Los Angeles’ Steve Blake hit a three-pointer with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift the Lakers to a 99-98 victory over Houston and ex-teammate Dwight Howard on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Miami held off the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver edged Atlanta.
Houston led by two points, before Blake took an inbounds pass and made the shot to win the game. The Rockets had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Patrick Beverley’s three-point attempt bounced off the backboard.
James Harden had 35 points and Howard finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds against his former team. Howard missed seven free throws in the last three-and-a-half minutes that could have secured the win for Houston.
Howard spurned the Lakers to sign an US$88 million deal with the Rockets.
Jodie Meeks, who led the Lakers with 18 points, made a three-pointer with less than two minutes remaining to cut the lead to two and set up Blake’s game-winner.
Miami’s Dwyane Wade scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Heat to a 102-97 win over the Clippers.
LeBron James added 18 points for the Heat (4-2), who won their third straight and extended their club record by scoring at least 100 points in a sixth consecutive game to start the season.
Blake Griffin had 27 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers (3-3). His dunk with 31 seconds left got the Clippers within four, but Griffin allowed about 15 seconds to run off the clock without fouling James on the ensuing possession.
James made one free throw to push Miami’s lead to five, and that closed the scoring.
Denver’s Ty Lawson had 23 points and eight assists as the Nuggets also hung on for a tight win, downing Atlanta 109-107.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two