"LeBron James began the day sick as a dog. Better than being Kobe Bryant, who ended it that way.

Playing without Dwyane Wade and a less-than-healthy James, the Heat dominated Bryant and his Lakers 98-87 on Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. James missed shoot around Thursday morning with flulike symptoms but turned in one of his best performances of the season, scoring 31 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Heat held the Lakers to less than 40 percent shooting through the game's first three quarters and improved to 5-0 this season in games without Wade, who missed his second game in a row with a sprained ankle. The Heat is 3-0 against the Lakers during the Big 3 Era."