The Miami Heat won their 16th consecutive home game, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-93 on Tuesday to clinch their fourth straight NBA playoff berth.
LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points for the Heat, who are an NBA best 22-2 at home this season. James also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Heat, who have not lost at home since Jan. 22 against Milwaukee.
The Heat’s longest home winning streak is 18 games, set between January and April of 2005.
Miami were scheduled to continue their five-game home stand against the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday, before taking on Memphis, Detroit and Boston.
Mario Chalmers had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists as Miami rebounded from a one-sided 19-point loss to the Celtics in Boston on Sunday.
James scored 14 consecutive Heat points in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh finished with 17 points, while Udonis Haslem had 11 rebounds.
Miami played without All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, who missed the game with an injured left knee. The Heat are 9-1 without Wade, who could return to play against the Thunder.
Evan Turner finished with 26 points and eight rebounds for the 76ers, who are 1.5 games behind Boston for first place in the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia have lost five of their last half-dozen road contests.
Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala had 11 points before leaving the game in the third quarter after being poked in the eye.
Turner scored 15 points in the first half as the 76ers led 54-51 at halftime. Philadelphia led 11-6 in fast-break points and shot 53 percent from the field in the opening half.
PACERS 112, KNICKS 104
In Indianapolis, Indiana, the hosts came from 17 points down in the second half to overrun New York.
Danny Granger scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Pacers outscored the Knicks 40-17 in the final 12 minutes.
Paul George scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 39 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who are in a close fight for a playoff spot, while missing Amare Stoudemire (back) and Jeremy Lin (knee).
SPURS 125, CAVALIERS 90
In Cleveland, Ohio, San Antonio coasted to their eighth straight win by smashing Cleveland.
Danny Green scored 19 points against the team that released him last season, while Tony Parker added 19 for the Spurs, who built a 22-point lead in the first half and rested Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili for most of the fourth quarter.
Rookie Kyrie Irving scored 13 points for the Cavs in his return after missing a game with a sprained right shoulder.
Cleveland have lost eight straight and been outscored by 72 points in their past two home games.
PISTONS 102, MAGIC 95
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Greg Monroe had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Detroit over undermanned Orlando.
The Magic were without starters Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Ryan Anderson because of injuries.
Ben Gordon added 18 points for the Pistons, who shot 12 of 18 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Glen Davis, who started at center in Howard’s place, led Orlando with a career-high 31, but the Magic lost their fourth straight — their worst skid of the season.
GRIZZLIES 98, WARRIORS 94
In Memphis, Tennessee, the hosts overcame a lackluster performance with a fourth-quarter rally to defeat Golden State.
O.J. Mayo scored 19 points and Mike Conley added 18 for the Grizzlies, who trailed by 12 early in the fourth quarter, but went on a 13-0 run to erase the advantage and fight to their third straight win.
David Lee scored 22 points to lead the Warriors, who lost their sixth straight.
LAKERS 91, NETS 87
In Los Angeles, the home team blew a 17-point lead before recovering to beat New Jersey.
Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and rattled home a three-pointer with 6.8 seconds left that helped salvage victory.
Pau Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who led by 12 early in the fourth quarter. However, Deron Williams led an 18-6 run for New Jersey, tying it with a three-pointer with 1 minute, 29 seconds left.
Bryant made a long jumper moments later and the Lakers controlled the ball for 52 straight seconds during the final minute with an offensive rebound and an out-of-bounds deflection.
Bryant then made his third three-pointer, beating the shot clock, and Williams missed his own three-point attempt.
In other NBA games, it was:
‧ Suns 109, Kings 100
‧ Raptors 92, Bobcats 87
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