Miami’s reserves starred in a critical late-game stretch to hand the Heat their seventh consecutive victory with a 120-108 home win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
Following three tight quarters, the red-hot Heat rode their reserves during a 13-2 run early in the fourth that gave them a 106-92 advantage and a clear path to their latest triumph.
The team’s bench scored all but two points in the game-breaking stretch, and finished with 32 for the game, to aid a game-high 30 points and 10 assists from Dwyane Wade.
Photo: AFP
Wade had the crowd on their feet in the second quarter after a spectacular play that saw LeBron James block a shot, then lob a near full-court pass to the guard, who caught it in midair and finished it.
“We did some nice things in spurts and stretches,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “You do have to give the Kings credit, they played very well. They pushed us there until the very end.”
Chris Bosh added 20 and 10 rebounds and James chipped in 18 points to fuel NBA-leading Miami (26-7), who have won their last seven games by at least 12 points.
The struggling Kings (10-22), who were without the injured John Salmons (hip), have now lost six straight.
Isaiah Thomas put up a -team-high 24 points and Marcus Thornton finished with 23 for Sacramento, who took a six-point lead after the first quarter, but fell behind late in the second and had to play catch up the rest of the way.
“We had to play a perfect game to win this against this team and we were pretty close to a perfect game,” Sacramento coach Keith Smart said. “We had moments but when you give up 25 points off turnovers, you are not going to beat many teams.”
GRIZZLIES 89, 76ERS 76
In Memphis, Tennessee, the hosts moved to a season-best four games above .500 by beating Atlantic division leader Philadelphia.
Marc Gasol had 15 points and 14 rebounds — finishing three assists shy of a triple double — and Rudy Gay scored 14 points for the Grizzlies.
Jrue Holiday scored 22 points — none in the fourth — for the Sixers, who shot just 37 percent while losing their fourth straight.
TRAIL BLAZERS 137, SPURS 97
The Portland Trail Blazers capitalized on San Antonio’s decision to rest Tim Duncan and Tony Parker by routing the NBA Southwest Division-leading Spurs on Tuesday.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points, shooting 5 for 7 on three-pointers for the Blazers, who led by as many as 48 points and rested all their starters for most of the fourth quarter.
Kawhi Leonard had 24 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, who had come in with 11 straight victories, and eight in a row on the road.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game that he was resting Parker and Duncan because the Spurs were playing three games in four nights. Parker is averaging 19.5 points per game, while Duncan’s averaging 19.9 points and 8.6 rebounds.
PACERS 117, HORNETS 108, OT
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Roy Hibbert had a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Indiana past New Orleans in overtime.
Paul George scored 20 points for the Pacers, who went on a 10-0 run in overtime to notch a third straight win.
Trevor Ariza scored 21 points to lead the Hornets, who was to conclude a stretch of three games in three days — all on the road — yesterday in Cleveland, Ohio.
CAVALIERS 101, PISTONS 100
In Cleveland, Ohio, the hosts roared back from a 17-point deficit to overrun Detroit.
Antawn Jamison scored 32 points for the Cavaliers, who trailed 72-55 late in the third quarter.
Alonzo Gee, who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, put the Cavaliers ahead for good, 97-95, by rebounding his own miss with a dunk with 25.4 seconds left. Rookie Kyrie Irving, who scored 25 points, and Gee combined for 30 of Cleveland’s 35 points in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 24 points.
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