Masked James fires Heat to a win

LeBron James returned to the lineup and led the Miami Heat to a 108-82 victory over the New York Knicks.

Wearing an intimidating-looking black mask to protect his broken nose, James had 31 points, four rebounds and four assists in his first game since he was hurt last Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Elsewhere, centre Roy Hibbert scored a game-high 24 points and had 12 rebounds to power the Pacers to a hard-fought 101-96 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Pacers, who lead the Central Division by 13 games, rallied from a six-point deficit in the third quarter as forward Paul George added 18 points and a game-high six assists.

Guard John Wall scored 31 points while centre Marcin Gortat also scored 31 points and added 12 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the Toronto Raptors 134-129 in triple overtime.

Forward Paul Pierce scored 18 points before sitting out the entire fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets raced out to a big lead early and never relented in a 112-89 win over the Denver Nuggets.