Heat tops Hornets, er, Bobcats in overtime

LeBron James had 34 points and eight rebounds, and the Miami Heat defeated the Charlotte Bobcats for the 15th straight time, 104-96, in overtime Saturday night at Charlotte, N.C.

James scored six points in the extra period, and Chris Bosh finished the game with 25 points and seven rebounds for Miami, which never trailed in overtime.

Al Jefferson scored 22 points for the Bobcats, who lost point guard Kemba Walker in the third quarter because of an ankle injury.

The crowd of 19,631 was the largest ever to see a Bobcats game at Time Warner Cable Arena on a night when the team began selling its Hornets gear for the first time. The Bobcats will become the Hornets after this season.

Miami’s Dwyane Wade got the night off to rest his knees, but James and Bosh picked up the scoring slack. James finished strong after a stretch in which he missed nine consecutive shots.

“That sparked us, but that’s who he is,” Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s going to make something out of his greatness. Great players become great.”

Portland 127, at Dallas 111: Dallas native LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 12 rebounds, his 24th double-double this season, and the Trail Blazers rolled to their fifth consecutive victory.

Golden State 97, at New Orleans 87: Stephen Curry scored 28 points, David Lee had 22 and the Warriors sent the Pelicans to their eighth straight loss. Anthony Davis had 31 points, his seventh straight game with more than 20. He also had 17 rebounds for New Orleans.

Detroit 104, at Washington 98: Josh Smith overcame a slow start to score 22 points and Rodney Stuckey had 20 as Pistons ended the Wizards’ three-game winning streak. Washington lost at home for the third time this season when it had a chance to get over .500 for the first time in four years.

at Minnesota 98, Utah 72: Nikola Pekovic had 27 points and 14 rebounds in three quarters, and the Timberwolves enjoyed a much-needed blowout after a three-game skid that included dispiriting losses to Sacramento and Toronto.

at Houston 114, Milwaukee 104: Terrence Jones had a career-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, and the Rockets led wire to wire in beating the NBA-worst Bucks, who lost their eighth consecutive game.

at Chicago 103, Philadelphia 78: Joakim Noah had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and the Bulls led by as many as 36 points on the way to their seventh win in nine games. The 76ers have lost six of seven.

at Indiana 106, Clippers 92