LeBron James scored 25 points and the Miami Heat’s club-record win streak reached 17 games, matching the longest in the NBA this season, with a 102-93 home victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 points, while Chris Bosh contributed 16 and Ray Allen added 12 for the defending NBA champions Heat, who improved the best record in the Eastern Conference to 46-14 while dropping the 76ers to 23-38.
The Heat pulled even with an early season run by the Los Angeles Clippers for the season’s longest win streak and can seize the mark for themselves alone with a home victory tonight against Indiana.
James, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, also contributed 10 rebounds and five assists for the Heat.
Thaddeus Young scored 25 points in a losing cause as Philadelphia lost for the fourth game in a row.
The 76ers led 51-47 at half-time, but Miami battled back in the third quarter and led 76-75 entering the final period.
James sparked a 17-6 Heat run to open the fourth quarter and seal the triumph. He and Wade each made two layups in the deciding spurt.
Miami last lost on Feb. 1 at Indiana, and the Heat last dropped a home game on Jan. 4 against Chicago.
ROCKETS 94, WARRIORS 88
In Oakland, California, Chandler Parsons scored 26 points, while James Harden had 20 points and 11 assists as the Houston Rockets overcame a horrendous shooting performance to beat the Golden State Warriors.
Jeremy Lin added 15 points and seven rebounds to help Houston improve to 3-0 against his former team this season in a matchup for Western Conference playoff position.
Stephen Curry had 24 points and eight assists and Klay Thompson scored 22 points for Golden State, who fell to 2-1 during their season-long seven-game homestand.
NETS 95, WIZARDS 78
In New York, Deron Williams made an NBA-record nine three-pointers in the first half, finished with 11 and scored a season-high 42 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets past the Washington Wizards.
Williams made his first eight shots behind the arc, became the first player in a decade to match the opposing team’s score in the first half, and was one shy of the NBA record of 12 three-pointers as the Nets opened a huge early lead and coasted.
He missed from straightaway with 1 minute, 8 seconds left in the game, leaving him one shy of the record shared by Kobe Bryant and Donyell Marshall.
John Wall had 16 points for the Wizards, who played without rookie guard Bradley Beal, their leading scorer, because of a sprained left ankle and lost for the fourth time in five games.
THUNDER 116, BOBCATS 94
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Kevin Durant had 19 points and seven assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Charlotte Bobcats for their fourth straight victory.
Derek Fisher and Thabo Sefolosha both had 13 points for the Thunder, who blew open a close game with 19-0 run to start the second quarter. Serge Ibaka scored 12 points, and Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin each chipped in with 11.
The Thunder shot 59 percent from the field in the first three quarters to build a 90-66 lead and rested their starters the rest of the way.
Gerald Henderson scored 21 points to lead the Bobcats, who have lost nine straight overall and 22 of their past 24 games at home.
PACERS 115, MAGIC 86
In Orlando, Florida, Paul George had 25 points and Tyler Hansbrough added 18 and the Indiana Pacers used a big first half to roll past the Orlando Magic.
Indiana scored 30 points off 21 Orlando turnovers and also connected on 11 three-pointers in the victory.
The Pacers ended a three-game regular-season losing streak to the Magic. It was also their second straight game without forward Danny Granger, who is expected to miss a week resting a sore left knee.
Arron Afflalo led Orlando with 19 points. The Magic have lost five of their past six and have not posted a home win since Feb. 10.
GRIZZLIES 103, CAVALIERS 92
In Cleveland, Ohio, Marc Gasol scored 22 points and the Memphis Grizzlies held off a late run for a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Memphis, who strengthened their hold on the fourth spot in the Western Conference playoff race, has won 11 of 12 and is 12-4 since trading star forward Rudy Gay to Toronto on Jan. 30. The Grizzlies’ previous victory in Cleveland came on Nov. 29, 2003, LeBron James’ rookie season with the Cavaliers.
Kyrie Irving, who missed Cleveland’s morning shootaround with flu-like symptoms, scored a team-high 24 points.
Mike Conley and Jerryd Bayless each scored 17 points and Grizzlies pulled away after the Cavaliers cut the lead to 88-84 with 5:21 to play.
MAVERICKS 102, PISTONS 99
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, O.J. Mayo scored 22 points and the Dallas Mavericks held on to beat the Detroit Pistons after Charlie Villanueva missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.
The Mavericks blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, allowing Detroit to go ahead 97-96 on a three-pointer by Khris Middleton.
Dirk Nowitzki made two straight shots to put Dallas ahead by three. It was 100-99 after Villanueva caught Jose Calderon’s airball and made a layup with six seconds left.
Darren Collison made two free throws for the Mavericks, and Villanueva missed from the left corner.
BULLS 89, JAZZ 8
In Chicago, Illinois, Marco Belinelli made a three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Utah Jazz.
Belinelli missed a potential tying jumper, but got a second chance when Joakim Noah grabbed the rebound. Jimmy Butler then swung the ball back out to Belinelli in the corner, and he connected on the fallaway three to put Chicago in front to stay. Gordon Hayward missed a jumper on the other end for Utah, and Butler secured the rebound as the horn sounded.
Belinelli and Carlos Boozer had 22 points apiece for Chicago.
Al Jefferson scored 23 points in his return to the lineup for the Jazz.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Trail Blazers 136, Spurs 106
‧ Celtics 107, Hawks 102
‧ Kings 121, Suns 112
‧ Lakers 118, Raptors 116, OT
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and