MIAMI — LeBron James scored the game-winning layup with 3.2 seconds remaining Wednesday to give defending NBA champion Miami a 97-96 victory over visiting Orlando, stretching the Heat's win streak to 16 games. James dribbled to the basket while being guarded, but flipped the ball up and into the basket to boost Miami's overall club-record victory run and provide his team with a 12th consecutive home triumph. The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player finished with a game-high of 26 points, while Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat. Miami, with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 45-15, moved within one triumph of matching the longest win streak in the NBA this season, a 17-game run by the Los Angeles Clippers. The Heat will have a chance to pass the Clippers with triumphs at home Friday against Philadelphia and Sunday against Indiana. Orlando, with the NBA's second-worst record at 17-45, were led by 25 points and 21 rebounds from 7-footer Nikola Vucevic, a 22-year-old from Montenegro. Miami led 55-40 at half-time before the Magic rallied within 77-74 entering the fourth quarter. Orlando opened the fourth quarter with a 12-4 run for an 86-81 lead before the Heat bounced back to leave the game level at 93-93 with 2:22 remaining. Jameer Nelson's jump shot and a Tobias Harris free throw gave the Magic a 96-93 lead. James, Wade and Ray Allen missed three-pointers before Bosh hit two free throws after being fouled by Vucevic to pull Miami within 96-95. Orlando's Al Harrington missed a three-point attempt and James grabbed the rebound, setting up the final Heat possession and his game-winning shot. Miami last lost on Feb. 1 at Indiana and the Heat last dropped a home game on Jan. 4 against Chicago. Lakers 108, Hornets 102: Kobe Bryant matched a season high with 42 points, including 18 in a furious 33-9 fourth-quarter comeback, to power the Los Angeles Lakers to a win over the New Orleans Hornets. The Lakers, who trailed by as many 25 points in the first half and were in a 93-72 hole late in the third quarter, never gave up. The Hornets looked in the clear with an alley-oop dunk by Al-Farouq Aminu making it 100-83 with 5:40 left, but the Lakers refused to quit, going on a 14-2 run to close the deficit to 102-97 with 3:38 left. Bryant tied the game 102-102 with a drive in the lane past Lopez and he put the Lakers ahead for good with a fall-away 15-foot jumper with 36.3 seconds left. Celtics 83, Pacers 81: Kevin Garnett found Jeff Green for a layup with 0.5 seconds left to lead the Celtics to an 83-81 win over the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. George Hill tried to throw a lob to Paul George at the rim, but Paul Pierce blocked the pass. The Celtics closed the game on an 11-0 run over the final 4:36. Garnett led the Celtics with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Center Roy Hibbert had 12 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for the Pacers. The Pacers and Celtics could face each other in the first round of the playoffs. Knicks 87, Pistons 77: Raymond Felton had 26 points as the New York Knicks overcame the absence of Carmelo Anthony and a season-high 21 turnovers for a 87-77 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Palace. Spurs 101, Bulls 83: Manu Ginobili had 18 points and nine assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 101-83 win over the Chicago Bulls at the AT&T Center. Mavericks 112, Rockets 108: The Dallas Mavericks got a measure of retribution Wednesday with a down-to-the-wire, 112-108 victory against the Houston Rockets, the team that thumped them by 36 points just three nights earlier. Clippers 117, Bucks 101: Blake Griffin wowed with a triple-double for the Clippers, who beat the Milwaukee Bucks 117-101 Wednesday at Staples Center. Griffin had 23 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to post his first triple-double since his rookie season in 2010-11, when he had triple-doubles against Memphis and Washington. In other games it was: Cleveland 104, Utah 101; Brooklyn 99, Charlotte 78; Minnesota 87, Washington 82; Memphis 91, Portland 85; Toronto 98, Phoenix 71; Golden State 87, Sacramento 83. — Agencies
