Shane Battier went 4-for-4 from three-point range — including a critical one from the right corner with 1 minute, 33 seconds left — as Miami wasted most of a 25-point lead before holding off the Chicago Bulls 107-95 on Tuesday in their NBA season-opener.
LeBron James scored 17 points for Miami, who were awarded this year’s NBA Championship rings in a pregame ceremony. The Heat trailed 9-2 early in the game, before outscoring Chicago 52-24 over the remainder of the first half.
The Bulls’ Derrick Rose finished with 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting in 34 minutes in his first game since suffering a serious knee injury in April last year.
Carlos Boozer had 31 points and seven rebounds for Chicago, who got within eight points in the final minutes.
Chris Bosh scored 16 points and Battier finished with 14, while Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers each had 13 for Miami, who had seven players score in the double figures.
PACERS 97, MAGIC 87
In Indianapolis, Paul George scored 24 points, as Roy Hibbert added 16 rebounds and seven blocks to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Orlando Magic.
George’s buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave the Pacers a 69-64 lead and sparked the decisive 17-4 run to open the fourth quarter.
Hibbert nearly matched his career-high for rebounds — 17 — in the first half. He had eight points, but left the game midway through the fourth quarter after injuring his knee in a spill underneath his own basket. Team officials said it was not serious and he could have returned.
Victor Oladipo, the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA draft, had 12 points and three turnovers for the Magic.
LAKERS 116, CLIPPERS 103
In Los Angeles, Xavier Henry scored a career-high 22 points and Jordan Farmar added 16 as the Lakers relied on reserves to surge past the Clippers in the fourth.
With an injured Kobe Bryant watching on the Lakers’ bench, Jodie Meeks scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers stunned their Staples Center rivals in Clippers coach Doc Rivers’ debut.
Henry scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, while leading a decisive 28-8 run.
Blake Griffin scored 19 points, while Chris Paul had 15 points and 11 assists for the Clippers, who beat the Lakers four times last season on the way to their first Pacific Division title. DeAndre Jordan added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers improved to 42-24 on opening night, the best winning percentage in NBA history.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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