MIAMI — Another return to Miami for LeBron James brought another thumping for his Cleveland Cavaliers at the hands of his former club as the Heat ripped their ex-teammate 106-92 Monday. Dwyane Wade produced game highs of 32 points and five steals to spark the Heat, who won two NBA titles and reached four consecutive NBA Finals before James left last July to return to his home-region club. James scored 26 points to lead the Cavaliers, but they were beaten just as in his first return to Miami for a game, a 101-91 Heat triumph last Dec. 25. Wade and James shared an embrace in the seconds after the final buzzer, following which Wade said the Heat relish beating the Cavaliers in a special way. “We do. They are one of the better teams in the NBA,” Wade said. “We know when we play the way we played tonight, we can beat anybody. It's about getting to that game consistency. We haven't played that way as much as we did today.” Slovenian guard Goran Dragic added 20 points and nine assists for the Heat while Hassan Whiteside and reserve Mario Chalmers each scored 16 points, Whiteside also contributing a game-high 11 rebounds. The Heat shot 55 percent from the floor in improving to 30-36, matching Boston and Indiana for the last two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining. Kyrie Irving added 21 points and a team-high six assists for the Cavaliers, who were playing without star big man Kevin Love, who was rested by Cleveland coach Dave Blatt. Warriors 108, Lakers 105: The Golden State Warriors clinched an NBA playoff spot for the third consecutive season with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Klay Thompson led the way with 26 points for the NBA-best Warriors (53-13), who got a surprise scare from the Lakers. Grizzlies 92, Nuggets 81: Zach Randolph scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds, his 34th double-double of the season, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to victory over the Denver Nuggets. The Grizzlies (47-20) moved two games clear of Portland for second place in the Western Conference. Mavericks 119, Thunder 115: Chandler Parsons scored a game-high 31 points and Dirk Nowitzki drove a third-quarter comeback as the Dallas Mavericks tripped the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hawks 110, Kings 103: Jeff Teague scored 23 points and Kent Bazemore canned a key three-pointer with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Kings. Wizards 105, Trail Blazers 97: Bradley Beal scored 23 points and John Wall nearly recorded a triple-double as the surging Washington Wizards fended off the Portland Trail Blazers. Raptors 107, Pacers 98: Kyle Lowry had a triple-double as he and fellow Toronto Raptors guards DeMar DeRozan and Lou Williams combined for 66 points to lead the Raptors past the Indiana Pacers. Celtics 108, 76ers 89: The rebuilding Boston Celtics continued their surprising bid for a playoff berth with an easy victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers. Nets 122, Timberwolves 106: Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Johnson scored 22 points and grabbed five rebounds in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jazz 94, Hornets 66: Rodney Hood scored a career-high 24 points, which included 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range, and Gordon Hayward added 18 to lead the Utah Jazz to victory over the Charlotte Hornets. — Agencies
