The Los Angeles Lakers won their fourth straight game without Kobe Bryant, beating the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks 112-108 in overtime on Sunday.
Andrew Bynum had 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Pau Gasol made back-to-back three-pointers in overtime for the Lakers.
Los Angeles rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit before finishing off a four-game season sweep of the Mavericks, who bounced the Lakers out of last season’s playoffs.
Photo: EPA
Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points on 9-of-28 shooting and 14 rebounds for Dallas, but Jason Terry missed a potential tying layup at the rim with five seconds left in overtime.
HEAT 93, KNICKS 85
In New York, Miami clinched the Southeast Division title by beating New York.
LeBron James had 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Dwyane Wade added 28 points and nine boards for the Heat, who pulled away in the fourth quarter of a possible playoff preview. Miami are second in the Eastern Conference and New York came into the game tied for seventh, although they fell back behind Philadelphia after the loss.
Carmelo Anthony scored 42 points, but had only two baskets in the fourth quarter for the Knicks, who had won nine straight at home.
BULLS 100, PISTONS 94, OT
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Derrick Rose hit a tying three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation and Chicago went on to win in overtime, beating Detroit for the 15th straight time.
Rose finished with 24 points, while Joakim Noah had 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulls, who stayed three-and-a-half games ahead of Miami in the race for top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Rodney Stuckey scored 32 points for the Pistons, but he missed two crucial free throws late in the fourth quarter.
NUGGETS 101, ROCKETS 86
In Denver, Arron Afflalo scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half, leading Denver over Houston in the opener of a crucial two games between playoff hopefuls.
With the win, the Nuggets took sole possession of seventh place in the Western Conference, half a game behind Dallas.
The teams are clinging to the final two playoff spots in the West, trying to fend off fast-charging Phoenix and Utah.
Ty Lawson also scored 20 points for Denver, who have won five straight at home.
Chase Budinger and Luis Scola each scored 19 to lead the Rockets, who had won four straight on the road.
RAPTORS 102, HAWKS 86
In Atlanta, DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points to lift injury-riddled Toronto over Atlanta.
Alan Anderson, one of three Toronto players whose 10-day contract is about to expire, added 16 points for the Raptors.
Josh Smith scored 12 of his 26 points in the first quarter for the Hawks, but they never led and allowed Toronto to shoot 55 percent (41-for-74).
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Magic 100, Cavaliers 84
‧ Hornets 88, Grizzlies 75
‧ Kings 104, Trail Blazers 103
‧ Celtics 94, Bobcats 82
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