Michael Jordan scored 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting to help the Washington Wizards edge closer to a playoff berth with a 100-91 win over the Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Jordan, who earlier in the day said he had no plans to return to the Chicago Bulls in a management role when the season ends, also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
Jerry Stackhouse added 18 for the Wizards, who moved to within 1 1/2 games of the idle Milwaukee Bucks for the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth.
PHOTO: AP
Zydrunas Ilgauskas top scored for Cleveland, the NBA's worst team, with 23 points, with Ricky Davis adding 18 and 11 assists.
Bulls 115 Pacers 103
Meanwhile in Chicago, the Bulls used a 30-18 final quarter to beat the Indiana Pacers 115-103.
Indiana could have pulled to within half a game of division-leading Detroit with a win but Jamal Crawford's career-high 33 points for Chicago ensured the Pacers they remained in second place in the Central division.
Lakers 108 Mavericks 99
In Los Angeles, the Lakers defeated Dallas 108-99 to hand the Mavericks their 25th straight loss in L.A. and also end their reign atop the Western Conference.
The Mavs and the surging San Antonio Spurs now share top spot with identical 57-20 records.
The Lakers, who got 21 points from former first round draft pick Devean George, they are within a game of the fifth-place Minnesota Timberwolves.
Suns 98 Nuggets 78
In Denver, the Phoenix Suns moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Houston Rockets for the final playoff place in the Western Conference with a convincing 98-78 win over the lowly Nuggets.
Shawn Marion notched 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Phoenix, which has won five of seven.
Juwan Howard had 15 points to topscore for Denver. Kings 107 SuperSonics 85
In Sacramento, Chris Webber scored 20 points while Peja Stojakovic had 18 for the Kings in their 107-85 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics.
Philadelphia 91 Pistons 74
In Philadelphia, a swollen left knee could not prevent the 76ers' Allen Iverson from scoring 37 points in a 91-74 rout of the Detroit Pistons.
Kenny Thomas added 16 points while grabbing 15 rebounds for Philadelphia.
Knicks 99 Hawks 95
In New York, Allan Houston notched 29 points as the New York Knicks outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 99-95 to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the post-season.
New York has to win its four remaining games and hope that the Milwaukee Bucks lose their final five for the Knicks to advance.
Trail Blazers 81 Rockets 66
In Houston, the Portland Trail Blazers held the Rockets to under 30 per cent shooting and dealt the home side's playoffs hopes a blow with a 81-66 victory.
Damon Stoudamire grabbed 21 points for play-off bound Portland while Houston shot a franchise low 29.5 per cent from the floor. James Posey scored 15 points while rookie Chinese center Yao Ming grabbed six points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, which are now 1 1/2 games behind the Phoenix Suns for the West's final playoff spot.
Warriors 128 Jazz 102
In Oakland, the Golden State Warriors got 34 points from Gilbert Arenas in a 128-102 romp over the playoff-bound Utah Jazz.
Karl Malone led the Jazz with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB