MINNEAPOLIS, United States // The Miami Heat walked into Target Center with a big problem over the previous two games – they had been dominated on the glass.
That was two games too many for LeBron James.
The reigning NBA MVP had 21 points, eight assists and 14 boards for his first double-digit rebounding game of the season, leading the Heat to a 103-82 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.
Dwyane Wade had 19 points and five rebounds in his return from a two-game absence and the Heat controlled the glass until garbage time after getting hammered on the boards by Detroit and Chicago in consecutive losses. James’ 14 boards were the most he’s had for the Heat in a regular season game.
“Don’t talk about it, just go do it,” James said. “To me, when I say it, I go and make it happen.”
Kevin Martin scored 19 points for the Timberwolves. But they sorely missed Kevin Love, who was with his family following the death of his grandmother on Wednesday night.
The Wolves shot a franchise-low 29.3 percent while the Heat made 55 percent of their shots to overcome 20 turnovers.
“We didn’t play very tough tonight,” Martin said. “The champs showed us how it’s done.”
The Heat haven’t lost three in a row in the regular season since January 2012. And James wasn’t about to revisit that slide.
“We don’t like losing back-to-back games, and we definitely don’t want to lose three in a row,” James said. “So it was a good pick-up game after the loss to Chicago.”
The Heat were bludgeoned on the boards 49-27 by the Bulls on Wednesday night and 46-34 by the Pistons on Tuesday night. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke on Saturday morning of needing all five players on the floor to attack the glass because they don’t have a singular rebounding force like the Wolves do.
Despite having to go to the bench earlier than usual with two fouls in the first quarter, James still managed to rack up 10 rebounds before the first half was over. He posted his highest regular-season rebounding total since his last season in Cleveland, when he grabbed 16 against Sacramento on December 23, 2009.
Minnesota just barely won the rebounding battle, 45-44. But the Heat won on the defensive glass, 37-28.
The night was punctuated in the third quarter when Wade threw a pass off the glass to a soaring James for a 71-57 lead.
“He came out with force,” Spoelstra said of James. “And it was on both ends. He was active, he was over the top with his athleticism. Some of the rebounds were up over the crowd, playing out of the post, but also in transition playing in a different motor.”
Wade missed the previous two games, first with knee soreness and then because of an illness. He suffered a scare in the first quarter when he appeared to bang his right knee as he crashed to the court. He writhed in pain for a few minutes, but was able to get up and keep going.
The Heat play at Detroit on Sunday, but it wasn’t certain that Wade would play. Spoelstra likes to rest him on back-to-backs to reduce the wear and tear on his knees.
Nikola Pekovic had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves, who were playing after a game against San Antonio in Mexico City on Wednesday night was postponed due to smoke in the arena.
Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio struggled mightily with one point on 0-for-4 shooting, six assists and six turnovers.
“It seems like we were scared,” Rubio said. “That can’t happen.”
OTHER SATURDAY RESULTS
Pacers 111, Spurs 100
Paul George had 28 points and six assists to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 111-100 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a battle between the top teams in the East and West.
George was perfect from the three-point line (four of four) and the free throw line (six of six).
Indiana (18-2) boasts the best record in the league but had lost the last 11 straight games to the Spurs, with their last win in San Antonio on January 4, 2002.
San Antonio (15-4) was led by Kawhi Leonard with 18 points.
Warriors 108, Grizzlies 82
Golden State halted an 11-game Memphis winning streak in the series with a 108-82 win over the Grizzlies.
Klay Thompson paced the Warriors with a game-high 30 points while David Lee scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Steph Curry had 22 points and tied his career high with 15 assists.
The Warriors (12-9) last beat the Grizzlies (9-10) on November 3, 2010 and they had not won in Memphis since April 2008.
Nuggets 103, 76ers 92
Jordan Hamilton and JJ Hickson each scored nine fourth-quarter points as the Denver Nuggets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 103-92 to snap a two-game losing streak.
Hickson finished with 12 points, including the dunk with 6:20 left that snapped the last of the final period’s four ties and put the Nuggets ahead to stay, at 88-86.
Hamilton notched 13 points, including three three-pointers in as many fourth-quarter possessions.
Pistons 92, Bulls 75
Brandon Jennings scored 33 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 92-75 victory over Chicago.
While extending their winning streak to four games, the Pistons ended another long streak as they had lost 14 in a row in Chicago (8-10).
Jennings hit 12 of 22 shots from the field, including five baskets from three-point range. Kyle Singler added 12 points for Detroit (10-10), while three players grabbed double-digit rebounds.
Cavaliers 88, Clippers 82
Andrew Bynum scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds, all in the first three quarters, and the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their dominance of the Los Angeles Clippers with an 88-82 victory.
The Cavs (7-13) have now won 13 of their last 15 games against the Clippers.
Cavs forward Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving each scored 20 points, with Thompson grabbing a team-high 13 rebounds.
Chris Paul had 13 points and a game-high 16 assists for the Clippers (13-8).
Nets 90, Bucks 82
Brook Lopez scored a season-high 32 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets avoided a share of the Eastern Conference cellar with a 90-82 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Joe Johnson finished with 15 points, knocking down a pair of three-pointers, while Andray Blatche added 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the Brooklyn bench.
Guard OJ Mayo led the Bucks with 22 points.
Kings 112, Jazz 102
DeMarcus Cousins scored 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting and blocked three shots to lead Sacramento (5-13) over Utah (4-18). Isaiah Thomas added 26 off the bench for the Kings.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 22 points, Turkish center Enes Kanter had 12 points and four blocks and Trey Burke provided 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Mavericks 108, Trail Blazers 106
Monta Ellis hit a buzzer-beating winner to propel Dallas (13-8) over the Western Conference’s hottest team, Portland (17-4) on the road.
Ellis finished with 22 and Dirk Nowitzki poured in 28 points with six rebounds and seven assists for the Mavericks.
Damian Lillard led all scorers with 32 for the Trail Blazers.
