Heat 92, Warriors 75
LeBron James scored 25 points - becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 for his career - and added seven rebounds and 10 assists as visiting Miami crushed Golden State.
Dwyane Wade, who was benched in the fourth quarter of a loss at Utah on Monday, chipped in 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists while Mario Chalmers also scored 15 points. The Heat improved to 2-3 on their current road trip and have a chance to close it out at .500 at the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
Jarrett Jack started in place of Stephen Curry and scored 16 points while David Lee collected 12 and 11 boards for the Warriors, who have dropped four of their last five. Curry sprained his ankle during the morning practice on Wednesday and is day-to-day.
James’ jumper with 2:45 left in the second quarter gave him 19 in the game and 20,001 points for his career. The three-time MVP is over a year younger than Kobe Bryant was when he hit the mark.
James totaled 21 points in the first half and led a strong defensive effort to help Miami take a 52-38 lead into the break.
The Heat really opened things up in the third quarter, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Chalmers on the first two possessions to spark a 15-0 run at the beginning of the period. James highlighted the surge when he caught a half court alley-oop pass from Wade and threw it down for a dunk.
Chris Bosh’s 3-pointer pushed the lead all the way out to 78-44 with 3:05 left in the third and Miami took a 30-point lead into the fourth before benching its starters and coasting to the finish.
GAME NOTEBOOK: X-rays on Curry’s ankle came back negative. … The Warriors’ 12 points marked their lowest-scoring third quarter of the season. … James is the seventh-fastest in terms of games played to reach 20,000 at 726. Wilt Chamberlain is the fastest at 499 games. James also recorded his 5,000th career assist in the first quarter. He is the 13th player with 20,000 points and 5,000 assists. … The Heat scored 22 points off 21 Golden State turnovers.