Heat pull away from Raptors, win 22nd straight

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The Miami Heat equaled the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, pulling away in the fourth quarter yesterday to beat the Toronto Raptors, 108-91, for their 22nd consecutive victory.

LeBron James had 22 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Dwyane Wade added 24 points and nine assists, and Ray Allen scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the defending NBA champions.

Chris Bosh finished with 18 points as the Heat tied the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The longest is 33 games, set by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Miami will try to move into sole possession of second tonight when it visits the Boston Celtics – who ended the Rockets’ run five years ago.

The Heat’s 10th straight road win came in the same city where their streak started with a 100-85 victory over the Raptors on Feb. 3 – Super Bowl Sunday.

They’ve kept rolling right into March Madness.

Miami blew it open behind Allen’s 3-point shooting after Toronto tied it at 77 early in the fourth quarter.

Rudy Gay scored 27 and Amir Johnson had 18 points and 18 rebounds as the Raptors lost their 11th straight against Miami.

Clippers 93, Knicks 80

Chris Paul had 20 points and eight assists, Caron Butler added 14 points, and Los Angeles beat injury-depleted New York in a meeting of division leaders.

Blake Griffin had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers.

Hawks 105, Nets 93

Al Horford had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Atlanta dominated the fourth quarter to beat Brooklyn, keeping the Nets from tying for first place in the Atlantic Division.

Josh Smith added 21 points and seven boards for the Hawks, who won their third straight by outscoring the Nets 34-20 in the final period.

Thunder 107,
Mavericks 101

Kevin Durant scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Russell Westbrook had 35 including the go-ahead jumper with one minute left, and Oklahoma City beat Dallas.

Durant was 3-of-9 from the floor before hitting seven shots in a row during one stretch in the fourth.

Warriors 108, Rockets 78

Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Klay Thompson had 26 with six 3-pointers, and Golden State stayed ahead of Houston in the Western Conference.

James Harden and Jeremy Lin scored 21 points apiece for the Rockets, who now trail Golden State by 1½ games for the No. 6 seed in the West.

Timberwolves 97, Hornets 95

Derrick Williams scored a career-high 28 points and Ricky Rubio had 16 with six assists as Minnesota beat New Orleans.

Milwaukee 115, Orlando 109

Monta Ellis scored a season-high 39 points, including 25 in the fourth quarter, and Milwaukee Bucks rallied past Orlando.