Joe Johnson scored 21 points and Tracy McGrady hit a pair of big three-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks ended Miami’s perfect start by beating the Heat 100-92 in the NBA on Monday.
McGrady and Al Horford each scored 16 for the Hawks, who opened the final period on a 15-3 run to take control.
McGrady made perhaps the two biggest plays of the night in the final minutes, first throwing a lob to Josh Smith for a dunk, then hitting a three-pointer that gave the Hawks a 93-84 lead with 2 minutes, 26 seconds left.
Photo: EPA
LeBron James scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 19 and Dwyane Wade finished with 12 for Miami, who led by as many as 10 in the early going and took a four-point lead into the final quarter.
The Heat had won their first five games of the season.
TIMBERWOLVES 106, SPURS 96
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kevin Love had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead Minnesota over San Antonio, who lost Argentine star guard Manu Ginobili to a broken left hand.
Luke Ridnour had 19 points and nine assists, while Wes Johnson added 14 points for the Timberwolves, who ended an 18-game losing streak with a victory over Dallas on Sunday.
Ginobili fractured his shooting hand in the second quarter. The two-time All Star is out indefinitely.
Tim Duncan had 16 points and five assists, while Richard Jefferson scored 16 for the Spurs.
MAVERICKS 100, THUNDER 87
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 10 of his 26 points during the third quarter as defending NBA champions the Mavericks sent Oklahoma City to their first loss.
Shawn Marion scored 17 points, Jason Terry had 15 and Vince Carter added a season-high 14 for Dallas, who lost to the Thunder on a buzzer-beater in Oklahoma City on Thursday. Jason Kidd did not score, but he had a season-high nine assists.
Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored 27 points for the Thunder, who had won five straight to start the season.
CELTICS 100, WIZARDS 92
In Boston, Ray Allen scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics won for the second straight night over Washington.
Paul Pierce had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who improved their record to .500 after losing their first three games of the season. Rookie Greg Stiemsma, making his first start, had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Andray Blatche led the winless Wizards with 28 points and nine rebounds, JaVale McGee had 17 points and 14 boards, while John Wall had 11 points.
Boston beat the Wizards 94-86 in Washington on Sunday.
PISTONS 89, MAGIC 78
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Ben Gordon scored 26 points as the Pistons overcame early foul trouble to beat Orlando.
Rodney Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince added 14 points apiece for the Pistons, who have won two in a row after losing their first three games of the season.
Dwight Howard had 19 points, seven rebounds and five steals for Orlando, who were playing a night after rallying to beat Toronto.
Hedo Turkoglu and Ryan Anderson each added 13 points for the Magic.
RAPTORS 90, KNICKS 85
In New York, Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan each scored 21 points as Toronto held off the Knicks to end a three-game losing streak.
Jose Calderon added nine points and 12 assists for the Raptors, who opened up a 17-point advantage at halftime and withstood a late New York rally.
Toronto blew a 16-point lead on Sunday in Orlando before losing 102-96.
Carmelo Anthony had 35 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, who played their second straight game without Amare Stoudemire, who has a sprained left ankle.
PACERS 108, NETS 94
In Newark, New Jersey, Paul George scored 21 points as the Pacers topped the struggling Nets for their fourth win in five games.
Danny Granger added 15 points and David West scored 13 for Indiana, who shot a season-high 52.6 percent from the field.
Deron Williams scored 22 points and rookie MarShon Brooks added 21 for the Brooklyn-bound Nets, who have not led for a second in their two defeats at home in their final season based in New Jersey.
The Nets, who have lost five straight, played without Brook Lopez (broken foot) and Kris Humphries (sore shoulder).
SUNS 102, WARRIORS 91
In Phoenix, Arizona, Steve Nash scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and rookie Markieff Morris added 16 points to lead the Suns past Golden State.
Jared Dudley had 15 points, while Channing Frye and Shannon Brown added 10 each for the Suns, who have won six straight games against the Warriors. Phoenix have not lost to Golden State at home since March 8, 2005 — a 13-game stretch.
Monta Ellis had 18 points, Dominic McGuire scored 14 and Brandon Rush finished with 13 for the Warriors, who lost their first road game after opening the season with four straight wins at home.
Monday’s other results:
‧ Jazz 94, Hornets 90
‧ Nuggets 91, Bucks 86
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care