MIAMI: The Miami Heat extended their franchise-best winning streak to 18 games by beating mistake-prone Indiana 105-91 yesterday, avenging two one-sided losses to the Pacers earlier this season.
Dwyane Wade had 23 points and a half dozen steals and Chris Bosh shot 11-of-15 from the field and finished with 24 points for the Heat, who lost by double-digits in both previous contests to Indiana this season.
Miami’s 18-game winning streak ties the sixth-longest run in National Basketball Association history and they can match the 2008 Boston Celtics’ 19-game win streak with a victory over the Atlanta Hawks today.
Mario Chalmers had a game high 26 points and nailed five-of-six three pointers and LeBron James added 13 points and seven assists in the win.
David West scored a team-high 24 points for the Pacers, who committed 18 turnovers.
Paul George struggled, shooting just two-of-11 from the field for Indiana, which were the last team to defeat the Heat back in the beginning of February.
Chalmers made it 15-14 by sinking three free throws in the opening quarter to give the Heat a lead they would keep for the rest of the contest.
Miami finished the half on a 10-2 run to lead 56-46 going into the break.
Indiana closed out the third quarter on a 9-0 run of its own to make it 79-65 going into the fourth.
But then Miami found their scoring touch again in the fourth as the Heat cruised to its 14th win in a row at home.
Meanwhile, sfter two huge comebacks in a week, the Los Angeles Lakers lived easy in a 90-81 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
As they push toward a playoff berth that at one point seemed a faint possibility - moving into the Western Conference No. 8 seed, a half-game better than idle Utah - the Lakers could use the relaxation.
Four days after a 25-point comeback in a win at New Orleans and two days after a 15-point comeback against the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles glided to the win behind a balanced offensive effort and the defence of Dwight Howard.
Six Lakers scored in double-figures, led by Kobe Bryant’s 19, and Howard scored 16 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Oklahoma City beat Boston 91-79 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Trailing by 14 with 2:45 left in the game, Boston tried to make one last run. Jason Terry drained consecutive 3-pointers to cut lead to 87-79 with 2:10 on the clock.
The Celtics (34-28) came up with another defensive stop and set Jeff Green up for a 3-pointer. But with a defender flying at him, his shot was off the mark.
The Thunder (47-16) got the rebound and Russell Westbrook ran the clock down to 37 seconds of the match before feeding Serge Ibaka for an easy layup that pushed the deficit back to 10 points and sealed a Thunder victory. AGENCIES
