James falls short in Miami return as Heat dazzles

(MENAFN- Arab News) MIAMI: The Miami Heat weren't in a giving mood Thursday as they spoiled the Christmas Day return of LeBron James to southern Florida.

James tallied a team high 30 points and eight assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers lost 101-91 to his former team in one of five NBA contests on the Christmas holiday.

It was James's first game in South Beach since spurning the Heat to rejoin his hometown Cavaliers in the offseason.

'A lot of emotions come back and you know I spent four years here with those guys' he said. 'We put in a lot of hard work and dedication just to do the best we could.'

James who got a big pre-game ovation from the crowd of 19800 won two NBA titles in four seasons with his former team which has fallen to a sub .500 club since he left.

But Miami didn't play like a struggling team.

They were a determined bunch especially James' former sidekick Dwyane Wade who finished with a game-high 31 points. The Heat victory also comes just 48 hours after a disappointing 91-87 loss to the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.

'It could have been easy for us to be down on ourselves after that loss but we weren't' said Wade who hugged and chatted with James on the court after the final buzzer.

There were no hard feelings between James and the Heat fans either as he received plenty of applause and just a smattering of boos during the pre-game introductions.

The Heat also played a video tribute to James during one of the timeouts.

'What me and my teammates created while we were here is going to last forever' said James who led the Heat to four championship appearances. 'You can never take that out of the (history) books.

'I gave everything and more to the city while I was here. I never disrespected the city the franchise or any of my teammates.'

But James said he had yet to speak with Heat president Pat Riley.

'If the opportunity presents itself I don't mind but I don't know what his mindset is' he added.

James promised reporters a 'huge' press conference once he retires at which he would answer questions more freely.

Wade said he was pleased to see the cheers outnumber the boos for James.

'That is the way it should be. There is no reason to say anything negative about LeBron James' said Wade who scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half.

THUNDER 114 SPURS 106: In San Antonio Russell Westbrook scored 34 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 114-106 on Thursday in a rematch of last season's Western Conference Finals.

The Thunder earned their sixth straight regular-season victory over the defending NBA champions in the first meeting between the teams since San Antonio topped Oklahoma City in six games on the way to a fifth title.

The Thunder was without reigning MVP Kevin Durant and the Spurs were missing Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard but there was still plenty of firepower.

Serge Ibaka had 21 points including going 3 for 4 on 3-pointers for Oklahoma City (14-16). Steven Adams added 16 points and 15 rebounds to offset San Antonio center Tiago Splitter matching his season-high with 14 points.

Matt Bonner had 17 points to lead seven players in double figures for San Antonio (18-12) which has lost five of six. Tim Duncan had 15 points six rebounds and five assists.

CLIPPERS 100 WARRIORS 86: In Los Angeles Jamal Crawford scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter Chris Paul added 22 points and Los Angeles handed NBA-leading Golden State its second Staples Center loss in three days.

The Warriors held the Clippers to 4-for-24 shooting in the first quarter and 39.1 percent for the game two nights after the Lakers shot 51.7 percent without Kobe Bryant to beat them 115-105. That loss ended a streak of 27 straight games by the Warriors in which they held opponents under 50 percent.

The Clippers beginning a nine-game homestand after back-to-back losses to San Antonio and Atlanta haven't dropped three in a row since March 29-April 1 2013. Blake Griffin missed his first eight shots and was 5 for 16 overall with 18 points and 15 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 12 boards.

Klay Thompson scored 15 points and Stephen Curry 14 for Golden State which has lost three of five following a 23-3 start that included a franchise-record 16-game winning streak.

BULLS 113 LAKERS 93: In Chicago Pau Gasol had 23 points and 13 rebounds against his former team and Chicago beat Los Angeles with Lakers star Kobe Bryant resting his sore body.

Jimmy Butler added 21 points and Derrick Rose had 20 points and six assists to help the Bulls win their season-high fifth straight.

With Bryant missing his second straight game the Lakers were unable to pull off another upset. They stunned Golden State on Tuesday night but came up short against the Central division leaders.

Gasol a two-time champion in six-plus seasons with the Lakers was 9 of 14 from the field in his first game against Los Angeles since joining the Bulls in the summer.

Wesley Johnson led Los Angeles with 19 points.

WIZARDS 102 KNICKS 91: In New York John Wall had 24 points and 11 assists eluding the Knicks all day until getting knocked to the floor by a flagrant foul that sparked an altercation and Washington beat New York.

Wall toyed with the Knicks for 3 1/2 quarters highlighted by a spinning 360-degree layup before Quincy Acy knocked him down with a forearm shove with 5:31 to play. Wall got up and pushed Acy who responded with a punch that appeared to hit Wall behind the neck. Acy was ejected in the Christmas dust-up and Wall received a technical foul.

Bradley Beal added 17 points for the Wizards who had their top five of Wall Beal Paul Pierce Nene and Marcin Gortat in the starting lineup for the first time this season.

Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Knicks who fell to 5-26 and have the most losses in the NBA. They have dropped six straight and 16 of 17.

New York fell to 22-28 in a league-high 50 Christmas appearances.