James, Heat overcome tenacious Bulls

MIAMI (AP) – LeBron James scored 35 points and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Derrick Rose wasted two chances in the final 23 seconds as the Miami Heat escaped with a 97-93 win Sunday over the Chicago Bulls.

Chris Bosh had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who never trailed – but this win in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals was not easy. Dwyane Wade added 15 points for Miami.

Rose scored 34 points for the Bulls, but missed a pair of foul shots that would have given Chicago the lead with 22.7 seconds left. He had made all 28 of his free throws in the fourth quarter this season.

Rose also had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but his short jumper bounced off the rim.

Bosh sealed it with two free throws with 0.1 seconds left for Miami.

At Dallas, Jason Terry scored a season-high 34 points, including four in the last 42 seconds of overtime, as Dallas rebounded after blowing an 18-point lead against San Antonio, 101-100.

Terry put the Mavericks back in the lead to stay when he took a pass from Dirk Nowitzki for a 12-foot baseline jumper with 42 seconds left. After Shawn Marion stole the ball from Gary Neal, Terry hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to make it 101-98.

Neal, who finished with 19 points, then drove for a layup and was fouled by Marion. But Neal missed a potential tying free throw that was rebounded by Ian Mahinmi, who missed two free throws.

Carter had 21 points, his most with the Mavericks. Nowitzki, playing for the first time after a four-game hiatus to strengthen his sore right knee and do conditioning work, had 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting with 13 rebounds.

At Boston, Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, sinking a layup with 2.6 seconds left as Cleveland scored the last 12 points of the game to beat Boston, 88-87.

Anderson Varejao had 18 points and nine rebounds for Cleveland, which had lost five of six.

Ray Allen returned from an ankle injury and scored 22 points, making 4 of 6 from 3-point range. But he missed a jumper from the left corner when Boston still held a one-point lead on its second-to-last possession.

Paul Pierce scored 18 points with six rebounds and five assists for the Celtics, who had won four in a row.

At Denver, Chauncey Billups’ homecoming couldn’t have gone better as he scored a season-high 32 points and drew a crucial foul in the waning seconds to help seal Los Angeles’ victory that ended Denver’s six-game winning streak. 109-105.

It was Billups’ first game at the Pepsi Center since the Nuggets included him in the Carmelo Anthony blockbuster trade nearly a year ago.

Those cheers turned to groans when Billups scored a dozen points in the first quarter and swished a trio of 3-pointers in the third. But he saved his best play for the fourth quarter.

Chris Paul finished with 25 points, and Blake Griffin added 17.

At Orlando, Florida, Danny Granger scored 24 points, and David West and George Hill each had 16 as Indiana ran past Orlando, 106-85.

The Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak to the Magic and avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season.

Indiana had a 16-2 edge in second-chance points and got 42 points from its bench. The Pacers also went 8 for 17 from 3-point range.