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.
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