PHILADELPHIA – Before he took a seat on the bench, LeBron James made sure to grab one more rebound.
James had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 35th career triple-double and the Miami Heat cruised to their 10th straight win, 114-90 over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
The three-time NBA MVP knew he was one board away from a special night so he went after it hard early in the fourth quarter. After Chris Anderson blocked Evan Turner’s shot, James hauled it in, drove up court and banked a shot in for good measure.
“I was going to stay out there until I got it,” James said. “I wasn’t going to let this one slip away. I’ve had too many games where I was one assist, one rebound away. I wasn’t coming out.”
Dwyane Wade had 33 points, Mario Chalmers scored 14 and Chris Bosh added 13 to help the defending NBA champions improve to 39-14. The Heat have a comfortable 5½-game lead over Indiana in the Eastern Conference.
They’ve won four in a row on the road, including impressive wins over Oklahoma City before the All-Star break and Chicago on Thursday.
“It was a professional win,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “LeBron started it with his unselfishness, finding the open guy, making it contagious. Then it was an efficient shooting night.”
Jrue Holiday scored 21 points and Nick Young had 19 for Philadelphia.
Pacers 90, Pistons 72
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, David West scored 16 points and Paul George added a double-double to help Indiana easily beat Detroit for the second time in as many nights.
Clippers 107, Jazz 94
In Los Angeles, Caron Butler scored 21 points and the Clippers rode a big third quarter to a victory over Utah, completing their first season sweep of the Jazz since 1978-79.
Blake Griffin and Lamar Odom added 18 points each, and DeAndre Jordan had 12 rebounds for Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles, which went 4-0 against the Jazz this season and has won six straight over Utah dating to last year.
Nuggets 113, Bobcats 99
In Charlotte, JaVale McGee had 17 points, including seven dunks, and Denver snapped a four-game road losing streak with a victory over the Bobcats.
Hawks 103, Bucks 102
In Milwaukee, Al Horford’s hook shot with 5.9 seconds remaining lifted Atlanta a victory over the hosts in a game that was close throughout.
Cavaliers 118, Magic 94
In Orlando, Marreese Speights scored 18 points, Alonzo Gee added 17 and Cleveland used a big fourth quarter to run past the Magic.
Orlando has lost five consecutive games and 28 of its last 31.
Wizards 105, Rockets 103
In Washington, Emeka Okafor had 17 points, 11 rebounds and made the go-ahead free throw with 5.2 seconds remaining to help the hosts overcome a 3-point barrage for a win over Houston.
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