MIAMI – A few moments after getting hit in the face, LeBron James was shaken up to the point where he didn’t even bother contesting a jump ball.
It was about the only play he took off all night.
James scored 30 points in another efficient performance, Dwyane Wade scored 20 and the Miami Heat dominated the middle two quarters on the way to an easy 111-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.
James shot 9-for-11, giving him 37 makes on his last 47 attempts, and sat out the fourth quarter. It was his fourth straight 30-point game, tying him with Wade as the only Heat players with such a streak in the franchise’s history.
“He’s off the planet right now,” Wade said of James. “He’s not even the best basketball player on the planet. He’s surpassed the planet. He’s somewhere else. He’s playing phenomenal.”
It was the first time in James’ career that he scored at least 30 points on 11 or fewer field-goal attempts. According to STATS LLC, it was only the 13th such game in the NBA since the start of the 2002-03 season.
“Just confident in my ability,” James said. “It was great to see, when you put in a lot of work and you implement it into a game situation. Just play your game. That’s what I’m doing right now. Just playing my game.”
When it comes to this type of roll, James isn’t interested in figuring out how it’s happening.
“Nope,” James said. “It’s nothing to figure out for me. I go out, see what the pace of the game is bringing and you go out and figure it out on the fly. I don’t predetermine anything. If the defense backs up, I shoot. They come up on me, I drive. My teammates are open, I find my teammates. The game flows for me that way, and I’m just in that comfort place right now where I can go out and just play free.”
Lakers 100, Bobcats 93
In Charlotte, Kobe Bryant shrugged off a scoreless first half to finish with 20 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Los Angeles overcome a 20-point second-half deficit.
The Lakers avoided a costly defeat to the NBA’s worst team and pulled within three games of .500.
Knicks 100, Timberwolves 94
In Minneapolis, Carmelo Anthony had 36 points and nine rebounds, scoring 12 points down the stretch to rally New York.
Thunder 127, Suns 96
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 21 points, Thabo Sefolosha had a season-high 18 and the Thunder rode a gigantic third-quarter run to a victory.
Grizzlies 99, Warriors 93
In Memphis, Marc Gasol scored six of his 20 points down the stretch to lift the Grizzlies.
Pistons 119, Spurs 109
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Greg Monroe had 26 points and 16 rebounds as Detroit snapped San Antonio’s 11-game winning streak.
Rockets 118, Trail Blazers 103,
In Houston, James Harden had 35 points and 11 assists, and Chandler Parsons scored 20.
Raptors 100, Pacers 98 (OT)
In Indianapolis, Rudy Gay scored 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, rallying Toronto past weary Indiana.
Wizards 89, Nets 74
In Washington, the Wizards held Brooklyn without a field goal for nearly 9 minutes during the first half, and withstood a second-half slump to beat the Nets.
Hornets 111 Hawks 100
In Atlanta, Greivis Vasquez had his first career triple-double and Eric Gordon scored 27 points, leading New Orleans past the Hawks to give the last-place Hornets a rare winning streak.
Cavaliers 119, Magic 108
In Cleveland, Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and the Cavaliers sent Orlando to its 12th straight loss.
Bulls 93, Jazz 89
In Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer scored 19 points, including 11 straight in the fourth quarter, and Chicago ended a six-game road trip with a victory over Utah.
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