LeBron James returned from a groin injury to score 26 points on his birthday, while the Miami Heat beat the skidding Denver Nuggets 97-94 on Monday night, despite losing Dwyane Wade and Norris Cole during the game.
James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin on Friday during the Heat’s overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive defeat.
Chris Bosh had 17 points and Ray Allen 13, including six in the final 5:08, as Miami won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Ty Lawson had 26 points to lead the Nuggets, who lost their second straight to Miami at the Pepsi Center after winning the previous 10 in a row.
Cole left midway through the third quarter after taking a fall at the end of a driving layup attempt and hitting his face on the floor. He had come into the game in place of Wade, who did not return after halftime because of back spasms, the Heat said on Twitter.
PELICANS 110,
TRAIL BLAZERS 108
In New Orleans, Tyreke Evans hit a pull-up jumper from 17 feet with 1.2 seconds left to lift New Orleans over Portland.
Evans’ big basket came right after Portland’s Damian Lillard, who has hit several game-winners this season, made a contested three-pointer to tie the score at 108.
Jrue Holiday scored 15 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter and tied a season high with 13 assists for the Pelicans, who won their fourth in a row at home. Anthony Davis added 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Evans had 20 points.
Davis forced LaMarcus Aldridge into a tough shot from the baseline that bounced off the top of the backboard as time ran out.
Lillard scored 29 points and Aldridge had 28 for the Trail Blazers (24-7), who lost their second straight.
MAVERICKS 100, TIMBERWOLVES 98
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Shawn Marion scored 32 points and hit two huge three-pointers in the fourth quarter to help Dallas withstand a furious second-half charge from Minnesota.
Dirk Nowitzki had 16 points for the Mavericks, who led by 19 late in the first half before the Wolves came back.
Kevin Love had 36 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, and his three-pointer 90 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Wolves an 86-85 lead. They led 90-87 midway through the period, but Marion hit two three-pointers during a 10-0 run to put the Mavericks back in front.
Love had a shot to win it on the last possession, but Marion knocked his shot out of bounds. Love thought he was fouled, and replays appeared to support him. However, no whistle was blown.
Marion made 14 of 19 shots and also had six rebounds and three assists. He topped 30 points for the first time since the 2008-2009 season.
SUNS 107, CLIPPERS 88
In Los Angeles, Goran Dragic had 26 points and eight assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, while Gerald Green added 21 points off the bench as Phoenix ended the year with a rout of Los Angeles.
The Suns have won 10 of their past 12 after a 9-9 start under first-year coach Jeff Hornacek, and trail the defending Pacific Division champion Clippers by a half-game for the top spot.
Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford each scored 15 points for Los Angeles, while Chris Paul had 11 points and seven assists. It was the most lopsided loss of the season for the Clippers, who beat the Suns the previous three times they hosted them — by an average margin of 20 points.
Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix’s leading scorer, had seven points and four assists over 31 minutes in his first game against his former team.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Wizards 106, Pistons 99
‧ Bulls 95, Grizzlies 91
‧ Jazz 83, Bobcats 80
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set