James helps lead Heat to overtime win over Hawks
Miami's LeBron James scores 38 points as Heat defeats Atlanta for ninth straight time.
LEBRON JAMES scored 38 points, Michael Beasley made two free throws with 9.2 seconds left to put Miami up for good, and the Heat beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks, 121-119, in overtime last night.
The Heat wasted an early 13-0 lead, then rallied from seven points down in the final 90 seconds of the fourth quarter. Ray Allen made three free throws with 8 seconds left in regulation to send it to overtime, after getting fouled by Atlanta's DeMarre Carroll.
Allen finished with 19 points, Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen scored 12 each and Chris Bosh finished with 11 for the Heat, who beat the Hawks for the ninth straight time.
Jeff Teague scored 26 points, Paul Millsap made seven three-pointers en route to 25-points for Atlanta.
In other games
* At Sacramento, Tyreke Evans made a memorable return, scoring a season-high 25 points and adding 12 assists to help the New Orleans Pelicans snap a four-game losing streak with a 113-97 win over the Kings.
* At Cleveland, Josh Smith scored 25 points, Brandon Jennings added 21 and the Detroit Pistons continued their success on the road with a 115-92 win over the Cavaliers. The Pistons have won seven of their last eight away from home.
* At Orlando, Carmelo Anthony had 19 points before leaving the game with a sprained left ankle in the third quarter, but the New York Knicks were able to stave off a fierce charge to preserve a 103-98 victory over the Magic.
The Knicks got a boost from the return of Raymond Felton, who had missed six games with a strained left hamstring.
* At Houston, Dirk Nowitzki scored 31 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 111-104 win over the Rockets.
Dwight Howard had 29 points and 15 rebounds for Houston, playing its second straight game without leading scorer James Harden, who was out with a sprained left ankle.
* At Brooklyn, Lance Stephenson scored a career-high 26 points in his hometown, Paul George also had 26, and the Indiana Pacers went on to their third straight victory, 103-86, over the Nets.
* At Charlotte, Al Jefferson scored a season-high 26 points and Kemba Walker had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Bobcats beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-110, in overtime.
* At Memphis, Zach Randolph had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Grizzlies to a 104-94 win over the Utah Jazz.
* At San Antonio, Tony Parker had 26 points and eight assists to lead the Spurs over the Toronto Raptors, 112-99.
* At Phoenix, Gerald Green hit six three-pointers and scored 22 points, Miles Plumlee grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, and the Suns dominated the paint in a 117-90 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Marcus Morris added 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range as Phoenix, which held a 62-39 edge on the boards, earned its eighth win in nine games.
* At Denver, David Lee had 28 points and 10 rebounds for his ninth straight double-double, leading the Golden State Warriors past the Nuggets, 89-81.
Noteworthy
* The league fined Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes $25,000 for failing to leave the court in a timely manner after he was ejected in the third quarter of Sunday's game against Minnesota.