career-high 36 points in overtime, and the Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets.
Goran Dragic had 21 points and 14 assists for Phoenix (31-21).
The Suns, a surprise playoff contender, swept the season series from the Nuggets (24-28).
Evan Fournier had career highs with 25 points and eight rebounds, for the Nuggets, who lost their fifth straight when they ran out of steam in overtime.
