MILWAUKEE: The Miami Heat continued to look like the elite team many envisioned in the offseason as they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 88-78 Monday for their fifth straight win. Dwyane Wade had a team-high 25 points and 14 rebounds, LeBron James scored 17 points and the Heat continued to play inspired defense in achieving their longest win streak of the NBA season. Miami (14-8) had a rough start to the season and fell short of expectations created when James and Chris Bosh signed with the Heat to join fellow All-Star Wade, but have found their rhythm since having a players-only meeting Nov. 27. Corey Maggette had 20 points off the bench to lead Milwaukee, which fell to 7-13 on the season. Hawks 80, Magic 74: Josh Smith had 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Mike Bibby made a critical 3-pointer in the final minute as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 80-74 Monday. Al Horford added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, winners of six of seven. Jamal Crawford had 15 points and Bibby finished with 13. Vince Carter led the Magic with 18 points. Dwight Howard, back after missing two games with a stomach virus, contributed 14 points and 13 rebounds. Knicks 121, Timberwolves 114: At New York, Amare Stoudemire scored 34 points to lead surging New York past Minnesota for its fifth straight victory. Wilson Chandler added 21 points and Raymond Felton had 18 points and 11 assists for the Knicks, who won for the 10th time in 11 games and improved to 13-9, the first time they've been four games over .500 since finishing the 2000-01 season with a 48-34 record. Kevin Love had 33 points and 15 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who duplicated the sizzling start they had in a victory over Cleveland on Saturday but didn't have the defense to make it stand up. Michael Beasley, who missed that victory with a sprained ankle, returned and scored 25. Bulls 99, Thunder 90: At Chicago, Carlos Boozer scored 13 of his 29 points in Chicago's big third quarter, leading the Bulls to the victory. Luol Deng added 19 points for Chicago, which outscored the Thunder 29-18 in the pivotal third. Derrick Rose had 11 points and nine assists, but shot 3 for 13 from the field. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 29 points. Nenad Krstic added 18 points. Boozer got a big free-agent deal from Chicago in the offseason, but missed the team's first 15 games with a broken right hand. He appears to be gaining confidence since he returned in Wednesday night's 107-78 loss to Orlando, scoring five, 12 and 25 points in his first three outings. Jazz 94, Grizzlies 85: At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 27 points and eight assists to power Utah to the win. Pacers 124, Raptors 100: At Indianapolis, Brandon Rush scored a season-high 26 points and Danny Granger had 21 as Indiana put seven players in double figures to beat Toronto.
