Heat handle Sixers with ease in Philly

NBA: Dwyane Wade scored 26 points and LeBron James had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Miami Heat to a 99-79 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Chris Bosh had 12 to help the Heat go on a dominant late run that put away the pesky Sixers.

The Heat used a 15-0 spurt in the fourth quarter to turn a tight one for 36 minutes into a comfortable victory and hand the Sixers just their third home loss of the season.

• Lakers open road trip with win: Andrew Bynum scored 22 points, Kobe Bryant added 20 and the Los Angeles Lakers opened a season-high six-game trip with a 93-89 victory over the host Denver Nuggets.

Al Harrington missed a 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left that would have put Denver ahead.

Pau Gasol added 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Lakers, who won for the third time in 10 road games this season and prevailed in Denver for only the second time in their last seven trips to the Pepsi Center.

• Celtics edge Knicks: Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had nine of his 14 in the final quarter to lift the host Boston Celtics to a 91-89 win over the struggling New York Knicks. The Celtics won for the seventh time in eight games while New York lost for the 11th time in 13 games.

Boston’s Kevin Garnett grabbed his 10,000th career defensive rebound early in the second quarter, becoming the third player in NBA history to reach that mark. He’s behind former Celtic Robert Parish (10,117) and Karl Malone (11,406).

Boston point guard Rajon Rondo returned after missing the previous eight games with a right wrist injury, but was ineffective, scoring just seven points and getting seven assists.

• Durant leads Thunder: Kevin Durant scored 36 points and hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer in the final minute to lift the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 101-94 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies in a rematch of their epic Western Conference playoff series.

• Pacers win at Dallas for first time in eight years: Paul George hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points, and the Indiana Pacers won in Dallas for the first time in eight years, beating the Mavericks 98-87.

Indiana won its 10th road game this season, matching Miami for the most in the NBA. The Pacers had lost 11 of their previous 12 road games against the Mavs, the only win in that stretch coming in 2004.

• Oden has fourth surgery: The Trail Blazers say center Greg Oden underwent an arthroscopic procedure to “remove debris” from his right knee, his fourth surgery since Portland selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft.

The often-injured 7-footer had microfracture surgery on the same knee before the start of his rookie season, forcing him to postpone his NBA debut for a year.

Since then, Oden has appeared in just 82 games for the Blazers, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Oden hasn’t appeared in a game for the Blazers in two years. He also underwent surgery for a fractured kneecap in late 2009, then early last season he had microfracture surgery on his left knee.

• Kaman reportedly returning to Hornets: A person familiar with the decision says the New Orleans Hornets have decided to reactivate 7-foot center Chris Kaman, who had been excused from team activities while the club sought to trade him.

The 29-year-old Kaman was acquired by New Orleans in the multiplayer trade that sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers before the season.

In 17 games with six starts, Kaman has averaged 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds. He’s in the final year of a contract that pays him about $14 million this season.

Eaton stars in his 600th NHL game

NHL: Mark Eaton scored 2:35 into overtime in his 600th NHL game to give the New York Islanders a 2-1 win over the host Ottawa Senators.

Eaton took a pass from Milan Jurcina and put the puck into an open right side for his 24th NHL goal – his first since Nov. 28, 2009.

• Halak makes 21 saves in Blues’ win: Jaroslav Halak stopped 21 shots and Jamie Langenbrunner scored in the second period to lead the host St. Louis Blues to a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Halak recorded his fifth shutout of the season and 21st of his career.

• Bergenheim lifts Panthers over Jets: Sean Bergenheim scored a go-ahead goal in the second period and the Florida Panthers beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 at Sunrise, Fla.

Calhoun taking indefinite leave

College basketball: University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence because of back problems.

The Hall of Fame coach of the defending national champions, who turns 70 in May, has been suffering for several months from spinal stenosis, a spinal condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility.

“I had back pain like never before last summer, thought it was back spasms,” he told the Associated Press. “I saw a neurologist and he told me about scoliosis, stenosis and other things and that there could be things like a bone spur and that I could probably need something done at some point. I went for the physical therapy and it worked, but it started to lock up sometimes recently and it was worse.”

George Blaney, the team’s associate head coach, said Calhoun began feeling pain in his legs and rear end during this week’s road trip to Georgetown.

Levin takes Phoenix Open lead with 63

Golf: Spencer Levin holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle on the par-4 17th and shot an 8-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead in the suspended second round of the Phoenix Open.

Levin completed a first-round 65 in the morning and was 14 under overall.

Harrison Frazar was 6 under for the round and 11 under overall with three holes left at TPC Scottsdale when play was suspended because of darkness.

Frost delayed the start for an hour for the second straight day. Last year, frost and frozen greens delayed play nine hours during the week, forcing a Monday finish.

Abbott out of Four Continents event

Figure skating: Three-time U.S. figure skating champion Jeremy Abbott has withdrawn from next week’s Four Continents in Colorado Springs, Colo., because of a right hip injury.

Four Continents begins Thursday. The event draws skaters from the United States, Canada and Japan, including reigning world champion Patrick Chan.