NBA: Wade inspires battling performance from Heat to snatch win

Miami surged back in the fourth quarter to claim a 103-92 victory despite being outpointed and out-rebounded by Minnesota.

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade shoots against Minnesota's Alexey Shved.

Miami blew open a close contest with a 17-6 run in the fourth quarter as they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-92, thanks to a 24-point performance from Dwyane Wade.

LeBron James finished with 22 points and 11 assists for the reigning NBA champion Heat who captured their fourth victory in five games.

Chris Bosh also scored 15 points to help the Heat prevail in front of a crowd of 19,862 at the American Airlines Arena.

The Heat won despite being out-rebounded by 52-24 and outscored in the paint 58-36.

"At end of the third and fourth quarter our offence was much more efficient," said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.

"It is uncanny how they are able to rebound like that. When we needed it we finally made the adjustments and got some team rebounds."

Miami shot a superb 52 per cent (13-of-25) from three-point range as Mario Chalmers hit four-of-six from beyond the arc. Chalmers had 12 points and Shane Battier went three-of-seven from three-point range.

Andrei Kirilenko had 22 points to pace the Minnesota attack. Nikola Pekovic finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves who lost their second straight after compiling a season-best four-game win streak.

Kevin Love grabbed 18 rebounds for Minnesota, but went just two-of-10 from the field while ending with 11 points.

Miami have now won their last five games against Minnesota.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and led a 17-0 run for the Los Angeles Lakers as they rallied to inflict yet another victory on the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Lakers trailed by as many as 18 in the third quarter and were 84-72 down before Pau Gasol began the comeback with two free throws with 31.4 seconds left in the third, beginning 17 unanswered points which lifted them to a 101-100 win, their third straight.

For the Bobcats, who were led by Kemba Walker's 28 points, it represented their 12 straight defeat and in agonising fashion as Ben Gordon missed a three-pointer from 26 feet on the buzzer.

Danilo Gallinari poured in 28 points as the Denver Nuggets overcame the stuttering San Antonio Spurs 112-106.

The Spurs, driven by Tim Duncan's 31 points and 18 rebounds, surged back to within three at 105-102 late in the fourth quarter but could not finish off the rally, losing their fourth game in five.

Kenneth Faried added 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Joakim Noah's second career triple-double helped the Chicago Bulls to a 100-89 win over the Boston Celtics.

Noah scored 11 points to go with 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer each scored 21 points.

Jordan Crawford also had a triple-double but it was not enough to prevent the Washington Wizards slipping to a 100-95 overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Crawford added 11 points and 11 assists to his 27 points, but the Hawks, led by 24 points from Lou Williams, pulled away in OT.

The Toronto Raptors claimed their first road win in 12 as Jose Calderon's 23 points lifted them to a 113-99 victory at the Cleveland Cavaliers.

OJ Mayo scored 26 points to see the Dallas Mavericks to a 107-100 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the Utah Jazz edged out the Brooklyn Nets 92-90, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 98-93 and the Golden State Warriors were 103-96 victors over the New Orleans Hornets.

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