MIAMI (AP) – Dwyane Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Miami Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in LeBron James’ first game back at his former home 101-91 yesterday.
Chris Andersen scored 12 for the Heat, who led by as many as 17, trailed for a moment in the fourth quarter before gathering themselves and pulling away again.
James scored 30 points for the Cavaliers, hugging his former teammates before the game and after the final buzzer. It was James’ first time as an opponent in Miami since he helped the Heat reach each of the last four NBA Finals, winning two titles.
Kyrie Irving added 25 points, and Kevin Love scored 14 for Cleveland.
Miami were again without Chris Bosh, still sidelined by a calf injury.
Bulls 113, Lakers 93
CHICAGO (AP) – Pau Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds against his former team and Chicago beat Los Angeles with Lakers star Kobe Bryant resting his sore body.
Jimmy Butler added 21 points, and Derrick Rose had 20 points and six assists to help the Bulls win their season-high fifth straight.
With Bryant missing his second straight game, the Lakers were unable to pull off another upset. They stunned Golden State on Tuesday night but came up short against the Central division leaders.
Gasol, a two-time champion in six-plus seasons with the Lakers, was nine of 14 from the field in his first game against Los Angeles since joining the Bulls in the summer.
Wesley Johnson led Los Angeles with 19 points.
Other scores:
Los Angeles Clippers 100, Golden State Warriors 86
Oklahoma City Thunder 114, San Antonio Spurs 106
Washington Wizards 102, New York Knicks 91
