NBA - Wade powers Heat past Clippers

MIAMI (NBA) - With LeBron James kept in check, Dwyane Wade took over and led the Miami Heat to a comfortable 97-79 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

James, the third leading scorer in the NBA (26.1 points per game), was held to a season-low 12 points and turned the ball over six times.

However, his team-mates stepped up, none more so than Wade, who came up just short of a triple-double.

The 29-year-old guard had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in leading the Heat to their sixth consecutive win.

The Clippers were no match for their opponents, shooting 32.5 percent from the field as they dropped to 3-17 on the road.

"We just weren't sharp and weren't good offensively," Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro said afterwards.

Leading rookie of the year candidate Blake Griffin had 21 points and 16 rebounds, but got little in the way of help at the offensive end from his team-mates.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics overcame a slow start to cruise past the Orlando Magic 91-80 in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals.

Boston trailed 22-17 at the end of the first quarter but turned things around thereafter thanks in large part to point guard Rajon Rondo who matched his season-high with 26 points.

The Magic were dominant in the early stages, with Dwight Howard scoring at will in the paint for a 12-2 lead.

He had 22 points by halftime as his team trailed 46-43, but was a non-factor after the break, scoring just six more points.

The win for the Celtics was overshadowed by an injury scare to swingman Marquis Daniels early in the second quarter.

He tried to drive baseline past Gilbert Arenas but collided with him and fell to the ground. He had to be stretchered off and was diagnosed with a bruised spinal cord.

In other games, Amar'e Stoudemire matched his season-high with 41 points in a 117-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Indiana Pacers got the better of the New Jersey Nets 105-86.

FIBA