Lakers beat Warriors with 3 pointer by World Peace

OAKLAND - The Associated Press

Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace (15) drives to the basket during the fourth quarter of his NBA basketball game against Golden State Warriors.

Kobe Bryant had 34 points and 10 rebounds, Steve Nash finished with 12 points and nine assists in his first game in almost two months, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Golden State Warriors 118-115 in overtime Dec. 22.

Metta World Peace and Nash each made a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minutes of regulation before the Warriors came back. World Peace scored 20 points, and Nash converted a step-back shot for the final points in overtime to lift Los Angeles to its fourth straight victory.

Jarrett Jack scored 29 points and David Lee had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a disappointing collapse for Golden State, which had won 11 of 14 games to get off to its best start in 20 years. As so often has happened in this one-sided California rivalry, the Lakers took over when it mattered most.

In New York, LeBron James jammed home 30 points as the NBA champion Miami Heat silenced the Utah Jazz 105-89 to move past the New York Knicks atop the Eastern Conference.

Miami turned a four-point lead at intermission into a double-digit cushion by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter helped by a pair of three-pointers by Shane Battier.

The lead was stretched to 20 points but Utah battled back to close the gap, getting as close as eight in the fourth quarter, though the Heat were never seriously threatened.

The Heat won every quarter, building their lead behind the all-round brilliance of James and an equally well-rounded effort by his running mate Dwyane Wade to lift Miami’s record to 18-6, and push past the fast-starting New York Knicks (19-7).

James shared the team lead with nine rebounds and seven assists, while Wade scored 21 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.

Miami shot a blistering 52 percent from the floor, including 11-for-24 from three-point range in improving to 13-2 on their home court.

The Jazz, who were paced by Marvin Williams with 16 points, continued their road struggles, falling to 5-12 away from home.

James has scored at least 20 points in all 24 Heat games this season, matching the longest such streak to start a season since former Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone in the 1989-90 campaign.

Miami, winners of four straight games, will put their streak on the line on Christmas against the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (21-5) in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.