Miami 115, Boston 107

LeBron James poured in 26 points to lead the Miami Heat to their second straight win, a 115-107 triumph over the visiting Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

James came into the night averaging better than 30 points in his career against the Celtics and burned them again thanks to a 9-for-14 shooting performance. He added six rebounds and five assists as the Heat prevailed in their home opener after kicking off their season with a 105-94 victory in Dallas on Christmas Day.

Miami took charge early in this one, going up by double digits midway through the second quarter and extending the advantage to 17 on a trio of 3-pointers from James Jones in a 3 1/2-minute span.

The Celtics closed to within eight on Keyon Dooling's 3-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter, then overcame a sluggish start to the fourth with an 18-6 run - capped by another Dooling 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining - that trimmed the deficit to three.

Norris Cole followed by hitting consecutive jumpers for Miami - both on feeds from James - and the Heat held on over the final minute. Cole finished with 20 points.

Ray Allen led all scorers with 28 points for the Celtics, who played without Paul Pierce (bruised heel) for the second straight game. Pierce will not be in the lineup for Wednesday's game in New Orleans.

• Miami will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Heat have a W/L % of 1.000 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
• Boston will play their next game on the road against New Orleans . The Celtics have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.