Heat move up to second in the Eastern Conference.
There were just four games in the NBA on Tuesday night, but the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers made no mistakes in comfortable home wins.
The defending champions hosted the Milwaukee Bucks at the AA Arena, and led by a game-high 33 points from LeBron James they secured a 118-95 win.
Having struggled with on-going back issues in recent weeks, the two-time NBA champion showed little sign of discomfort, but coach Erik Spoelstra will also be buoyed by the impact made by Michael Beasley off the bench.
The summer arrival has suffered from various off-court issues in recent years, but went 8-of-12 from the field to register 19 points as he hopes to establish himself as a key member of this Miami roster.
The visitors had 18 points from both John Henson and Gary Neal off the bench, but it wasn’t enough to threaten a shock win over their dominant opponents.
Meanwhile, there were a trio of wins for Western Conference teams on Tuesday night, with the Los Angeles Lakers moving to 4-5 for the season after their 116-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Coach Mike D’Antoni had emphasised the need for his team to “find our identity” prior to the game, and it remains to be seen whether or not he was left impressed with certain aspects of the performance.
Jordan Hill had a game-high 21 points, but there was good production off the bench with Xavier Henry and Nick Young adding 15 and 17 points respectively with impressive shooting numbers.
Elsewhere, Dirk Nowitzki moved past Jerry West into 16th place of the all-time scorers list with a 3-pointer in the third quarter of the 105-95 win over the Washington Wizards.
The NBA veteran now has 25,197 career points and it is possible that he could move into the top 10 by the end of the season depending on form and fitness.
In the other game of the night, the Golden State Warriors extended their unbeaten record at home so far this season with a 113-95 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Point guard Stephen Curry appears to have shaken off any problems with his ankle and top scored with 25 points, while David Lee (17), Jermaine O’Neal (17) and Klay Thompson (14) all contributed.
In contrast, the Pistons were left disappointed with a third straight defeat on the road with center Andre Drummond ending with a team-high 16 points.
NBA Results:
Milwaukee Bucks 95-118 Miami Heat
Washington Wizards 95-105 Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons 95-113 Golden State Warriors
New Orleans Pelicans 95-116 Los Angeles Lakers
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