MIAMI: LeBron James scored 30 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 to power the reigning NBA champion Miami Heat to a 105-89 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

James, who scored 12 points in a key third-quarter surge, also contributed nine rebounds and seven assists for the Heat, who improved to 18-6, moving ahead of the New York Knicks for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Wade added seven rebounds and seven assists while Shane Battier scored 15 points and Ray Allen added 13 for Miami, but the spark was “King James”, who hit 11-of-20 shots from the field and 7-of-10 free throws.

Marvin Williams led Utah with 16 points while Gordon Hayward added 15 for the Jazz, who also had a game-high 11 rebounds from Al Jefferson. Utah fell to 14-14, last in the Northwest division.

The Heat lead the Southeast division by 2 1/2 games over Atlanta.

In Sacramento, California, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins was suspended indefinitely by the NBA club on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) for unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team.

Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie announced the punishment one day after Cousins exchanged angry words in the locker room with coach Keith Smart at half-time of the Kings’ 97-85 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

Smart decided to bench Cousins for the entire second half, ordering him not to join the other players when they returned to the court for the second half of the game. After the game, an apologetic Cousins said his outburst was wrong.

Cousins, in his third NBA campaign, is averaging a team-high 16.6 points plus 9.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.35 steals a game after 23 games. He is hitting 41.4 percent from the field and 76.9 percent from the free throw line.

Cousins was suspended for one game earlier this month by the NBA for hitting Dallas guard O.J. Mayo in the groin and suspended two games in November by the league after a confrontation with San Antonio Spurs announcer Sean Elliott.