BondasLiga

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Dwyane Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the
opening half, Luol Deng added 25, and the Miami Heat spoiled LeBron
James' highly-anticipated Christmas Day return to Miami, with a
101-91 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James made his first visit to Miami Thursday after taking the Heat to
four NBA Finals appearances and a pair of titles during his four
years in South Beach before returning to Cleveland in the off-season.
After hugging his former teammates, the fans at sold-out American
Airlines Arena welcomed "King" James back mostly with cheers, when
quickly introduced first in the starting lineup.
Minutes later, James received a standing ovation when a video tribute
was beamed on the overhead scoreboard during a timeout. He
acknowledged the applause by waving to the crowd.
James finished with 30 points, Kyrie Irving added 25 for Cleveland
(17-11), which had its three-game winning streak snapped in its first
contest since losing centre Anderson Varejao to a season-ending torn
Achilles tendon on Tuesday.
Elsewhere:
- LA Clippers 100, Golden State Warriors 86: Jamal Crawford scored
half of his 24 points in the final quarter, Chris Paul added 22 and
Blake Griffin had 18 with 15 rebounds as the Clippers (20-10)
overcame a sluggish start to beat the suddenly-slumping league-best
Warriors.
Klay Thompson netted 15 points, while Stephen Curry had 14 with nine
boards and seven assists for visiting Golden State (23-5), losers of
two in a row for just the second time this season.
- Oklahoma City Thunder 114, San Antonio Spurs 106: Russell Westbrook
had 34 points with 11 assists, Steven Adams netted 16 and 15 rebounds
as the visiting Thunder (14-16) sent the reigning NBA champ Spurs
(18-12) to their fifth loss in the last six games.
The Thunder played without league MVP Kevin Durant (left ankle
sprain) for the fourth straight game, while the Spurs were missing
NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard (hand injury).
- Chicago Bulls 113, LA Lakers 93: Spanish star Pau Gasol had 23
points with 13 rebounds against his former team, and the Bulls (20-9)
rolled to their season-high fifth consecutive victory, after beating
the visiting Lakers (9-20) who rested aching star Kobe Bryant for the
second consecutive game.
- Washington Wizards 102, New York Knicks 91: John Wall had 24 points
with 11 assists and one skirmish as the Wizards (20-8) sent the
reeling Knicks (5-26) to their sixth straight loss and 16 in the last
17.
Wall drove for a spinning layup but got knocked down by a Quincy Acy
forearm shove with 5.5 minutes left in the final quarter.
Wall got up and pushed Acy, who appeared to hit the feisty Wizard
guard with a punch behind the neck before the two were separated. Acy
was ejected and Wall hit with a technical foul.
Carmelo Anthony wasted a 34-point effort for New York (5-26) off to
its worst start in franchise history.