LeBron James had 26 points with 12 assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers answered every time Minnesota threatened in the fourth quarter in a 107-97 win over the Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 25 points, and Jeff McInnis had 21 for the Cavaliers, who kept their poise down the stretch against one of the Western Conference's top teams one game after they blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost to Boston.
Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves. Sam Cassell added 19 points, and Troy Hudson 15 -- 10 in a 2:24 span of the fourth -- as Minnesota stormed back.
The Timberwolves played without forward Latrell Sprewell, who sprained his left foot last week.
Heat 108, Celtics 100
In Miami, Dwyane Wade had 33 points and 11 assists, Udonis Haslem scored 18 points and tied a career-high with 17 rebounds, and Miami extended its winning streak to nine games.
The Heat improved to an Eastern Conference-best 20-7, despite not having Shaquille O'Neal -- who missed his first game of the season because of a left calf bruise.
Mavericks 123, Knicks 94
In New York, Josh Howard had career highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds, and Dallas opened a 39-point halftime lead in a demolition victory over New York.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, all in the first half, and Michael Finley added 21 for the Mavericks in what was easily their most lopsided victory of the season.
Nets 94, Bobcats 91
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Richard Jefferson scored 26 points, and New Jersey snapped Charlotte's home-winning streak.
Kings 104, Wizards 93
In Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic hit five 3-pointers, and Mike Bibby scored seven of his 24 points in the fourth quarter of Sacramento's 16th victory in 19 games.
Stojakovic scored 26 points and Chris Webber had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings.
Clippers 100, Hornets 91, OT
In Los Angeles, Bobby Simmons scored 30 points, Rick Brunson scored 11 of his 18 in overtime and the Los Angeles Clippers beat New Orleans in overtime after blowing a 21-point, third-quarter lead.
Joey Graham and John Lucas each poured in 21 points as third-ranked Oklahoma State pasted Northwest Oklahoma State, 92-35, in Stillwater.
JamesOn Curry added 14 and Ivan McFarlin chipped in nine points for the Cowboys (9-0), who have won nine straight overall and six in a row at home to start the season. Oklahoma State shot a blistering 15 of 22 from beyond the arc -- a school record -- in a mismatch of monumental proportions against the NAIA school.
No. 4 N Carolina 93, Vermont 65
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Sean May scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Tarheels to a 93-65 win over Vermont at the Dean Dome.
Rashad McCants added 19 points for the Tar Heels (9-1), who have won nine straight after losing their season opener to Santa Clara. Raymond Felton finished with 10 points and seven assists, as North Carolina was never really threatened.
T.J. Sorrentine finished with 11 points and six assists for Vermont (3-3), which has lost two of three. Taylor Coppenrath led the Catamounts with 13 points.
No. 16 NC State 72, BYU 61
In Provo, Utah, Julius Hodge finished with 22 points and seven rebounds to lead North Carolina State to a 72-61 win over Brigham Young University at the Marriott Center.
No. 17 Iowa 83, Texas Tech 53
In Chicago, Adam Haluska dropped in 21 points as Iowa trounced Texas Tech, 83-53, at the United Center, giving Steve Alford his first win over his former basketball coach at Indiana.
No. 23 Michigan St. 76, UCLA 64
In East Lansing, Michigan, Paul Davis scored 18 points and Chris Hill added 15 as Michigan State remained unbeaten at the Breslin Center this season with a 76-64 victory over UCLA.
No. 7 Syracuse 82, Cornell 69
Hakim Warrick finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Syracuse to an 82-69 win over Cornell in New York on Monday.
Josh Pace and Terrence Roberts each scored 16 points for the Orange, who have won 28 straight in the series. Pace pulled down nine rebounds. Cody Toppert scored 23 points for the Big Red, who have lost two straight and three of their last five games overall.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and