James comes out on top in Wade showdown as Lakers down Heat

Former team-mates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade faced off for what is set to be the final time as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat.

The friends, who played together at both the Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, shared a warm embrace after the match-up, which saw the Lakers win 108-105.

Wade, who is due to retire at the end of the season, almost tied the game in the closing seconds, but missed a three-point attempt over James.

Both NBA superstars scored big – James finishing with 28 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, while Wade contributed 15 points and 10 assists to Miami.

A sixth win in seven games leaves the Lakers fifth in the Western Conference with a 17-10 record while Miami slip to 11-15 in the Eastern Conference.

After almost squandering a 25-point third-quarter lead, the Pacers clung on to post a 109-101 victory.

Kelly Oubre had a chance to put the Wizards in the lead with four minutes remaining, but a block from Myles Turner kept the Pacers ahead.

Turner scored a season-high 26 points while Bojan Bogdanovic added another 22.

The absence of four key players did not stop the Boston Celtics from extending their winning streak to an NBA-best six games.

Marcus Morris led the way with 31 points as the Celtics defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 113-100.

Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Gordon Hayward and Aron Baynes were all out due to illness or injury.

The Philadelphia 76ers lost Jimmy Butler with a groin strain in the first half against the Detroit Pistons, but went on to win 116-102.

Joel Embiid returned from a one-game absence to record 24 points for the Sixers, while Ben Simmons and Furkan Korkmaz both had 18 points.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks overcame the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers 108-92, despite resting forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Cavs did manage to cut the deficit in half in the closing stages – having trailed by 26 points in the third quarter – but it was not enough to turn things around.

The Sacramento Kings had better luck, rallying from 66-57 down in the third quarter to win 108-89 against the Chicago Bulls.

And the Denver Nuggets snapped a two-game losing streak to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 105-99.

The Oklahoma City Thunder emerged victorious against the Utah Jazz as the teams met for the first time since the first round of last season’s play-offs.

Paul George poured in 31 points as the Thunder earned a 122-113 win.

Elsewhere, the Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 101-76 win over the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Phoenix Suns 123-119 and the Golden State Warriors picked up a fourth straight victory by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108.