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
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB