Heat fall to Lakers in Marion debut

Shawn Marion’s debut was strong. It just wasn’t enough for the Miami Heat to stop Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bryant scored 33 points, and the Lakers used a 16-2 second-half run to pull away and beat the skidding Heat 104-94 Sunday in Miami’s first home game of its post-Shaquille O’Neal era.

Mark Blount finished with 22 points for Miami, which has lost seven straight games and 22 of its last 23.

Dwyane Wade scored 19 for Miami, and Marion, playing his first game for the Heat since Wednesday’s stunning deal that sent O’Neal to the Phoenix Suns for he and Marcus Banks, finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Suns 108, Wizards 106: Amare Stoudemire had 31 points, including two game-clinching free throws with 7.5 seconds to play, and host Phoenix handed Washington its seventh straight loss.

Stoudemire also had 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Suns, who played with their newest member Shaquille O’Neal watching from the bench in street clothes.

Raptors 105, Timberwolves 82: At Minneapolis, Andrea Bargnani scored 16 points and Jose Calderon had 15 points and 10 assists to help Toronto beat Minnesota.

Nets 101, Mavericks 82: At East Rutherford, N.J., Vince Carter scored 29 points, and New Jersey ran off 21 straight points to stun Dallas.

The 21-point run was part of a 36-6 spurt that turned a 36-25 deficit into a 61-42 lead.

Nuggets 113, Cavaliers 83: At Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points, All-Star sidekick Allen Iverson added 25 and Denver rolled to victory over the Cavaliers.

The Cavs’ LeBron James scored 30 points but got little help from a Cleveland team missing four key players, including two starters.

Celtics 98, Spurs 90: Paul Pierce scored 35 points, and Rajon Rondo had 12 assists and 11 rebounds as host Boston beat streaking San Antonio.

Tim Duncan had 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and Manu Ginobili scored 21 for the Spurs, who lost for the first time in five games.

Pistons 113, Bobcats 87: At Auburn Hills, Mich., Tayshaun Prince scored 21 points and Detroit won its seventh straight game in beating Charlotte.

Wallace to replace Garnett

Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett withdrew from the NBA All-Star game and was replaced on the Eastern Conference roster by Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace.