MX23RW : Thursday, December 26 15:42:26| >> :600:1078247:1078247:

NBA roundup: Wins for Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder

Sports Mole rounds up all the action from Saturday's games in the NBA, where there where wins for the Heat and the Bulls, but another defeat for the Lakers.

The Miami Heat cruised to a win over the Philadelphia 76ers in their first away game of the new NBA campaign.

The two sides were close for much of the game, but Chris Bosh helped the visitors pull away in the fourth quarter, inflicting a third defeat of the season on Philadelphia.

The Chicago Bulls needed two free throws in the final second of their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves to secure a narrow win.

Chicago, who were without the injured Derrick Rose, looked in control in the first half, but a dominant second-half display got the Wolves back into the game.

However, Andrew Wiggins fouled Jimmy Butler with 0.2 seconds on the clock, giving the guard two free throws to edge the Bulls back in front at the death.

The Los Angeles Lakers' struggles at the start of the season continued as they slipped to 0-4 following a heavy defeat to the Golden State Warriors.

Klay Thompson, who signed a new contract earlier this week, added a career-high 41 to ensure that the Warriors came away with a win from their first home game.

The Lakers started well and led by six at the end of the first quarter, but they were unable to build on their early momentum.

The Oklahoma City Thunder put their back-to-back defeats behind them with a win over the Denver Nuggets in their first home game of the season.

With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook out injured, the Thunder relied on Perry Jones for points, and he finished the game with 23.

The Dallas Mavericks needed a strong finish to secure a narrow win over the New Orleans Pelicans - their second victory of the campaign.

The visitors had led by 17 points at one point, but fell behind when Anthony Davis led a third-quarter comeback for the Pelicans, but veteran Dirk Nowitzki rallied when it mattered to secure Dallas the win.

The Indiana Pacers suffered their second defeat in three games as the Atlanta Hawks secured a comfortable win at Philips Arena.

The hosts looked the stronger of the two sides from the start, opening up a nine-point lead over their injury-depleted opponents by the end of the first quarter.

Jeff Teague finished as the top scorer for Atlanta with 25 points, while Al Horford finished with 20 to ensure that the Pacers could not come back late on.

The Brooklyn Nets clinched their first victory of the season with a late push against the Detroit Pistons.

Joe Johnson scored 15 of his 34 points in the final eight minutes of the game having also led Brooklyn to a bright start.

A strong from the Houston Rockets left the Boston Celtics with too big a deficit to come back from in their clash at the Toyota Center.

James Harden led the hosts on a furious charge in the first quarter, leaving them 15 points up after 12 minutes on their way to a third win in a row.

The Memphis Grizzlies also made it three wins on the spin at the start of the new season with a narrow victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Marc Gasol led the charge for the Grizzlies, finishing the game with 22 points, including a vital three-pointer inside the final moments.

The Washington Wizards won their first game of the season at home, but had to secure the victory without Paul Pierce, as he was ejected in the first half against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Pierce was kicked out of the game following back-to-back technical fouls shortly before the break, including protesting the first call, but Otto Porter took his place in the third quarter and finished with a career-high 21.

The Orlando Magic are still looking for their first win of the season after slipping to a heavy defeat against the Toronto Raptors, which is their eighth straight loss against the Canadian team.

All five of the Toronto's starters finished the game with their points in double figures, but it was DeMar DeRozan who topped the scoring with 26.

The Utah Jazz thrashed the Phoenix Suns to pick up their first win of the season, and inflict a first defeat on their opponents.

Derrick Favors led the Jazz to a big lead in the first quarter, but the Suns all but closed the gap before the break and trailed by just four at the end of the second quarter.

Favours hit his stride again after the break to open up the advantage again, finishing the game with 32 points.

Results in full: Dallas Mavericks 109-104 New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies 71-69 Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors 108-95 Orlando Magic, Miami Heat 114-96 Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks 97-108 Washington Wizards, Indiana Pacers 92-102 Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets 102-90 Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics 90-104 Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls 106-105 Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets 91-102 Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns 91-118 Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers 104-127 Golden State Warriors

ID:186028: cacheID:186028:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10235:
Written by
Sian Cowper
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Chris Bosh #1 of the Miami Heat posts up Pau Gasol #16 of the Los Angeles Lakers during a game at American Airlines Arena on January 23, 2014
Read Next:
NBA roundup: Winning starts for Bulls, Celtics, Pacers
>