AFP/Phoenix (Arizona)

LeBron James scored 37 points and Chris Bosh added 21 to power the reigning NBA champion Miami Heat over the Phoenix Suns 103-97 on Tuesday.
James also grabbed nine rebounds, made five steals and passed off three assists while Bosh contributed eight rebounds for Miami.  The Heat bounced back from a loss three nights earlier at Utah and defeated the Suns for an eighth meeting in a row. Miami improved to 36-14, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference to league-leader Indiana (40-11). The Suns, who won six of their prior eight games, slipped to 30-21, seventh in the Western Conference.
“It was good to see us respond,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And this response started yesterday in practice. There wasn’t any dancing around it, we were flat and we didn’t bring a game necessary to win on the road against Utah.”
Miami will visit Golden State on Wednesday before a break for the NBA All-Star game, at which James, Bosh and star guard Dwyane Wade—who did not play because of a migraine—will represent the Eastern Conference.
Mario Chalmers added 13 points and Norris Cole came off the bench to score 10 points for Miami.
Gerald Green led the Suns with 26 points while Goran Dragic and Channing Frye added 15 points each and P.J. Tucker netted 14 for Phoenix.
Miami led 92-89 when James sparked a closing 11-8 run with a jump shot and a slam dunk. After Green and Bosh traded 3-pointers, James added four free throws in the final seconds to clinch the triumph.

Durant scores 36 to spark Thunder over Blazers
NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant poured in 36 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder grabbed a dramatic last-second 98-95 triumph on Tuesday at Portland to boost their Northwest division lead.
Durant, who connected on 15-of-28 shots from the court, also registered 10 rebounds while Jeremy Lamb came off the bench to score 19 points and Reggie Jackson netted 17 for the Thunder. Oklahoma City improved to 42-12 and moved five games in front of the Trail Blazers, 36-16, in the division. The Thunder own the best record in the Western Conference but needed the victory to split the four-game regular-season series with Portland this season. Frenchman Nicolas Batum led the Trail Blazers with 18 points while Robin Lopez added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Damian Lillard added 16 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge made only 5-of-22 shots from the court, struggling to 12 points while also grabbing 12 rebounds for Portland.
The Trail Blazers lost reserve center Joel Freeland after only two minutes of play to a knee injury late in the first quarter. Jackson sank a driving off-balance layup to equalise for the Thunder at 93-93.
Lopez answered with a tip-in to put Portland back in front but Lamb answered with a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Oklahoma City a 96-95 edge. Lillard lost the ball out of bounds while driving to the basket but Durant, pressured by Batum, made the same mistake to give the Trail Blazers another chance.
Aldridge missed and the Thunder grabbed the rebound, setting up two Jackson free throws that created the final margin with only 0.6 of a second remaining. Lillard missed a desperation 3-point try from the right corner at the buzzer and the Thunder just had the victory.
Meanwhile, Joakim Noah scored 17 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and passed off 10 assists to power the Chicago Bulls over the Atlanta Hawks 100-85. Taj Gibson led the Bulls with 24 points and also contributed 12 rebounds for the Bulls, whose five starters all scored 10 or more points in their return home after a 3-3 road trip.
The Bulls improved to 26-25, replacing the Hawks, 25-25, as only the fourth team in the Eastern Conference with a winning record.
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 15 points while Lou Williams added 13 and Jeff Teague scored 12, but Atlanta lost for the fourth game in a row.
The Hawks, who have lost six games in a row at Chicago, fell behind by 25 points in the second quarter and came no closer than eight points in the final minutes.
Atlanta’s Kyle Korver stretched his NBA record streak of games with at least one 3-point basket to 119 while Millsap had his streak of 21 games in a row with a steal snapped.