Monta Ellis scored 20 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and the Dallas Mavericks won their fifth straight game on Sunday, a 109-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LeBron James, who is out with knee and back soreness, missed his fourth in a row and fifth of the season. The Cavaliers are 1-4 when the four-time MVP does not play and have dropped five of seven overall.
Kevin Love scored a season-high 30 points, but the Cavaliers could not stay with the Mavericks.
PISTONS 114, KINGS 95
Brandon Jennings scored 35 points as the Pistons beat the Kings for their fifth straight win.
Andre Drummond had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Greg Monroe had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Detroit, who improved to 5-0 since Josh Smith was released last month. Detroit are 10-23.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 18 points and 15 rebounds.
HEAT 88, NETS 84
Chris Bosh scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade scored 10 of his 25 points in the final minutes and the Heat held off Brooklyn to snap a four-game losing streak.
Hassan Whiteside had 11 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks off the bench for Miami, who won for only the seventh time in 19 home games.
Joe Johnson scored 19, Brook Lopez added 16 and Mirza Teletovic had 14 for Brooklyn, who had won six of seven and were seeking to get back over .500 for the first time since Nov. 12 last year.
SUNS 125, RAPTORS 109
Eric Bledsoe scored 20 points, fellow guards Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas added 18 apiece, and the Suns handed the Raptors their second straight blowout loss.
Seven Suns hit double figures in the team’s highest-scoring non-overtime game this season.
The Raptors, who trailed by 19 points in the first half and 27 in the second, finished a season-long six-game road trip with their two most one-sided losses of the season.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 21 and Kyle Lowry scored 19 for the Raptors. Lou Williams and James Johnson added 17 apiece.
Phoenix won for the eighth time in 10 games.
BUCKS 95, KNICKS 82
Zaza Pachulia had 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks handed the New York Knicks their 11th straight loss.
Tim Hardaway had 17 points for the Knicks (5-31), who lost a franchise-record 10th straight home game. They are one overall loss from matching the team’s 1985 record for most consecutive losses.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Milwaukee (18-17).
LAKERS 88, PACERS 87
Kobe Bryant scored 20 points and hit the go-ahead short jumper with 12.4 seconds to play to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a comeback victory over Indiana.
Roy Hibbert missed a difficult jumper off a broken play as time expired to end the Lakers’ third win in 10 games.
Bryant scored nine points in the final 2:32 while the Lakers rallied past the Pacers, who blew a 13-point lead in the second half.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and