Chicago’s C.J. Watson hit a game-tying three-pointer at the end of regulation and the Bulls pulled away in overtime to beat the Miami Heat 96-86 in Thursday’s clash of the NBA divisional leaders.
Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 19 points and Watson had 16 for the Bulls, who outscored Miami 12-2 in overtime to boost their lead in the Eastern Conference to four games.
LeBron James scored 30 points for Miami, but missed a free throw that would have made it a two-possession game late in regulation.
Photo: Reuters
SPURS 107, GRIZZLIES 97
In San Antonio, Texas, Tim Duncan had 28 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio broke out of a form slump to beat surging Memphis.
Manu Ginobili added 20 points for the Spurs, who responded to being beaten heavily by the Kobe Bryant-less Los Angeles Lakers in their previous game.
Rudy Gay’s 19 points led the Grizzlies, who had their four-game winning streak halted after their rally from a late 14-point deficit fizzled in the final minutes.
Memphis fell 1-1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the No. 4 playoff seed.
CLIPPERS 95, TIMBERWOLVES 82
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Blake Griffin had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead Los Angeles over Minnesota.
Caron Butler scored 17 points for the Clippers, who are a game behind the Lakers for the third seed in the West.
Michael Beasley had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight straight games. They have not won a game in the month of April since 2009.
The Wolves were playing without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed the game with a mild concussion.
MAVERICKS 112, WARRIORS 103
In Oakland, California, Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 points to lead Dallas past Golden State.
Former Golden State lottery draft pick Brandan Wright had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Mavericks, who led by 19 points early before the game tightened.
The win moved the defending NBA champions 1-1/2 games behind Memphis for the Western Conference’s fifth playoff seed and half a game ahead of Denver and Houston.
David Lee had 30 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors, who have lost three straight and are out of playoff contention.
PISTONS 109, BOBCATS 85
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Detroit salvaged something out of a four-game road trip by beating woeful Charlotte.
Greg Monroe had 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Brandon Knight added 21 points and seven assists. Monroe was 11-for-14 from the field.
The Pistons had lost their previous games away to Atlanta, Miami and Orlando, the final two by a combined margin of 53 points, but they had no such problems with the Bobcats, who became the first team this season to lose 50 games.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB