Steve Francis scored 22 points on Wednesday as the Orlando Magic rode an early double-figures lead to a 109-103 victory over the Miami Heat in the preseason finale.
Cuttino Mobley, Francis' backcourt partner, had 17 points, and forwards Dwight Howard and Grant Hill 14 each. Howard added 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the preseason.
PHOTO: AP
Miami's Shaquille O'Neal, returning to the arena that was home court for his first four seasons in the NBA, had 24 points and eight rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 18 points despite shooting 5-for-19 -- including 10 straight misses to open the game.
Celtics 96, Pistons 84
In Boston, Jiri Welsch started at point guard in place of injured Gary Payton and scored 16 points to lead Boston over Detroit.
Tom Gugliotta added 12 points for the Celtics, 2-6 after snapping a six-game preseason losing streak.
Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince had 15 points each for NBA champion Detroit (3-4).
Ricky Davis added 12 points and Paul Pierce 11 for Boston.
Bobcats 93, Hawks 89
In Fayetteville, North Carolina, rookie Emeka Okafor scored 15 points and Primoz Brezec added 14 to lead Charlotte over Atlanta.
Okafor, the No. 2 pick in the draft, hit 6-of-8 shots in leading the Bobcats to their second straight win.
Antoine Walker had 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks. Al Harrington added 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Hawks rallied from a 12-point third quarter deficit to tie it on Josh Smith's dunk with nine minutes left.
Pacers 91, Bulls 71
In Indianapolis, Stephen Jackson had 18 points as Indiana downed Chicago.
Eddy Curry had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulls, who trailed throughout and played the fourth quarter without forward Tyson Chandler after a nasty fall.
Randy Holcomb had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers.
Luol Deng had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Ben Gordon added 14 points and five rebounds for Chicago.
Other results: Bucks 76, Timberwolves 75; Spurs 79, Rockets 69; Trail Blazers 97, Raptors 95; Warriors 82, Clippers 78
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
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