LeBron James scored 32 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Houston Rockets 91-85 on Monday night to spoil Yao Ming's (
James, who added 12 rebounds and eight assists, scored more than 30 points for the fourth straight game. The Cavaliers have won three of those four.
Yao returned to action after missing 32 games while recovering from a broken bone under his right knee. He finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and five turnovers.
PHOTO: EPA
Yao, who played 27 minutes, helped spark the Rockets in the fourth quarter after they trailed by 14. He scored seven straight points and provided a presence inside that forced Cleveland to take outside shots.
The Rockets, who have lost four of five, pulled to 84-82 on Tracy McGrady's jumper with 1:34 left. But Zydrunas Ilgauskas put back James' missed jumper on the next possession to protect the lead.
Ilgauskas then stole the ball from Yao, who fell to the floor in a heap. Hughes tossed an alley-oop to James on the other end and he slammed in it for a 88-82 lead.
Yao got up with help from a trainer, limped off, but returned to the game.
Heat 88, Hawks 81
At Miami, the Heat got above .500 for the first time in nearly four months. Eddie Jones had 14 of his season-high 21 points in the final quarter and Shaquille O'Neal added 14 points and nine rebounds on the eve of his 35th birthday.
Jones hit a 3-pointer to start a game-deciding 13-2 run over a 5-minute stretch of the fourth quarter by the Heat (30-29). The defending NBA champions last had a winning record on Nov. 10: 3-2.
Gary Payton had 11 points and seven rebounds and James Posey added 10 points for Miami.
Josh Smith and Anthony Johnson each had 16 points for Atlanta, which dropped its sixth straight.
Warriors 111, Pistons 93
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jason Richardson scored a season-high 29 points in front of his home fans, helping the Warriors end a six-game losing streak. The win also ended Golden State's seven-game road slide, and gave the Warriors a lopsided sweep of the season series. They beat Detroit 111-79 at home on Nov. 11.
The Warriors had lost 11 straight at the Palace.
Detroit was missing Rasheed Wallace (left foot) for the third game in a row, but the Warriors got Stephen Jackson (turf toe) back after four games.
Al Harrington had 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jackson finished with 14 points. Six Warriors reached double figures as Golden State became the first team to score 100 points against the Pistons since Feb. 6.
Lindsey Hunter scored 20 points for Detroit.
Magic 99, Bucks 81
At Orlando, Florida, Hedo Turkoglu had a season-high 25 points and Trevor Ariza added 20.
Dwight Howard had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Magic, who ended a three-game losing streak. Orlando had 24 fast-break points to just five for Milwaukee, which lost an overtime game on Sunday at home against Chicago.
The Bucks started slowly and were never really in the game. They were stone cold from the opening tip, hitting only two of their first 10 shots while turning the ball over six times. Milwaukee finished the half shooting 32.4 percent with 10 turnovers.
The Magic, meanwhile, shot 50 percent in the first half and led by as many as 20 points.
Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 15 points, but shot just 3-of-16 from the field.
Spurs 88, Clippers 74
At Los Angeles, the Spurs extended their season-high winning streak to nine games when Manu Ginobili scored 16 points and Tim Duncan had 12 rebounds. Beno Udrih added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs, whose reserves outscored their starters 49-39.
The Spurs led all the way in their third one-sided win over the Clippers in as many meetings this season. The Clippers' 74 points equaled their lowest score of the season.
Corey Maggette led the Clippers with 19 points.
Jazz 120, Bobcats 95
At Salt Lake City, Mehmet Okur scored 32 points as the Jazz defeated the Bobcats for the first time at home. Charlotte won its previous two visits to Salt Lake.
In just 31 minutes of play, Okur tied a career high with 13 field goals in 15 attempts, most of them on perimeter jump shots. Reserve Matt Harpring continued his scoring outburst with 19 points and has averaged 16 during Utah's current four-game winning streak.
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