Heat 96, Lakers 80
LeBron James outdueled Kobe Bryant and the Miami Heat delivered a dominating performance against the Lakers, defeating the two-time defending champions 96-80 in Los Angeles on Christmas Day.
James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while recording his 31st career triple-double as Miami (23-9) won for the 14th time in 15 games. Bryant had just 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting as the Lakers (21-9) lost the highly anticipated first meeting between the teams since James and fellow free agent Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in Miami.
Bosh had 24 points and 13 rebounds and Wade scored 18 points while playing on an injured knee as Miami ran its streak of holding teams under 100 points to 15 consecutive contests.
Pau Gasol also scored 17 points for the Lakers. Lamar Odom added 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Lakers pulled within eight points early in the fourth quarter before Miami held Los Angeles without a field goal for nearly seven minutes. The Heat outscored Los Angeles 14-1 during that stretch to take a 91-70 lead.
The loss was the second in a row for Los Angeles.
Miami led 47-38 at halftime behind 18 first-half point from Bosh. The Heat held Bryant and Gasol to a combined 6-of-21 from the field over the first 24 minutes.