LeBron James returned to the Miami lineup and scored 22 of his 32 points in the first quarter, setting up the Heat’s 101-90 victory over the New Jersey Nets in the NBA on Saturday despite still being without Dwyane Wade.
Wade missed his third straight game with a bruised left foot, but James had the game under control by the time his All-Star teammate arrived at his seat on the bench.
James made his first seven shots and showed no effects from the sprained left ankle that forced him to miss a game. The NBA’s leading scorer added nine assists and seven rebounds.
Photo: Reuters
Chris Bosh added 16 points after a slow start as the Heat won their third straight and ran the NBA’s best record to 8-1.
Kris Humphries tied a career high with 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Nets, who shot just 33.7 percent.
KNICKS 103, PISTONS 80
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Amar’e Stoudemire scored 22 points to lead New York to an easy win over Detroit.
Mike Bibby added 16 for the Knicks, who led 64-42 at halftime and by 29 after three. Bibby has scored 27 points over his past two games after scoring just seven through New York’s first six.
Guard Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 19 points.
Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey sat out with a groin injury and the Pistons were also without forwards Austin Daye and Charlie Villanueva, who had sore ankles.
HAWKS 109, BULLS 94
In Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 25 points as Atlanta snapped Chicago’s six-game winning streak.
Joe Johnson and Vladimir Radmanovic each added 17 for the Hawks, who led throughout.
John Lucas III had 14 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls, who dropped to 7-2.
Derrick Rose, last season’s league MVP, scored just eight points for Chicago — his lowest total since December 2010. He did not return to the game after leaving late in the third quarter.
SPURS 121, NUGGETS 117
In San Antonio, Danny Green scored a season-high 24 points as San Antonio beat Denver for their sixth straight home win.
Green hit two free throws with 3.6 seconds left to ice it for the Spurs after Danilo Gallinari had hit a three-pointer with 7.6 seconds left to pull Denver to 119-116.
Gallinari tied his career high with 31 points as the Nuggets’ four-game winning streak was ended.
Richard Jefferson, who was five-for-eight from long range, added 19 points for the Spurs.
76ERS 97, RAPTORS 62
In Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 10 rebounds as Philadelphia cruised past Toronto and notched a fourth straight win.
Jrue Holiday also scored 14 points for the Sixers, who are 5-2 and the early leaders in the Atlantic Division — a marked contrast to last season’s 3-13 start. The Sixers blew the game open in the third quarter, using a 30-8 run to build a 25-point lead.
Andre Bargnani had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Mavericks 96, Hornets 81
‧ Thunder 98, Rockets 95
‧ Clippers 92, Bucks 86
‧ Jazz 88, Warriors 87
‧ Pacers 99, Bobcats 77
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and