LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jamal Crawford led a dominant performance by the Los Angeles reserves with 22 points, and the Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 112-100 on Tuesday night, extending their franchise-record winning streak to 14 games.
Matt Barnes added 20 points — one off his season high — as the bench outscored the Clippers starters 64-48 in claiming the NBA’s best record at 22-6, one win better than Oklahoma City which lost to Miami earlier Tuesday.
Heat 103, Thunder 97
MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James finished with 29 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 21, and Miami survived a frantic finish to beat Oklahoma City in an NBA Finals rematch.
Kevin Durant scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook added 21 for Oklahoma City, but both Thunder stars missed potentially gametying 3-point attempts in the final seconds. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin each added 15 for the Thunder, who have dropped two straight for the first time this season.
Lakers 100, Knicks 94
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kobe Bryant engineered a second-half comeback, helping Los Angeles beat New York and extend its winning streak to five.
Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game, and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks.
Rockets 120, Bulls 97
CHICAGO (AP) — James Harden scored 26 points and Jeremy Lin added 20 points and 11 assists to lead Houston over Chicago. Omer Asik had 20 points and 18 rebounds in his first trip back to Chicago since signing with the Rockets in the offseason.
Every Rockets starter scored in double figures.
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