Denver Drops Sacramento – NBA Roundup For Jan. 27th

UNDATED (AP) — The Miami Heat are a half-game closer to the NBA's Eastern Conference lead after winning a matchup of last year's finals.

Chris Bosh poured in 24 points on 9 of 10 shooting as the Heat hammered the San Antonio Spurs 113-101. LeBron James added 18 points for Miami, which led 106-80 after Mario Chalmers hit a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter.

The Heat used Dwyane (dwayn) Wade as a reserve for the first time in six years after he missed Miami's previous four games while dealing with ongoing knee rehabilitation. Wade finished with eight points and five assists in 24 minutes as the Heat won their third in a row and pulled within 2 ½ games of East-leading Indiana.

The Spurs are 1 ½ games behind the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.

Portland also lost ground on the Thunder. Stephen (STEH'-fehn) Curry shot 5-for-8 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 38 points as Golden State beat the Trail Blazers 103-88. David Lee had 17 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and helped the Warriors hold the Blazers to 34 percent shooting.

Portland now sits two games off the Western Conference lead.

Elsewhere in the NBA:

— Andray Blatche (AHN'-dray blach) scored 17 points and Brooklyn won for the 10th time in 11 games by beating the Celtics 85-79 in a homecoming game for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett at Boston. The cornerstones of the Celtics' 2008 championship team received video tributes and standing ovations early in the game.

— Markieff (mahr-KEEF') Morris scored 27 points and Phoenix rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to defeat Cleveland 99-90. Channing Frye had 16 points for the Suns, who outscored the Cavaliers 56-29 in the second half.

— Denver was a 125-117 winner at Sacramento as Ty Lawson dropped in 27 points and Wilson Chandler added 20. The Nuggets went 10 of 25 from 3-point range and shot 52 percent from the field overall.

— Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting as Dallas downed Detroit 116-106. Devin Harris had a season-high 14 points for the second straight game, including five straight in the final minute of the third quarter to break a 79-all tie.

— Carmelo Anthony followed his 62-point game with 35 more to lead the New York Knicks past the Los Angeles Lakers 110-103. Raymond Felton scored 20 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 as the Knicks won their second straight since a five-game skid.

— Anthony Davis had 22 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and seven blocks to lift New Orleans over Orlando 100-92. Tyreke (ty-REEK') Evans scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter.