LeBron James had 36 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Chris Bosh scored 22 points to help the Miami Heat slip past the Orlando Magic 112-110 in overtime on Monday.
James scored eight points in OT, including two free throws that clinched it with 1.5 seconds remaining. Dwayne Wade, who had 21 points, had a dunk with 6.2 seconds to go to give Miami a four-point lead.
Arron Afflalo scored 28 for the Magic and J.J. Redick added 23, but he committed the turnover that led to Wade’s decisive dunk. Nikola Vucevic had 20 points and set a team record with 29 rebounds as Orlando lost their sixth straight. The previous record was 28 rebounds by Shaquille O’Neal in 1993.
James scored on a driving layup with 1 minute, 7 seconds left in the extra period to give Miami a 108-106 lead. He missed a shot from the top of the key, giving Orlando a chance to tie, but Shane Battier stole a cross-court pass from Redick and fed Wade for his late slam.
Josh McRoberts cut it to two with two seconds to play, but James sealed it at the line.
BOBCATS 91, BULLS 81
In Chicago, Illinois, Kemba Walker had 18 points and eight rebounds to help Charlotte end an 18-game losing streak with a win over Chicago.
Gerald Henderson added 16 points and reserve Ben Gordon had 15 as the Bobcats snapped the second-longest skid in team history. It was their first win in their past 10 road games.
Luol Deng scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Chicago.
Carlos Boozer also had a double-double with 19 points and 14 boards.
Charlotte fended off several rallies by the Bulls, who never held a lead, to win for the first time since Nov. 24.
THUNDER 114, SUNS 96
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kevin Durant scored 30 points, and Russell Westbrook returned from a cut above his eye with 24 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as Oklahoma City beat Phoenix.
Oklahoma City extended their home winning streak to 12 games — the longest in the NBA this season — and won on New Year’s Eve for the fifth straight year since the franchise moved from Seattle.
The Thunder closed the year by winning 15 of their past 17 games.
Luis Scola scored 24 points to lead the Suns, who dropped their sixth straight game overall and seventh consecutive meeting against the Thunder.
The Suns have not beaten Oklahoma City since Dec. 19, 2010.
SPURS 104, NETS 73
In San Antonio, Texas, Tony Parker had 20 points and San Antonio Spurs held Brooklyn to only five points in the third quarter in a win over the Nets.
Tim Duncan added 15 points and Nando DeColo had 11, while Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Matt Bonner chipped in 10 apiece for San Antonio (25-8), who went 9-0 at home last month.
MarShon Brooks had a season-high 16 points to lead Brooklyn (16-15), who suffered their first loss under interim head coach P.J. Carlesimo.
Joe Johnson added 12 points and Brook Lopez had 11, but Deron Williams was held to eight points and one assist.
San Antonio set a franchise low for fewest points by an opponent in a quarter.
PACERS 88, GRIZZLIES 83
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Paul George had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead Indiana to a win over Memphis. DJ Augustin had 17 points and six assists, and David West had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, who have won five of their past six games.
Zach Randolph had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Marc Gasol had 13 points for the Grizzlies, who have dropped three of the last four.
West scored the go ahead three throws with 6:09 to play to give the Pacers a 72-71 lead after they trailed by as much as 10 in the second half.
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