Advertisement

NBA-Highlights of Wednesday's NBA games

Reuters

Dec 25 (The Sports Xchange) - Highlights of Wednesday's National Basketball Association games. - - - Heat 101, Lakers 95 Miami's Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade scored 23 points apiece as the Heat earned a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in their Christmas Day showdown. LeBron James finished with 19 points and eight rebounds as the Heat (22-6) captured their sixth consecutive victory and eighth in the past nine games. Reserve guard Nick Young led the Lakers with 20 points but the home Los Angeles (13-16) team faded down the stretch. The Lakers closed within 96-92 with 1:26 left but Wade scored on a reverse layup with 52.9 seconds remaining to seal victory for the Heat. - - - Rockets 111, Spurs 98 James Harden returned to the starting lineup to score 28 points and lead the Houston Rockets to a comfortable win over the San Antonio Spurs. Harden, who missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle, was 11-of-16 shooting in 31 minutes with 16 points in the fourth quarter. Dwight Howard added 15 points and 20 rebounds for this 20th double-double this season and the Rockets (19-11) never trailed in the game. Guard Manu Ginobili led the Spurs (22-7) with 22 points. - - - Thunder 123, Knicks 94 Russell Westbrook posted the eighth Christmas Day triple-double in NBA history with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder blasted the New York Knicks. Thunder forward Kevin Durant led all scorers with 29 points and Oklahoma City (23-5) has won 10 of its last 11 games and shares the best record in the league with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks (9-19) played without forward Carmelo Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer, who sprained an ankle in a win on Monday night over the Orlando Magic. - - - Bulls 95, Nets 78 Jimmy Butler scored 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter and the Chicago Bulls pulled away for a victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Chicago (11-16) out-scored the Nets 36-20 in the third quarter to seize control and suck the holiday energy out of the Brooklyn crowd. Deron Williams led the Nets (9-19) with 18 points and forward Mirza Teletovic added 17 as the team lost their fourth straight and 19th in 28 games. Some fans in the upper deck chanted "Fire Kidd", in reference to Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd, during the final minutes of the fourth quarter. (Writing by Jahmal Corner; Editing by John O'Brien)