MIAMI, Florida // For the Miami Heat, the third quarter was pretty much the whole story. Chris Bosh tumbled over some courtside seats on one end, and LeBron James apologized to a few fans during one particularly frustrating moment on the other.
In between, Mario Chalmers gave the Heat all the boost they needed.
Chalmers went on a personal 9-0 run in a 39-second span of the period, Bosh led all scorers with 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting, and the Heat went on to beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-88 on Tuesday night for their fourth straight victory.
“We just try to get out in transition, let our defence be our offence most of the time and keep working from there,” Chalmers said.
Ray Allen scored 17 in his first game back from a bout with the flu. Chalmers had 12 of his 14 in the third quarter for the Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade for the second time this season. James finished with a season-low 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Heat (8-3), and no starter played in the final 12 minutes while backups put away the game.
“We’re very confident in our lineup we got, man,” James said. “Those guys continue to play well. They continue to work together and it’s great to have a Hall of Famer in that lineup with Ray coming back.”
Mike Scott scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Atlanta, who got 12 points apiece from Al Horford and Pero Antic. Kyle Korver made three 3-pointers for the Hawks, extending his streak to 84 consecutive games with at least one make from beyond the arc, five shy of matching Dana Barros’ NBA record.
“It’s a constant battle,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said of playing the Heat. “They take away something. Hopefully you can find something else. At times we did and at times we didn’t.”
Miami’s lead was 56-54 in the third quarter when Chalmers got hot – in a hurry. James Jones, who started in place of Wade, actually started what became a 15-2 run with a 3-pointer, and then Chalmers got going.
He cut across the lane for a reverse layup while getting fouled, then made a 3-pointer from the left wing after an Atlanta turnover. Jeff Teague missed a layup on the next Atlanta possession, James wound up throwing a chest pass from about 50 feet to Chalmers, who pulled up on the catch and connected on another 3-pointer from the same spot.
Just like that, 56-54 became 68-54. And Bosh provided one of the night’s highlights by giving the crowd a rather comical thumbs-up after his dive into the expensive seats, plus was thrilled to learn afterward that the photo quickly made its rounds on social media.
“You don’t get to go in the stands much,” Bosh said.
Atlanta carved the deficit to 10 entering the fourth, but the Heat – with five reserves on the court – then showed off their depth.
Allen scored Miami’s first 12 points of the final quarter, Michael Beasley added the next four, and the Heat lead grew 94-78 with five minutes remaining, ensuring that the two-time defending NBA champions would keep their starters on the bench for the entirety of the final period. Norris Cole finished with eight points, nine assists and five rebounds for Miami.
“Our starters are rooting them on,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They understand the importance of that group.”
OTHER TUESDAY RESULTS
Rockets 109, Celtics 85
Rockets power forward Terrence Jones scored a career-high 24 points, and all five Houston starters scored in double figures, in a victory over the Boston Celtics.
Jones, making his fourth consecutive start, sank his first eight shot attempts en route to eclipsing his previous career high of 14 points by halftime.
He shot 10-of-12 and added nine rebounds and two blocks as the Rockets (8-4) improved to 3-1 with him in the starting lineup.
The Celtics (4-8) have sandwiched two four-game skids around a four-game winning streak.
Wizards 104, Timberwolves 100
Guard Bradley Beal scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half, and point guard John Wall matched his career high with 16 assists, as the Washington Wizards snapped a four-game losing streak.
Wizards small forward Martell Webster scored 17 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 42.9 seconds remaining that put them ahead 100-98.
Power forward Kevin Love had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves (7-5) but managed only one point in the fourth quarter.
Pistons 92, Knicks 86
Guard Rodney Stuckey had a season-high 21 points and five assists off the bench as the Detroit Pistons ended a seven-game losing streak to the New York Knicks.
Forward Josh Smith supplied 19 points for the Pistons (4-6) while Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (3-7) with 25 points but committed a season-high seven turnovers.
Guard JR Smith, who was removed from the starting lineup, had 18 points.
Kings 107, Suns 104
Isaiah Thomas sank two free throws to break a tie with 30.4 seconds remaining, and the Sacramento Kings punctuated a game of runs by scoring the final 10 points to beat the Phoenix Suns.
The free throws capped a 19-point night by Thomas, and helped the Kings (3-6) overcome an 84-70 third-quarter deficit.
Forward Marcus Morris, who finished with 19 points for the Suns, missed a 3-pointer from the corner with one second remaining.
DeMarcus Cousins, playing the entire second half after dislocating his shoulder with 15.9 seconds left in the first half and popping it back into place, finished with a game-high 27 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento.
