CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Lou Williams scored 23 points off the bench as the Philadelphia 76ers built an early lead and held on to send the Charlotte Bobcats to their 15th straight defeat, 98-89 Monday night.

Thaddeus Young added 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting, and Jrue Holiday chipped in with 19 points for the 76ers (20-9).

Williams was averaging 19 points over the previous four games. He stayed hot Monday night, making several big shots including a 3-pointer with 6:11 remaining after the Bobcats had pulled within 71-69.

He also hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to seal Philadelphia’s second straight win.

Corey Maggette scored a season-high 22 points for Charlotte, which fell to 3-25 on the season. It’s the worst record in the NBA and drops the Bobcats’ winning percentage below that of the 1972-73 76ers, who finished with the worst record ever in the NBA at 9-72.


HEAT 114, BUCKS 96

MILWAUKEE—LeBron James scored 35 points and the Miami Heat finally found a way to beat Milwaukee, using a third-quarter surge to beat the Bucks.

Dwyane Wade scored 22 and Mario Chalmers added 13 for the Heat, who were 0-2 against the Bucks coming into Monday night’s game.

James scored 16 of his points in the third quarter as the Heat outscored the Bucks 35-24 to take control of the game.


MAGIC 102,  TIMBERWOLVES 89

ORLANDO, Fla. —Jason Richardson scored 17 points, and Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu each added 14 as the Orlando Magic used a big second half to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Richardson, coming off a season-high 31 points, was strong early against Minnesota but sat out the fourth quarter.

The Magic didn’t need him, though, hitting 12 of 30 3-pointers for the game and with all five starters reaching double figures. Orlando has won two of its last three games and earned its seventh straight victory over the Timberwolves.


HORNETS 86, JAZZ 80

NEW ORLEANS —Chris Kaman scored a season-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the New Orleans Hornets snapped an eight-game skid with a victory over the Utah Jazz.

Marco Belinelli and Gustavo Ayon each added 13 points for New Orleans, which led by as many as 20 in the third quarter before holding on for only its third victory in 26 games.

Al Jefferson had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Utah, which was playing the second of back-to-back games after winning in Memphis on Sunday night. The Jazz turned the ball over 20 times, but still managed to get as close as three points in the final minute.


MAVERICKS 96, CLIPPERS 92

DALLAS --Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, 11 in the final 6-plus minutes, Shawn Marion added 16, and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

Jason Terry, Vince Carter and Brendan Haywood all contributed 10 points for the Mavs, who’ve won 10 in a row at home against the Clippers and extended their overall winning streak to four games.

Caron Butler of the Clippers scored a season-high 23 points against his former team, and Blake Griffin added 20 points. Chris Paul had 16 points and nine assists for the Clippers, but Griffin’s problems from the foul line cost his team as he missed seven of nine free throws.


WARRIORS 102, SUNS 96

OAKLAND, Calif.—David Lee had 28 points and 12 rebounds, Monta Ellis scored 18 points and the Golden State Warriors earned their first three-game winning streak under rookie coach Mark Jackson with a victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Rookie Klay Thompson added 10 points and fellow reserve Ekpe Udoh had nine points, including a layup with 35.9 seconds remaining that extended Golden State’s lead to five and capped a comeback from 12 points down in the second half.