CHICAGO: The Miami Heat’s 27-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night by the Chicago Bulls, 101-97, when a furious comeback by LeBron James and his teammates fell short.
The Heat finished six games short of the record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
Luol Deng scored 28 points, Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Bulls brought the Heat’s pursuit of the record to a screeching halt despite another big game from James.
Miami’s superstar did all he could to keep the run going, scoring 32 points in a physical final few minutes that saw the MVP even collect a flagrant foul.
The Heat hadn’t lost since the Pacers beat them in Indianapolis on Feb. 1. But after grinding out some close wins lately, including a rally from 27 down in Cleveland, they simply came up short down the stretch in this one.
Spurs 100, Nuggets 99: At San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 23 points and 14 rebounds and San Antonio escaped with a win over Denver when Nuggets veteran guard Andre Miller missed a short jumper at the buzzer.
Danny Green added 20 points and Tony Parker had 18 points and 11 assists for the Spurs, who remained 1½ games ahead of Oklahoma City in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Thunder 103, Wizards 80: At Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook scored 21 points and Kevin Durant had 20 to help Oklahoma City beat Washington.
Kevin Martin added 18 points for the Thunder, who are 1½ games behind San Antonio for the top spot in the West.
Knicks 108, Grizzlies 101: At New York, J.R. Smith scored 35 points, his second straight 30-point game, and New York withstood a furious rally to beat Memphis.
Carmelo Anthony added 22 points and Iman Shumpert had 16 as the Knicks tied a season high with their sixth straight win.
Clippers 105, Hornets 91: At New Orleans, Blake Griffin scored 19 points and Chris Paul added 16 points and nine assists to lead Los Angeles over New Orleans.
Caron Butler and Jamal Crawford each scored 13 for the Clippers, who were playing one night after falling in overtime at Dallas. Chauncey Billups briefly returned from a right groin strain to score 11 points before leaving the game with the same injury.
Pacers 100, Rockets 91: At Houston, Roy Hibbert scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Lance Stephenson added a season-high 21 points to lead Indiana to a victory over Houston.
Nets 111, Blazers 93: At Portland, Oregon, Reggie Evans grabbed a career-high 26 rebounds and matched his career high with 22 points, leading Brooklyn to a win over Portland.
Lakers 120, Timberwolves 117: At Minneapolis,Kobe Bryant had 31 points and seven assists in his first game filling in at small forward for injured Metta World Peace, leading Los Angeles over Minnesota.
Dwight Howard had 25 points, 16 rebounds, five blocks and five steals, and Pau Gasol added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had lost three in a row and were playing their first game without their defensive stopper. World Peace will have surgery on a torn meniscus on Thursday, leaving the Lakers to chase the playoffs without him.
Nikola Pekovic had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost the last 22 meetings against the Lakers and haven’t beaten them since March 2007.
Hawks 107, Raptors 88: At Toronto, Al Horford scored 26 points, Jeff Teague had 24 points and 13 assists and Atlanta clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight season with a win over Toronto.
Josh Smith added 19 points for the Hawks, who used a 16-0 run midway through the fourth to win for the 13th time in the last 15 meetings with the Raptors.
Horford reached double digits for the 31st consecutive game, the second-longest streak of his career. He did it in 33 straight games in 2009-10.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points, and Rudy Gay had 15 points and matched a season best with 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost four straight and 11 of 14.
CELTICS 93, CAVALIERS 92: At Cleveland, Jeff Green scored 21 points and hit the winning layup at the buzzer, helping Boston snap a five-game losing streak with a win over Cleveland.
Brandon Bass scored 22 points to lead the Celtics, who rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to avoid matching their longest skid of the season.
After Cleveland’s Alonzo Gee knocked the ball out of bounds with 2.1 seconds left, Green took an inbound pass from Avery Bradley at the top of the key, drove into the lane and scored over two defenders as time expired.
Wayne Ellington had 16 points for Cleveland, which has lost six in a row to match a season high.
KINGS 105, WARRIORS 98: At Oakland, California, Isaiah Thomas had 31 points and seven assists, and DeMarcus Cousins added 14 points as Sacramento put another dent in Golden State’s playoff chase.
Marcus Thornton scored 13 points off the bench and helped harass Stephen Curry to send Sacramento to its first road win against a team with a winning record all season. The Kings entered the game an NBA-worst 6-30 on the road.
David Lee had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Curry finished with 17 points and 12 assists on a difficult shooting night for the Warriors point guard. Golden State (41-32) missed an opportunity to build its lead on seventh-place Houston (39-32), which remains a game back in the West.
76ERS 100, BUCKS 92: At Philadelphia, Spencer Hawes had 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday and Damien Wilkins each scored 18 points to lead Philadelphia past Milwaukee.
Thaddeus Young and Dorell Wright both scored 14 points for the Sixers, who returned from a 1-3 road trip to win their third straight game at home.
Brandon Jennings was scoreless for Milwaukee and benched in the fourth quarter. Monta Ellis scored 29 points for the Bucks and Ersan Ilyasova had 13 points and 18 rebounds.
The Sixers wasted an 18-point lead and needed a few big shots from long range in the fourth to make it a game. Wright, Holiday and Evan Turner each hit a 3-pointer to help the 76ers rally.
JAZZ 103, SUNS 88: At Salt Lake City, Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward scored 25 points apiece and Utah beat Phoenix to stay within a game of the eighth-place Lakers in the Western Conference playoff race.
Jefferson finished 12 of 23 from the field and also had nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals for Utah.
The Jazz used a 10-0 run to open the fourth quarter and led by as many as 19 while outscoring Phoenix 56-32 in the paint.
Wesley Johnson had 22 points and Luis Scola 20 to lead the Suns, who allowed Utah to shoot 52 percent in dropping their fourth straight.
BOBCATS 114, MAGIC 108: At Charlotte, North Carolina, Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker each scored 34 points, and Charlotte handed injury-riddled Orlando its eighth straight loss in a matchup of the NBA’s worst teams.
The Bobcats erased a 19-point, first-quarter deficit behind the shooting of Henderson, who finished 12 of 18 from the field and 9 of 10 from the foul line.
Walker did a little bit of everything, dishing out nine assists and grabbing seven rebounds as the Bobcats won for the fourth time in their last five home games.
Tobias Harris had a career-high 29 points and nine rebounds, and rookie Kyle O’Quinn had a career-best 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic.