Chris Bosh scored 24 points on nine-for-10 shooting, and LeBron James added 18 points as the Miami Heat rolled past the San Antonio Spurs 113-101 yesterday in an NBA Finals rematch from last season.
Mario Chalmers scored 16 points for Miami, who used Dwyane Wade as a reserve for the first time since Jan. 6, 2008. Wade — an All-Star starter again this season — had not played in any of two-time defending champion Miami’s most recent four games while dealing with ongoing knee rehabilitation. He had eight points and five assists in 24 minutes.
Michael Beasley scored 12 points, Norris Cole had 11 and Ray Allen added 10 for Miami. Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 23 points. Boris Diaw added 15.
Photo: AFP
WARRIORS 103, TRAIL BLAZERS 88
In Oakland, California, Stephen Curry had 38 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Golden State used a smothering defense to beat Portland.
The newly elected All-Star starting point guard shot 13 of 23 from the floor to carry the offensive load. The Warriors did it all on defense, too, building a 22-point lead midway through the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Golden State outshot Portland 41.8 percent to 33.7 percent and forced 15 turnovers while committing nine.
Damian Lillard had 16 points and four assists, and Wesley Matthews scored 21 for the Blazers, who had a quick turnaround after beating Minnesota in Portland on Saturday night. It was a season low in points and shooting percentage and it tied the largest margin of defeat for Portland, who entered averaging an NBA-best 109.5 points.
NETS 85, CELTICS 79
In Boston, Andray Blatche scored 17 points to lead Brooklyn to victory in the first visit by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Boston since they were traded in July last year.
The cornerstones of the Celtics’ 2008 championship team received video tributes early in the game, with career highlights shown on the scoreboard. They did not have any highlights on the court until Garnett stole the ball from Rajon Rondo and dribbled ahead of the field for a layup that ended Boston’s last threat.
That put the Nets ahead 82-77 with 20 seconds left and secured their 10th win in 11 games.
The Celtics, losing for the 17th time in 20 games, were led by Brandon Bass with 17 points and Rondo with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
Pierce and Garnett scored just six points each.
KNICKS 110, LAKERS 103
In New York, Carmelo Anthony followed his 62-point game with 35 more as New York beat Los Angeles.
Anthony finished with two points fewer than he had at halftime of his record-setting night on Friday, but he scored six straight New York points down the stretch after the Lakers had cut the Knicks’ lead to two with just over five minutes left.
And he had plenty of help as the Knicks won their second straight following a five-game losing streak.
Raymond Felton scored 20 points, Tim Hardaway Jr had 18 and J.R. Smith 16 for the Knicks. Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Jodie Meeks scored 24 points for the Lakers. Pau Gasol had 20 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers dropped their fourth straight to finish 2-5 on their Grammy Awards trip.
NUGGETS 125, KINGS 117
In Sacramento, California, Ty Lawson scored 27 points, while Wilson Chandler had 20 as Denver defeated short-handed Sacramento for their second consecutive victory.
The Nuggets went ahead late in the third-quarter and never trailed again.
Denver was coming off a 109-96 home win on Saturday night over Indiana, who have the best record in the NBA.
Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points for the Kings.
The Kings have dropped three straight and five of six.
They played their second straight game without leading scorers DeMarcus Cousins (ankle sprain) and Rudy Gay (Achilles strain).
The two combine for nearly 43 points per game.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Pelicans 100, Magic 92
‧ Suns 99, Cavaliers 90
‧ Mavericks 116, Pistons 106
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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