HEAT 97, ROCKETS 88: LeBron James scored 32 points to fuel a late surge as host Miami rallied past Houston to hold onto its faint hope of securing the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

James shot 11 of 21 from the field and Norris Cole added 16 points for the Heat, who outscored the Rockets by a 31-19 margin in the fourth quarter.

With its 28th home win in 33 outings, Miami trails the Chicago Bulls by two games with as many to play in the regular season.

Dwyane Wade sat out with a dislocated left index finger, but expects to be ready for the postseason. Chris Bosh was also a bystander due to what Miami coach Erik Spoelstra termed as "muscle fatigue."

Rookie Chandler Parsons scored a career-high 23 points and Goran Dragic had 16 for the Rockets, who were eliminated from the postseason equation with their seventh loss in eight games.

With Houston leading 79-73, James and Cole leveled the contest with a pair of jumps shots before the latter converted both free throws. James and Mike Miller connected on 3-point shots on consecutive series before the Heat pulled away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Parsons, who was averaging 9.3 points coming into the game, had scored 21 points on two occasions this season. He did so against Oklahoma City on March 13 and versus Denver on April 16. ... Miami has defeated Houston in five consecutive outings.