LeBron James scored 25 points against his former team to lead the Miami Heat to a 114-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their NBA game on Saturday.
Dwyane Wade added 24 points and Chris Bosh had 22 for the Heat, who squandered a 19-point third-quarter lead before rallying from a two-point deficit with eight unanswered points late in the fourth.
Kyrie Irving scored 19 points for the Cavaliers, who played the second half without coach Mike Brown after he was ejected late in the second after storming onto the court looking for a foul on Shane Battier’s block of Alonzo Gee’s layup.
In other games, the Portland Trail Blazers became the second NBA team to reach 20 wins after beating the Philadelphia 76ers 139-105, while the Los Angeles Lakers won their first game since Kobe Bryant’s return, topping the Charlotte Bobcats 88-85 as crosstown rivals the Clippers beat the Washington Wizards 113-97.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and 16 rebounds, while Nicolas Batum added 17 points for Portland, who set a franchise record for three-pointers with 21.
Damian Lillard scored 16 and Dorell Wright had 15 on 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc for the Northwest Division leaders, who won their third in a row and improved to 20-4. They have the second-best record in the NBA after the Indiana Pacers (20-3).
Bryant scored a season-high 21 points for his first win since returning from a torn Achilles tendon four games ago.
Bryant was 8 of 15 from the field and hit two free throws with 37 seconds left to put the Lakers ahead for good after they trailed most of the game. Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill had 15 points apiece for Los Angeles.
The Clippers finished their seven-game road trip with a victory to go 4-3. They are now 6-6 on the season against the pedestrian Eastern Conference and 10-3 against the mighty Western Conference.
Chris Paul had 38 points and 12 assists, while Jamal Crawford — making his first start since April last year — finished with 17 points, with Blake Griffin adding 16 points and nine rebounds.
John Wall had 24 points and 12 assists for the Wizards, who were again missing Brazilian forward Nene due to a foot injury.
Washington have lost seven in a row with Nene not on the court and are 3-24 without him since the beginning of last season.
Elsewhere in the league, San Antonio’s Tim Duncan continued his run of good form, scoring 22 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the Spurs’ 100-84 win over the Utah Jazz.
After a slow start to the season, the 37-year-old Duncan is averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds over his past six games. Tony Parker scored 15 points and Kawhi Leonard added 13 for the Spurs.
Also on Saturday, it was:
‧ Knicks 111, Hawks 106
‧ Mavericks 106, Bucks 93
‧ Raptors 99, Bulls 77
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Alex Michelsen on Thursday rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 upset victory over third-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the men’s singles, converting his seventh match point to reach the fourth round of the Canadian Open. Michelsen reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 for the first time with his second win over a top-10 player in eight attempts. The 20-year-old American survived nearly 50 unforced errors and converted just two of nine break chances, but it was enough to vanquish Italy’s Musetti, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist ranked 10th in the world. “It feels really good,” the 26th-ranked Michelsen said. “I’ve put
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