(The Sports Xchange) – Dwyane Wade scored 32 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 106-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a match-up against good friend and former team mate LeBron James.
Wade scored 21 of his points in the first half, when the Heat built an 18-point lead, and point guard Goran Dragic had 20 points and nine assists as Miami (30-36) moved into a tie with Indiana for the last two playoff spots in the East.
James had 26 points, two rebounds and four assists, while Kyrie Irving had 21 points but none in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland (43-26), currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference, had its four-game win streak snapped. The Cavaliers only led the game once, 2-0 after scoring the opening basket.
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Warriors 108, Lakers 105
The Golden State Warriors clinched an NBA playoff spot for the third consecutive season with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Klay Thompson led the way with 26 points for the NBA-best Warriors (53-13), who got a surprise scare from the Lakers.
Jordan Clarkson tallied 17 points for Los Angeles, who committed a turnover on their final possession to end the game.
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Grizzlies 92, Nuggets 81
Zach Randolph scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds, his 34th double-double of the season, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The Grizzlies (47-20) moved two games clear of Portland for second place in the Western Conference.
Jameer Nelson had 24 points to lead the Nuggets, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
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Mavericks 119, Thunder 115
Chandler Parsons scored a game-high 31 points and Dirk Nowitzki drove a third-quarter comeback as the Dallas Mavericks tripped the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Mavs trailed by 15 points in the third before Nowitzki dropped three three-pointers and scored 13 of his 22 points in the quarter.
Dallas (43-25) sits fifth in the West with the win.
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Hawks 110, Kings 103
Jeff Teague scored 23 points and Kent Bazemore canned a key three-pointer with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Kings.
Bazemore, who finished with 11 points, sank the long-range bomb from the right corner after Sacramento had closed to 100-99 on guard Andre Miller’s layup with 2:11 left.
The Hawks (53-14) were without guard Kyle Korver who broke his nose on Sunday and will miss at least two more games.
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Wizards 105, Trail Blazers 97
Bradley Beal scored 23 points and John Wall nearly recorded a triple-double as the surging Washington Wizards fended off the Portland Trail Blazers.
Wall finished with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Wizards (39-28), who almost blew a 25-point lead.
Washington has won four straight games and six of eight after losing 11-of-13 from Jan. 28 through Feb.27.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Portland (44-21).
