Heat 98, Pacers 86: LeBron James led the way with 36 points as host Miami defeated Indiana to move atop the Eastern Conference.

Mario Chalmers scored 13 points and Udonis Haslem had 11 points and nine rebounds as the Heat (54-25) took a half-game lead over the Pacers (54-26) for the No. 1 seed in the East. Ray Allen and Chris Bosh added 10 points apiece for Miami, which was without guard Dwyane Wade (hamstring) for the ninth straight game.

Paul George scored 22 points and David West added 18 for Indiana, which has lost eight of its last 11 games. Luis Scola added 12 points for the Pacers, who split the four regular-season meetings with the Heat.

Indiana had the fourth-quarter momentum thanks to 13 consecutive points until Pacers forward Evan Turner was called for a technical foul with 9:37 to play. Ray Allen hit the free throw to begin a 9-0 run that saw Miami take an 85-67 edge with 8:04 remaining and Indiana was unable to mount a late charge.

James had 17 points in the first half as the Heat led 45-42 at halftime before erupting in the third quarter. Miami scored the first 16 points of the quarter and stretched the lead to 22 before Indiana’s 13-point run pulled it within 76-67 early in the fourth quarter.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami held a 44-26 edge in points in the paint and scored 20 points off 16 Indiana turnovers. … Pacers C Roy Hibbert had one rebound in 34 minutes and has just six total rebounds over the past four games. … Haslem collected four offensive rebounds to raise his career count to 1,509, breaking a tie with Alonzo Mourning (1,505) for most in franchise history.