NBA - LeBron and Miami beat Boston to second place in East

ATLANTA (NBA) - The Miami Heat won 98-90 at the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night and clinched second place in the NBA's Eastern Conference ahead of Boston.

LeBron James poured in 34 points, corralled 10 rebounds and handed out seven assists for the Heat, who improved to 57-24 on the season.

Boston had been in second place but lost to the Heat at the weekend and also fell 95-94 at Washington on Monday.

Still with a chance to finish second ahead of Miami, Celtics coach Doc Rivers elected to not to play Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo to give the foursome a much-needed rest before the post-season.

Should Miami and Boston (55-26) meet in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the Heat will have home-court advantage.

The Dallas Mavericks, meanwhile, have taken over sole possession of second place in the West ahead of the slumping, two-time defending champions Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavs needed overtime but prevailed 98-91 at Houston with a couple of European players having big games.

Germany's Dirk Nowitzki poured in 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Mavs (56-25), who are a half-game clear of the Lakers.

Slovenia's Goran Dragic, traded to Houston in mid-season from Phoenix, had 15 points, seven assists, 10 rebounds and four steals for the Rockets.

Oklahoma City kept the pressure on both Dallas and LA with a 120-112 triumph at Sacramento.

Kevin Durant, the MVP of the 2010 FIBA World Championship after leading the United States to the gold medal, had nine of his 32 points in the fourth quarter against the Kings.

Another Team USA man, Russell Westbrook, had 30 points and nine assists for the Thunder.

The Thunder are 55-26, just a half-game behind the third-place Lakers (55-25).

Greece's Kostas Koufos got extended minutes for the Denver Nuggets and made the most of them by equaling his career high of 18 points in the Nuggets 134-111 triumph over visiting Golden State.

Koufos has averaged 8.1 minutes per game this season but played 19 on Monday for the Nuggets, who are fifth in the Western Conference at 50-31.

Italy's Danilo Gallinari of Denver missed the game with a right ankle sprain.

New Orleans are eighth in the West after a 90-78 home defeat to Utah.

Other results: Charlotte 105 New Jersey 103, Orlando 95 Philadelphia 85, Cleveland 110 Detroit 101, Toronto 86 Milwaukee 93, Minnesota 127 Phoenix 135 (OT).

FIBA