Dwyane Wade had 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists, leading a balanced attack that carried the Miami Heat to a 104-95 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.
Shaquille O'Neal only took 11 shots and finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Udonis Haslem hit his first seven shots from the floor and finished with 16 for Miami, as did Damon Jones. Eddie Jones added 11.
Tracy McGrady had 28 points for Houston, which lost for the first time in its last four road games. Yao Ming had 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Rockets, and Bob Sura added 21 -- 15 of those coming in the game's first 13 minutes.
Miami improved to 33-13, moving 20 games over the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 1999-2000 season .
Kings 94, Timberwolves 84
In Minneapolis, Brad Miller had 27 points, 15 rebounds and plenty of help picking up the slack for two injured stars, sparking the Sacramento Kings to a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Sacramento backcourt, Cuttino Mobley (23 points) and Mike Bibby (21 points), combined for 34 points over the final two quarters following a slow first half. All-Star forwards Peja Stojakovic (back spasms) and Chris Webber (sore left knee) didn't dress for the Kings.
Kevin Garnett had 21 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota.
Suns 123, Raptors 105
In Toronto, Amare Stoudemire scored 19 of his 27 points in the third quarter and the Phoenix Suns won their fifth straight with a victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Phoenix outscored Toronto 46-26 in the third quarter, the most points the Raptors have allowed in any quarter in their 10-year history.
Shawn Marion added 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Suns, who went 4-0 on their four-game road trip. Steve Nash had 19 points and 12 assists as all five Phoenix starters scored at least 17 points. Nash, playing in his home country, didn't play in the fourth.
Chris Bosh tied a career high with 27 points for the Raptors, who have lost three straight. Jalen Rose added 21 points.
Cavaliers 104, Bucks 87
In Cleveland, Ohio, Drew Gooden scored a career-high 33 points -- 27 in the second half -- and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 28 points and 18 rebounds as the injury-depleted Cavaliers survived another day without LeBron James.
Ilgauskas and Gooden took over in the second half, scoring 42 of Cleveland's 50 points and adding 16 rebounds after halftime as the Cavaliers improved to an Eastern Conference-best 16-4 at home and 1-1 since losing James.
James sprained his left ankle last week against Memphis and is still too sore to give it a try. Coach Paul Silas expects to have James for Tuesday night's game in Orlando.
Michael Redd scored 23 points and Desmond Mason 17 for the Bucks.
Lakers 101, Bobcats 90
In Los Angeles, Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins each scored 20 points, Chris Mihm had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat Charlotte to end its first three-game losing streak of the season.
Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich missed the game because of a stomach virus. Assistant coach Frank Hamblen, the only holdover from former coach Phil Jackson's staff, guided the team, 4-4 since Kobe Bryant sprained his right ankle Jan. 13.
Primoz Brezec had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the expansion Bobcats, who lost for the 17th time in 19 games and are 1-19 on the road.
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