Andrew Bogut's red hot Golden State Warriors have extended their winning streak with an easy victory against the Miami Heat.
Bogut was in doubt for the game after suffering a brutal elbow to the head in the Warriors' last outing against Oklahoma City but the Australian centre showed off all his skills as the Warriors won 114-97 at Miami's American Airlines Arena on Tuesday.
It was the Warriors' sixth consecutive victory and gives the team an 11-2 record for the season.
Melbourne-born Bogut faced the challenging assignment of guarding Heat big man Chris Bosh, who is as comfortable behind the three-point line as he is around the basket.
Bogut had eight points, connecting with four of his five shots, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots from 31 minutes on the court.
Bosh had 26 points and nine rebounds.
The Warriors' shooting guard tandem of Stephen Curry, with 40 points including eight from 11 three-point shots, and Klay Thompson, 24 points, were too potent for the Heat.
Miami's All-Star guard Dwyane Wade did not play because of a hamstring injury.
Bogut has endured headaches and fluid under his right eye, but did not suffer a fracture or concussion, since Oklahoma City centre Kendrick Perkins threw an inadvertent elbow to his face.
Bogut didn't show any ill effects in Miami.
He took a defensive rebound just one minute into the game, dribbled the ball around his back to evade an opponent on his way up the floor and then flicked an around-the-back pass to Thompson for an easy basket.
Moments later, Bogut tossed a perfectly placed lob pass to forward Draymond Green for a layup and the Australian followed that up by working his way into the key for a layup.
To end the two-minute passage of dominance, Warriors guard Seth Curry tossed a long alley-oop pass from well outside the three-point line that Bogut grabbed and dunked.
The Warriors are known for their offence, but the team from the San Francisco Bay Area has the NBA's top-ranked defence, with Bogut's rim protection one of the major factors.
ESPN.com this week also gave the Warriors the No.1 spot on its weekly power rankings, ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors, the only teams with better records.
