Dwyane Wade collected 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists on Saturday to lift the Miami Heat to a 103-97 National Basketball Association victory over the Orlando Magic.
It was a rare win for the Heat over their Florida rivals Orlando, who had won the last 10 meetings between the two.
Rookie Mario Chalmers added 20 points for the Heat, who beat the Magic for the first time since Feb. 15, 2006.
Miami used a 13-2 run to close out the third quarter and take a 83-68 lead into the final period.
Chris Quinn hit two three-pointers and Mark Blount added one of his own during the run, but Orlando did not go quietly.
Wade converted a three-point play to give Miami a 92-85 lead in the fourth quarter, but Orlando responded with a 9-2 scoring run to tie the game at 94-94 with less than three minutes to play.
Udonis Haslem stepped up for the Heat, making back-to-back shots to break the tie, and Chalmers stole the ball from Jameer Nelson in the waning seconds to secure the victory.
Wade, the NBA’s leading scorer, hit 11-of-21 shots from the floor as the Heat rebounded from a 98-83 loss to Boston on Wednesday.
The Magic lost for the second time in as many games following a seven-game winning streak. They dropped a 90-80 decision to Boston on Friday.
Dwight Howard, who leads the NBA in rebounding, scored 22 points with 10 rebounds for the Magic.
He was ejected from the game with 1.1 seconds left after picking up his second technical foul for arguing a call.
CAVALIERS 102, JAZZ 97
At Salt Lake City, the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled level for the NBA’s best record on Saturday with a victory over the Utah Jazz in which LeBron James finished just one assist short of a triple double.
Cleveland’s third straight win moved the Cavs level with the Los Angeles Lakers on a .810 win percentage.
James scored 33 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and had nine assists.
76ERS 116, KNICKS 110
In Philadelphia, the hosts welcomed the return of Elton Brand to the lineup with a win over New York.
Brand, who missed 16 games after dislocating his right shoulder, had six points in just 13 minutes play off the bench.
Andre Iguodala scored 24 points and Andre Miller added 21 for the Sixers, who won for the eighth time in nine games to finally get square with a 21-21 record.
In Saturday’s other games it was:
• Trail Blazers 100, Wizards 87
• Bucks 106, Kings 104
• Nets 99, Grizzlies 88
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite