Heat Set Club Mark with Victory over Bulls
Carlos Boozer turned his shoulder and knocked Dwyane Wade to the floor, while Nate Robinson shoved LeBron James in the same sequence.
It was physical, rugged and exactly what the Miami Heat needed as part of their preparations for the playoffs, which start this coming weekend. James scored 24 points and Wade finished with 22 as the Heat set a club record for home wins in an NBA season by beating the Chicago Bulls 105-93 on Sunday.
"It was good, especially against this team," said James, who had seven rebounds and six assists. "You're definitely not just going to show up and win against these guys. You're going to have to work for it. So for us, to continue to get better and for us to have a really physical game, good game, testy game, we liked it."
Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen each scored 15 for Miami, which improved to a 36-4 win-loss mark at home — topping the 35-6 record by the 2004-05 Heat.
Miami held Chicago without a 2-point basket for the first 16 minutes of the second half, with the Bulls relying almost exclusively on 3-pointers.
Boozer had 16 points and 20 rebounds for the Bulls, who had ended Miami's 27-game winning streak last month. Chicago finished with 29 field goals and 30 fouls, allowing the Heat to shoot a season-high 41 free throws.
The loss keeps Chicago in the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami has wrapped up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
At Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds to help the Lakers beat San Antonio 91-86 in their first game since losing Kobe Bryant for the season.
The Lakers lead Utah by one-and-a-half games for the eighth postseason spot in the West after their seventh win in eight games.
Tim Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who are likely to finish second in the West behind Oklahoma City.
Denver beat Portland 118-109 to set a club record with its 55th win of the season, moving a game ahead of the Clippers and Memphis for the third seed in the West.
The Nuggets went 54-28 in both 1987-88 and 2008-09, when they reached the conference finals.
At New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points and New York clinched the No. 2 seed in the East for the playoffs with a 90-80 victory over Indiana — the Knicks' 15th win in the last 16 games.
New York is guaranteed the home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs after finishing a distant second to Miami in the conference.
Lance Stephenson scored 22 points for the Pacers, who went into the game with a chance to catch the Knicks for second but settled for the No. 3 seed after fourth-place Brooklyn lost at Toronto.
The Raptors had a 93-87 win over Brooklyn, while the Rockets beat the Kings 121-100, the Mavericks beat the Hornets 107-89 and the 76ers defeated the Cavaliers 91-77.
