James' 36 get Heat past Pacers, into 1st
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E-mail Xinhua, April 12, 2014
The Miami Heat crushed the Indiana Pacers 98-86 on Friday to retake the top place in the Eastern Conference.
LeBron James scored the game-high 36 points, and while the Heat haven't locked up the top seed with three games remaining in the regular season against the Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Pacers, who trail Miami by one half-game for the top spot in the East, face a tough clash with Western Conference powerhouse Oklahoma City before ending their regular season at Orlando.
The Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade for a ninth straight game because of a hamstring injury, used a lopsided third quarter to put the game away.
James scored 13 of his points in the period, in which the Heat built a three-point halftime lead into a 23-point advantage.
Mario Chalmers finished with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Udonis Haslem scored 11 points with nine rebounds in the victory.
The defeat was just the latest in Indiana's late-season swoon. Paul George and David West were the only starters to score in double-digits, George scoring 22 points and West contributing 18.
Roy Hibbert was limited to five points on 2-of-6 shooting, and pulled down only one rebound.
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