LeBron James had 34 points and 10 assists and Dwyane Wade scored 19 points as the Miami Heat rallied to beat the Thunder 98-93 on Wednesday for their 17th straight home victory.
Mario Chalmers scored 13 points, and Chris Bosh had 12 for Miami, which trailed by 11 in the first half before a comeback fueled in part by Russell Westbrook pulling James down from behind on a fast break in the second quarter.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, and Westbrook added 28, but shot 9 for 26. James Harden had 12 for the Thunder, who lost despite holding Miami to 37 percent shooting.
The win moved Miami (39-14) within two games of Chicago (42-13) in the race for the NBA’s best record. Oklahoma City fell to 40-14.
Durant could have given Oklahoma City the lead with 1:30 left, backing down James and then trying a turnaround from the left side. His shot was way off, hitting the top of the backboard.
Bosh, who had been 3 for 13 to that point, made a jumper on the next Miami possession to make it 96-93. Kendrick Perkins then missed two free throws with 43.6 seconds left, the first Thunder misses from the line all night after starting 18 of 18.
And after James couldn’t connect on the ensuing Miami trip, it was still a one-possession game. The Thunder called a timeout with 19.5 seconds left and went for the quick 3, Durant’s try hitting the front of the rim and going out of bounds. Wade made a pair of foul shots, stretching the lead to five.
