LeBron, Wade spur Miami Heat
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 79 points as the Miami Heat prevailed 141-129 in a double overtime marathon against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
James scored 40 points, a career-high 16 assists and eight rebounds while Wade tacked on 39 to rescue the Eastern Conference leading Heat (41-14) and give them a league-high 12th consecutive victory.
"It was probably like 20 innings if it were a baseball game," James told reporters. "But we needed double overtime and we did it,’’ he added.
Miami led 110-101 with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter before visiting Sacramento (19-39) ran them down with an 11-2 run that included three consecutive three-pointers from Marcus Thornton, who had a team-high 36 points.
After both teams scored 12 points in the first overtime, James tallied 11 points in the second as the home team outscored the Kings 17-5 to finally put the game away.
Sacramento starters Tyreke Evans scored 26 and DeMarcus Cousins recorded 24 and 15 rebounds but they were outshone by Miami's high-scoring duo. James became the first player to total 40 points and 16 assists since Phoenix's Kevin Johnson in April 1994.
Results: Philadelphia: 84 lt to Orlando: 98; Indiana: 108 bt Golden State: 97; Miami: 141 bt Sacramento: 129 (OT); Chicago: 98 lt to Cleveland: 101; New Orleans: 97 lt to Brooklyn: 101; Dallas: 90 lt to Milwaukee: 95; Phoenix: 84 bt Minnesota: 83 (OT); LA Clippers: 106 bt Charlotte: 84.
