Heat hit shots late, beat Clips

The Miami Heat sank their final eight free throws – including three by Shaquille O’Neal – and beat the Los Angeles Clippers 118-114 Monday night in Miami.

Miami won with hot hands from the field early, and from the free-throw line in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Dwyane Wade, who clinched the win with two free throws with eight seconds left, had 28 points, 11 assists and four blocks, and O’Neal added 25 points.

Cavaliers 103, Bobcats 91: At Charlotte, N.C., LeBron James scored 30 points in three quarters to lead Cleveland to a win over Charlotte, extending Charlotte’s franchise-record losing streak to 12.

Timberwolves 110, Celtics 85: At Minneapolis, former Celtic Marcus Banks had a season-high 20 points and six assists, and Mark Blount, also a former Celtic, had 16 points and 10 boards as Minnesota beat Boston.

Grizzlies 86, Rockets 77: At Memphis, Tenn., Chucky Atkins scored 19 points in his first start for Memphis as the Grizzlies defeated Houston. Yao Ming, who missed 21 games because of a foot injury, had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Hawks 120, Knicks 101: At Atlanta, Al Harrington scored 26 points and Atlanta pulled away in the second half to beat New York for its biggest win of the season.

Hornets 94, Bucks 93: At Oklahoma City, David West hit a foul-line jumper with 0.1 seconds left to lift New Orleans past Milwaukee.

Spurs 79, Jazz 70: At Salt Lake City, Tim Duncan scored 19 points and Tony Parker added 17 to help San Antonio beat Utah.

Off the court

The NBA asked, and LeBron James said no.

James said Monday he declined the NBA’s request that he participate in the NBA’s All-Star dunk contest. He will, however, be in the skills challenge.

Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor is expected to be out at least another five weeks with a sprained right ankle that has already cost him 19 of the last 20 games.

Knicks forward Antonio Davis served his five-game suspension for rushing into the stands in defense of his wife, but his return to the court will have to wait after he was scratched against Atlanta due to lower back pain.