LeBron James had 21 points and seven assists, and Chris Bosh scored 18 as the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 120-92 on Wednesday for their fifth straight victory.
James Jones scored 14 of his 17 points in the third quarter, when the Heat turned what was a five-point game into a runaway.
All five Miami starters sat out the fourth quarter for the second straight night, and Dwyane Wade sat out the whole game again to give his knees more rest.
Arron Afflalo scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half for Orlando and sank seven from nine from three-point range. Victor Oladipo added 20 points, but had eight turnovers.
Indiana’s Paul George made three free throws to level the game with 5.2 seconds left in regulation, then scored nine of his season-high 35 points in overtime as the Pacers downed the Knicks 103-96 for New York’s sixth straight defeat at home.
New York scored the first 13 points, but the match settled into a playoff-type game between teams that met in the postseason last May. And it again went to the Pacers, who bounced back from their first loss after a franchise-record 9-0 start.
George Hill added 23 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers.
Anthony had 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks.
At Dallas, Monta Ellis had a season-high 37 points and assisted on the go-ahead basket as the Mavericks spoiled Dwight Howard’s best offensive night in Houston’s 123-120 loss.
Dallas were down one when Ellis drove and zipped a pass to Shawn Marion in the corner for the go-ahead three-pointer with 47s left.
Dirk Nowitzki finished with a season-high 35, including 14 in the fourth, and passed Reggie Miller for 15th on the NBA scoring list. Nowitzki has 25,298 points, 18 ahead of Miller.
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 for their eighth straight win after LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 points and Damian Lillard added 19.
Wesley Matthews had 15 points, all in the first half, to help Portland complete a sweep of a four-game Eastern Conference road trip. The Trail Blazers have won 10 of 12 to start the season.
Tony Parker scored 19 points as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics 104-93 to win their eighth straight overall and remain undefeated at home, while DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points to help the Toronto Raptors down the Philadelphia Phillies 108-98.
The Washington Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91 thanks to Bradley Beal’s 26 points and Nene’s 24, and Kemba Walker scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Charlotte Bobcats over the Brooklyn Nets 95-91.
In other games, the Atlanta Hawks downed the Detroit Pistons 93-85, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-98, the New Orleans Pelicans were 105-98 winners over the Utah Jazz, the Memphis Grizzlies overcame the Golden State Warriors 88-81 in overtime and the Los Angeles Kings had a 113-106 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care