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James made just one shot in the second and Los Angeles led 50-38 at the break. The Heat surpassed their lowest-scoring half of the season by just one point after making only three shots in the final 7:46.
Miami controlled the third quarter behind James, who guarded everybody from Gasol to point guard Steve Blake depending on the Heat's needs. But when James slightly shoved Troy Murphy in frustration after missing a layup at the third-quarter buzzer, Gasol stepped in to challenge James, earning matching technical fouls before officials and World Peace restored order.
Los Angeles nursed its lead through the final period, and the Staples Center crowd gave a standing ovation after Wade committed three fouls in less than three minutes. He picked up his sixth when he foolishly tried to reach over the 7-foot Bynum's back to stop an alley-oop pass.
James appeared to injure his left foot with 1:05 to play when he stepped out of bounds and landed awkwardly on the foot of a fan sitting courtside, but he returned to the game after a timeout.
NOTES: Before the game, coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed Bosh won't rejoin the Heat until they return to Miami for Tuesday's visit from New Jersey. Without the 6-foot-11 All-Star, the Heat's starting lineup featured nobody taller than 6-foot-9 Joel Anthony to defend Los Angeles' two 7-footers. ... Bryant set the NBA record for points scored at one arena on Friday night in Staples Center, surpassing Hakeem Olajuwon's 13,783 points at the Houston Rockets' Compaq Center. ... Fans near courtside included Denzel Washington, Lil Wayne, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Terry Crews, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, KISS guitarist Paul Stanley and Jets QB Mark Sanchez.
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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