NBA: High-flying LeBron, Heat, scorch Lakers in second half

LeBron James scored 30 points for a fifth consecutive game while keeping his field goal percentage above 60 percent, as the Miami Heat took control of the game in the latter half, to win out over the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-97, Sunday (Monday, PHL time) at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. The Heat have now won five in a row, improving to 34-14 on the back of the league's reigning MVP, who has now made 49 of his last 65 attempts, while the Lakers fell to 24-28. After the two sides fought to a 53-all tie at the end of the first 24 minutes, three more deadlocks ensued in the third, with the last one coming on an and-one play by Kobe Bryant, 2:27 left in the third, 71-71. However, that's when James took over, scoring Miami's final seven points, versus just two from the Lakers, both from Bryant, to put his side up 78-73. With Bryant on the bench to start the fourth, baskets by Dwight Howard and Earl Clark got the Lakers within a deuce, 84-82, 8:19 to play, but Miami showed that they had more weapons beyond James, as Dwyane Wade unloaded five unanswered. A Shane Battier triple with 2:42 to play then handed Miami a crucial double-digit advantage with 2:42 left on the clock. Off a timeout, Bryant would turn the ball over. Battier would fail to make it two in a row, but Metta World Peace missed as well on the other end. That led to a dagger jumper by James, as the Heat upped their advantage to 102-90 with 1:30 to go. James finished with 32 markers on 12-of-18 shooting, along with seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Wade added 30 more, with five dimes, while Chris Bosh amassed a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards. Kobe Bryant led LA with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting. He also had six rebounds and nine assists. Earl Clark dropped 18 points, while Steve Nash and Dwight Howard both scored 15. The high-scoring game saw both sides shoot over 50 percent from the field, with the Lakers actually tallying a 7-of-12 mark from downtown and more looks at the line, 26 to 14. Miami however ruled the boards, 38-to-29, including doubling LA's offensive boards, 10-to-5. - Adrian Dy, GMA News