NBA Top Stories - Miami Heat, LA Lakers Win

 
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- LeBron James and Chris Bosh scored 28 points each, as the Miami Heat made it 21 straight wins, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 on Friday night.

Only three other teams have won 20 in a row in one season, and the Heat now trail just the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33) and the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) after moving ahead of the 1970-71 Bucks.

They withstood an early scare when Dwyane Wade walked to the locker room with a neck strain after crashing to the court. Miami led by as much as 17 in the third quarter, then withstood a push by the Bucks to remain unbeaten since a loss at Indiana on Feb. 1.

Miami next plays Sunday at Toronto, where the winning streak began on Feb. 3.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - After hobbling around on a severely sprained left ankle for one quarter, Kobe Bryant took himself out of the game and made sure he was the most valuable player on the Los Angeles Lakers' bench.

He exhorted his teammates to play hard, to read the defense and to take advantage of any openings they found against Indiana. He diagrammed plays and pulled players aside, coaching them up all night. Then, Dwight Howard completed a tiebreaking three-point play with 90 seconds to go, and the Lakers pulled away from Indiana for a 99-93 win.

Bryant, known as a remarkably quick healer who hasn't missed a game since the 2009-10 season, gallantly played less than 48 hours after turning his ankle when he landed on Dahntay Jones' foot in the waning seconds of Wednesday's loss at Atlanta.