The Miami Heat were in danger of losing two straight home games for the first time all season, but a big fourth quarter vaulted them to a 102-97 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. The Heat outscored the Raptors 23-13 in the fourth quarter, ending a five-game winning streak for Toronto.
2014 NBA scores: Heat end Raptors’ 5-game winning streak, Knicks hold off Mavericks
The Heat owned the Raptors in the fourth quarter, the Knicks withstood a charge from the Mavs and the rest of the action from around the NBA on Sunday.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Raptors led by as many as nine in the third quarter, but the Heat surged ahead in the fourth quarter thanks to their defense. Toronto did have some chances in the final minute, but Amir Johnson missed a potential go-ahead hook shot and Kyle Lowry missed a three that would have tied the game.
LeBron James had 30 points to lead the Heat, while Michael Beasley scored 17 points off the bench. Chris Andersen fouled out in just 16 minutes, but he did this before doing so:
DeMar DeRozan led the Raptors with 26 points and seven assists.
New York Knicks 92, Dallas Mavericks 80
The suddenly revitalized Knicks finished their Texas swing 2-1 thanks to a solid win in Dallas despite Tyson Chandler leaving the game early with an upper respiratory illness. Carmelo Anthony had 19 points, with 15 of those coming in a big first quarter.
New York led by 12 after one quarter and opened up a 17-point lead at the half. The Mavs did put forth a comeback attempt and trimmed their deficit to six with 1:32 left, but Iman Shumpert nailed a clutch three to seal the deal. In addition to getting the win, J.R. Smith made sure to have a little extra fun:
Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points to lead Dallas. The Mavs shot just 41.0 percent for the game and went 6-of-26 from long range.
Memphis Grizzlies 112, Detroit Pistons 84
Jon Leuer had 23 points off the bench as the Grizzlies embarrassed the Pistons in Detroit. Ed Davis also had a big game off the bench, notching a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Memphis' bench tallied 52 points on the night.
Detroit actually led by five at halftime, but the second half was an absolute disaster. The Pistons managed just 28 points in the second half while the defense was pretty much just as bad.
Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, the Pistons' two main offseason acquisitions, went a combined 8-of-31 from the field. Detroit has lost four straight games.
The Cavs put up a valiant fight against the mighty Pacers despite being without Kyrie Irving and Jarrett Jack, but a late gaffe by Earl Clark ended a furious comeback attempt.
Cleveland trailed by as many as 16 points in the fourth quarter, but Dion Waiters got hot and keyed a rally. However, Waiters missed a chance to tie the game late, and after Roy Hibbert split a pair of free throws to keep the margin at just three, Clark committed an awful turnover by stepping out of bounds.
Paul George had 16 points and six assists for Indiana. C.J. Miles scored a game-high 21 points for Cleveland.
The sizzling Warriors used a huge run at the start of the third quarter to run away from the slumping Wizards. Golden State has won nine games in a row, while Washington has dropped three in a row.
The game was tied at halftime before the Warriors went on a 30-5 run to start the second half. The game was never really close after that.
Klay Thompson had 26 points and six threes for Golden State. Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 11 rebounds, with two of his points coming in interesting fashion:
John Wall had 14 points and 10 assists, but he shot just 4-of-11 from the field.
Oklahoma City Thunder 119, Boston Celtics 96
Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead the Thunder to an easy home victory. Kevin Durant added 21 points and Kendrick Perkins even poured in 12.
The Thunder led throughout essentially the entire game, with Jackson scoring 11 points in the first quarter to help build up an eight-point lead. Oklahoma City shot 51.8 percent overall and went 9-of-19 from three.
Jeff Green and Avery Bradley both had 19 points for Boston. The Celtics have lost four straight games.
Denver Nuggets 137, Los Angeles Lakers 115
Nate Robinson had 21 points and put on a dunking display in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets embarrassed the Lakers at the Staples Center.
Robinson was one of seven Nuggets to score in double figures. Denver scored 44 points in the fourth quarter to turn the game into a rout, with Robinson adding insult to injury with his antics:
While their defense was a joke, the Lakers did get a few nice performances. Pau Gasol had 25 points and 10 rebounds with trade rumors swirling around him, while Kendall Marshall handed out 17 assists.
More from SB Nation NBA:
See More:
