James drops in 30, Heat turns back late charge to trim Raptors

Feb 5, 2012, 22:39 GMT

Los Angeles - LeBron James had 30 points with nine rebounds while Dwyane Wade scored 25 and the Miami Heat held off a late charge to beat the visiting Toronto Raptors 95-89 on Sunday.

Chris Bosh netted 12 points against his former team for Miami, (18-6), which matched a franchise-record for its best start through 24 games.

Miami led by 15 points midway through the final quarter but had it sliced to 85-82 with three minutes, 23 seconds left. James, however, made two free throws, and a followed with a two-handed dunk off a steal, igniting a 6-0 run as the Heat pulled away for its seventh win in the last eight games.

DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points while Jerryd Bayless and Linas Kleiza added 17 apiece for the struggling Raptors (8-17), who played without its top scorer Andrea Bargnani (left calf strain) for the 11th time in the last 13 games.

Kevin Garnett scored 24 points, Paul Pierce added 21, while Rajon Rondo handed out 14 assists and the Boston Celtics won their fourth in a row after beating the visiting Memphis Grizzlies, 98-80.

Rudy Gay had 21 points while OJ Mayo 15 off the bench to pace Memphis, which has dropped six of its last eight decisions.