Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh experienced their first win with Miami, with the Heat beating the Philadelphia 76ers 97-87 on Wednesday.
Playing with purpose a night after an 88-80 season-opening loss in Boston, the Heat’s star recruits still did not look comfortable playing with each other, with only Wade — 30 points — looking particularly sharp against the Sixers. James scored 16 points and Bosh had 15.
The Heat hit three straight 3-pointers in the third quarter to extend their eight-point halftime lead, however the Sixers, went on a 15-3 run late in the fourth to make it surprisingly competitive.
CAVALIERS 95, CELTICS 87
In Cleveland, J. J. Hickson scored 21 points and Daniel Gibson added 16 — all in the second half — to overhaul an 11-point deficit in the third quarter and help Cleveland to an unlikely victory over Boston.
Playing their first game in seven years without LeBron James, the Cavaliers stunned the Celtics in their season opener, a win that at least for one night gave local fans reason to believe that there is hope after the departure of the two-time most valuable player.
For the Celtics, Rajon Rondo top-scored with 18 points, while Kevin Garnett recorded 15 rebounds for Boston.
In other games it was:
‧ Nets 101, Pistons 98
‧ Knicks 98, Raptors 93
‧ Mavericks 101, Bobcats 86
‧ Thunder 106, Bulls 95
‧ Hornets 95, Bucks 91
‧ Hawks 119, Grizzlies 104
‧ Spurs 122, Pacers 109
‧ Kings 117, Timberwolves 116
‧ Nuggets 110, Jazz 88
‧ Warriors 131, Rockets 128
‧ Trail Blazers 98, Clippers 88
Jesper Boqvist on Tuesday scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period as the Florida Panthers, after raising their second straight NHL Stanley Cup banner, opened the defense of the title by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. Mackie Samoskevich — getting his second assist, the fifth two-point game of his career — chipped the puck toward the goal and Boqvist knocked it out of the air for the lead with 10 minutes, 20 seconds left. A.J. Greer and Carter Verhaeghe also had goals for Florida, who got 17 saves from Sergei Bobrovsky. Frank Nazar had a goal and an assist and Teuvo
Mexico’s teenage playmaker Gilberto Mora has lit up the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as he basks in the limelight afforded by the absences of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars Lamine Yamal and Franco Mastantuono. “I don’t know if I’m the biggest star, and I’m not really interested in that. I think you can always give more,” 16-year-old Mora said before Mexico’s 4-1 win against host nation Chile in the round-of-16 on Tuesday, in which he provided the assist for the opening goal. Next on Mora’s schedule is a quarter-final clash against Argentina this morning Taiwan time, but after
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Monday said that he was playing “terrible tennis” after he was knocked out of the Shanghai Masters by France’s Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. His exit leaves Novak Djokovic as the tournament’s top-ranked player, increasing the 38-year-old Serb’s chances of winning a record-extending fifth title in the Chinese financial hub. In stifling conditions, world No. 54 Rinderknech came back from a set down to stun an increasingly rattled Zverev into submission. It is the second time the Frenchman has beaten him, after bundling him out of Wimbledon earlier this year. A despondent Zverev told reporters the match had
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