more photosOKLAHOMA CITY — With LeBron James playing at his best level yet, the Miami Heat powered into the All-Star break with a reminder to the Oklahoma City Thunder that the NBA championship still resides on South Beach.
James had 39 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and narrowly missed extending his record-setting streak of high-scoring games combined with top-notch accuracy, as the Heat trampled Oklahoma City 110-100 in a Thursday night showcase.
James was in position to continue his NBA record run of games with at least 30 points and 60 percent shooting to seven, but missed from a couple steps beyond the 3-point line as the shot clock ran down with just over a minute left and Miami up 10.
That dropped him to 14 for 24 in the game, or 58 percent. All that mattered to him, though, was that Miami’s winning streak reached a season-best seven straight games — and the Heat beat the Thunder for the sixth time in a row, dating to last year’s NBA Finals.
“Winning is hard to come by in professional sports. That’s what it’s about," James said. “Sixty percent doesn’t matter. Winning is all that matters."
Chris Bosh chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who won the last four games of last season’s Finals after losing Game 1 in Oklahoma City and continued their dominance in the series after winning on their home court on Christmas Day.
“I thought we imposed our will, playing our style of basketball," said Dwyane Wade, who had 13 points and eight assists before fouling out with 3:29 to play.
“But have their number? No, we’re not feeling that way. We’ve just won two games against them. That’s it."
Also on Thursday:
Clippers 125
Lakers 101
LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 24 points and 13 assists, Blake Griffin scored 18 of his 22 points in a spectacular first quarter, and the Clippers cemented their supremacy in Los Angeles with a victory over the Lakers. Chauncey Billups hit five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points for the Clippers.
