Masked LeBron returns to lead Heat to victory

MIAMI - LeBron James, unhindered by the mask protecting his broken nose, poured in 31 points on Thursday to lead Miami to a 108-82 NBA rout of the New York Knicks. James played for the first time since his nose was broken in a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder a week earlier. He sat out the Heat’s victory over Chicago on Sunday, and said before the game he was a little concerned that the black protective mask obscured his vision just a bit. “More than the fit, it’s just the peripheral vision gets a little slurred, looking to the left, looking to the right and having a little piece of plastic that you can kind of see,” he said. On the floor however, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player didn’t seem to be bothered, connecting on 13 of his 19 attempts from the floor. Dwyane Wade added 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting for Miami, who shot 60.3 percent overall and pulled away for their sixth straight victory with a dominant third quarter. The reeling Knicks dropped their fourth straight. Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points for New York and Tyson Chandler delivered a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds.