Dwyane Wade scored 45 points as the Miami Heat extended their streak of road wins to 10 games with a 125-119 victory over the Houston Rockets in the NBA on Wednesday.
Wade shook off a hard foul from Aaron Brooks early in the fourth quarter to reach 45 points for the eighth time in his career. He hit 17 of 24 shots, went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line and pulled down seven rebounds.
It was the first time in his career that he’d reached 40 points on consecutive nights.
LeBron James scored 20 points and had nine assists for the Heat, who have won 16 of their past 17 overall.
Luis Scola scored 22 points for the Rockets, who had an eight-game home winning streak snapped.
LAKERS 103, HORNETS 88
In New Orleans, Louisiana, Lamar Odom responded to his first time out of the starting lineup this season by scoring 24 points off the bench as the Los Angeles Lakers convincingly ended a rare three-game losing streak by downing New Orleans.
Kobe Bryant added 20 points as the Lakers snapped out of a lapse in which they lost by 15 or more points in their previous three games.
Chris Paul had 20 points for the Hornets. David West twisted his left ankle late in the first half and tried to play through it, but finished with only eight points in 28 minutes.
PISTONS 104, CELTICS 92
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Kevin Garnett left in the first quarter with a leg injury, and the Boston Celtics looked ragged without him in a loss to Detroit.
The Celtics lost for only the second time in 17 games, but they’re encountering some potentially -serious adversity now. Garnett hurt himself on a dunk late in the first quarter, and although X-rays revealed no fracture in his right leg, he didn’t return.
Boston was also without point guard Rajon Rondo, who missed his sixth straight game with a sprained ankle.
Tracy McGrady scored 21 points for the Pistons, who led 45-37 at halftime and pushed the margin to 16 in the third quarter.
HAWKS 103, WARRIORS 93
In Atlanta, Georgia, Josh Smith had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead Atlanta over the Golden State Warriors.
Al Horford had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks.
Dorell Wright scored a career-high 32 points for Golden State, which lost its first game in four.
JAZZ 103, CLIPPERS 95
In Los Angeles, Al Jefferson had 31 points and 10 rebounds to help the Utah Jazz beat Los Angeles.
Andre Kirilenko missed his first game of the season because of a lower back strain and reserve C.J. Miles also sat out because of flu-like symptoms, leaving the Jazz vulnerable at small forward. Utah rookie Gordon Hayward made his fifth start of the season in Kirilenko’s spot, and had 17 points and six rebounds.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 30 points and 12 rebounds.
THUNDER 114, NETS 93
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kevin Durant scored 27 points before taking the fourth quarter off as Oklahoma City rolled past error-prone the New Jersey Nets.
Oklahoma City forced a season-high 23 turnovers and bounced back from a loss in what’s becoming trademark fashion. The Thunder are 10-1 after a loss this season.
Russell Westbrook added 17 points and seven assists through the first three quarters as all 12 players scored for Oklahoma City.
Devin Harris and Brook Lopez each scored 19 points to lead New Jersey, which has lost its past three games by a combined 51 points.
WIZARDS 104, PACERS 90
In Washington, Nick Young had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead Washington over Indiana.
Andray Blatche had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards.
76ERS 123, SUNS 110
In Phoenix, Arizona, Jrue Holiday scored 25 points to help the Philadelphia 76ers beat Phoenix.
Evan Turner scored 23 points off the bench for the Sixers, who were without Andre Iguodala, who missed his second straight game with tendinitis in an Achilles’ tendon.
Steve Nash had 23 points and 15 assists to lead Phoenix and Vince Carter added 18 points in his Suns debut. Carter has missed four straight games with a sore knee after he was acquired. Phoenix has lost four straight.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Kings 100, Grizzlies 98
‧ Nuggets 119, Timberwolves 113
‧ Bobcats 101, Cavaliers 92
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set