Shaquille O'Neal scored a season-high 40 points and added 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the host Miami Heat past the Washington Wizards 106-83 Monday.

The Heat lost leading scorer Dwyane Wade with a sprained left ankle late in the first half, although the team said his absence was simply a precautionary measure.

O'Neal made up for the loss of Wade, notching 15 of his points in the final quarter as Miami won its fifth straight game, and seventh in a row against the Wizards.

Rasual Butler added 16 points as the Heat held the Wizards to 32 points in the first half, a season-low for Washington. Butler also tied a career high with seven rebounds.

Eddie Jones claimed 14 points and Damon Jones contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.

Gilbert Arenas had 18 points for the Wizards, who lost for onlythe third time in 12 outings.

Kwame Brown added 16 points for Washington, which had been averaging 102.1 points per game.

In Memphis, LeBron James collected 31 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Grizzlies 92-86.

James chipped in with eight assists and seven steals for the Cavs, who received an 18-point performance from Jeff McInnis. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Pau Gasol led Memphis with 19 points while Lorenzen Wright totaled 16 points and 10 rebounds.

In Chicago, Michael Finley scored 27 points as the Dallas Mavericks rallied to edge the Bulls 94-93.

Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Mavs while Josh Howard had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Eddy Curry led Chicago with 20 points and Tyson Chandler had 12points and 11 rebounds.

In Phoenix, Quentin Richardson poured in 26 points as the Suns improved to 18-3 with a 121-100 rout of the Orlando Magic.

Shawn Marion added 19 points and 10 rebounds while Amare Stoudemire had 21 points and Leandro Barbosa 19.

Grant Hill's 23 points led Orlando.

In Los Angeles, Ricky Davis amassed 34 points as the Boston Celtics finally subdued the Clippers 134-127 in double overtime.

Paul Pierce added 33 points for the Celtics, who scored 18 points in the second extra period.

Corey Maggette scored 34 points for the Clippers while Elton Brand had 24 points and 18 rebounds.

Source: Xinhua