Shaquille O'Neal had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Miami held Cleveland to 36 percent shooting on the way to beating the Cavaliers 86-81 on Sunday -- the Heat's first win since guard Dwyane Wade dislocated his shoulder last week.
Jason Kapono had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Alonzo Mourning added 15 points in 18 minutes for the Heat (27-28), who improved to 2-7 without Wade, the reigning NBA finals Most Valuable Player Award winner who suffered the shoulder injury on Wednesday and is expected to miss several weeks.
Pistons 95, Bulls 93
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chris Webber made a putback with 2.2 seconds left and matched a season high with 21 points to lift Detroit over Chicago.
Following a timeout, Ben Gordon missed a 3-point shot just before time expired.
In his first game at The Palace since leaving to play for Chicago, Ben Wallace was greeted by a mix of jeers and cheers when he was introduced, then was jeered virtually every time he touched the ball. He finished with six points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Rockets 97, Magic 93
In Orlando, Florida, Tracy McGrady had 34 points, including a rally-deflating 20-foot jumper with 33 seconds left, to help Houston beat Orlando.
Rafer Alston added 20 points and reserve Luther Head had 15 for the Rockets, who made 14 of 27 3-point attempts.
Timberwolves 98, Wizards 94
In Minneapolis, Ricky Davis and Kevin Garnett combined for 53 points and Minnesota held on to beat Washington.
Davis scored 27 points and Garnett finished with 26 points and 17 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who ended a three-game slide by beating Washington at home for the seventh straight season.
Nets 101, Knicks 92
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vince Carter scored 40 points and Mikki Moore added 19 points to lead New Jersey to a come-from-behind victory over New York that moved the Nets (27-30) two games ahead of their rivals in both the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference standings.
The Nets also received 15 points and 10 rebounds from reserve Bostjan Nachbar, and 11 points and 14 assists from Jason Kidd. Carter added eight rebounds and eight assists. It was the second time in the last three games that he scored at least 40 points. He had 46 against the Hornets on Wednesday.
Stephon Marbury paced the Knicks with 22 points. Eddy Curry had 18 and Channing Frye added 15.
Suns 115, Hawks 106
In Atlanta, Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 43 points and Phoenix beat Atlanta to improve to 13-0 in road games against the Eastern Conference.
Stoudemire added 16 rebounds, three blocks and six assists. He made 15 of 17 free throws.
Shawn Marion had 21 points and Leandro Barbosa added 19 as the Suns moved closer to their hopes of completing an undefeated swing through the conference. The Suns have visits left at Indiana today and Philadelphia tomorrow as they try to become the first NBA team to sweep its interconference road schedule.
Joe Johnson, who helped lead Atlanta to a 120-111 win at Phoenix on Feb. 9, led the Hawks with 28 points. Marvin Williams added 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Lakers 102, Warriors 85
In Oakland, California, Maurice Evans scored a career-high 26 points and Kobe Bryant also had 26 in Los Angeles' seventh straight win over Golden State.
Brian Cook added 11 points in the Lakers' second straight win after a season-worst six-game losing streak. Bryant and his teammates took control with a 33-7 run in the first half, and were never seriously threatened.
Kings 110, Pacers 93
In Indianapolis, Kevin Martin scored 35 points, Mike Bibby added 28 and Sacramento beat Indiana Pacers without Ron Artest.
Artest was a no-show against his former team for personal reasons, a team spokesman said without elaborating. Indiana fans disliked Artest for his role in the brawl between Pacers players and Pistons fans two seasons ago and for his public trade request last season.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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