LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James had 39 points and eight assists, Dwyane Wade added 27 points on his 31st birthday and the Miami Heat held off the Los Angeles Lakers 99-90 Thursday night to finish their six-game road trip with three wins.
Ray Allen scored seven of his nine points in the final 5 minutes as the defending NBA champions repelled a late charge by the Lakers, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, which rallied for a brief lead midway through the final period before James and Allen secured the Heat's second win in their last eight road games against the Lakers (see full recap).
Knicks down Pistons in London
LONDON -- Back in London and back on the basketball court, Carmelo Anthony went right back to his winning ways.
The Knicks star was the main attraction at the O2 Arena on Thursday, five months after he helped the United States win the Olympic gold medal at the same venue.
This time, he led the New York Knicks over the Detroit Pistons, 102-87 in the third regular-season NBA game played in the British capital.
"It felt good out there," said Anthony, who scored 18 points in the first half as the Knicks (25-13) jumped out to a big early lead. "I definitely had some flashbacks out there. Running out there on the court, just being in the O2 Arena," (see full recap).
Clippers win again without Paul
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Los Angeles Clippers didn't have much left in the tank at the end of a three-game road trip that was played entirely without star point guard Chris Paul.
Against the injury-depleted Minnesota Timberwolves, they didn't need much.
NBA
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points, Blake Griffin added 20 and the Clippers hardly broke a sweat in cruising to a 90-77 victory over the free-falling Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Lamar Odom grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists, and the Clippers outscored Minnesota's bench 45-23 to overcome Paul's third straight missed game because of a knee injury (see full recap).
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