Shaquille O'Neal returned from a three-game absence and had 20 points and 13 rebounds Thursday, and Dwyane Wade led a third-quarter surge that sent the Miami Heat past the New Jersey Nets 106-90.
Wade had 27 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Heat, who ended New Jersey's three-game winning streak.
"My knee felt pretty good," O'Neal said. "I was hurting last week and [coach] Stan [Van Gundy] told me to take a couple extra days off, so I did."
PHOTO: AP
The final two quarters were so lopsided that Alonzo Mourning was able to make his Heat debut during garbage time, playing the final 2:19 and grabbing two rebounds. The 11-year veteran, who left Miami as a free agent two summers ago, re-signed with the Heat earlier this week after being traded from New Jersey to Toronto and then being waived by the Raptors.
Vince Carter scored 27 points to lead the Nets.
Nuggets 96, Pacers 87
In Denver, Marcus Camby finished with 17 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocked shots, and Carmelo Anthony had 28 points, helping Denver down Indian for its fifth straight win.
The Nuggets had 27 assists on 31 field goals and improved to 12-4 since coach George Karl took over on Jan. 27, and moved into a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Denver has won seven straight at home -- 6-0 under Karl -- and has its longest win streak since taking five in a row in December 2003.
Stephen Jackson led the Pacers with 16 points.
Indiana All-Star forward Jermaine O'Neal sprained his right shoulder on a drive to the basket in the second quarter. X-rays were negative, but O'Neal was still in pain at halftime and said the trainer had to pop his shoulder back in place.
Suns 100, Pistons 97
In Phoenix, Steve Nash returned to the Phoenix lineup with 16 points and 14 assists -- including a crucial 3-pointer with 1:06 to play -- and the Suns snapped Detroit's eight-game winning streak.
Amare Stoudemire battled the Pistons' bruising front line for 26 points and 10 rebounds. Quentin Richardson scored 20, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers.
Rasheed Wallace led Detroit with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Ben Wallace had 18 boards. Antonio McDyess scored 14, all in the second half.
With the Suns leading 95-94 after Chauncey Billups' layup with 1:20 to go, Nash, who missed three games with a sore hamstring, made the 3-pointer to boost the lead to 98-94, and then his two free throws increased the lead to 100-94 with 37.4 seconds left.
Rasheed Wallace sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 100-97 with 30.5 seconds left, and Shawn Marion missed from 3-point range to give Detroit a chance to tie it. After a timeout with 3.2 seconds to go, Billups' 25-footer was off the front of the rim at the buzzer.
NBA star Kobe Bryant and the woman who accused him of rape can now begin rebuilding their lives, but they may never shake the lingering effects of their legal battles that generated sensational headlines around the world.
A federal judge signed the order on Thursday that officially dismisses the 20-year-old woman's civil lawsuit against the Los Angeles Lakers guard. Terms were not given when attorneys announced on Wednesday that a settlement had been reached.
"They will never be who they were before this happened," said victims' advocate Krista Flannigan, a former spokeswoman for the prosecutors who charged Bryant with felony sexual assault. "It's redefining the normal and redefining their lives to accommodate what has happened."
The settlement was filed seven months ago, just before prosecutors dropped a criminal charge against Bryant because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.
Now married and expecting a child, the woman would someday like to return to university. She dropped out amid the furor that erupted after her allegations were made public and began moving from town to town to avoid media scrutiny.
But Flannigan said recovery will probably be difficult for the former Eagle Valley High School cheerleader who once aspired to a singing career.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
Taiwanese tennis star Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the second round of the mixed doubles at the French Open, after she and German partner Mark Wallner defeated Slovenian Andreja Klepac and Briton Lloyd Glasspool in straight sets, despite temperatures exceeding 32°C in Paris, while Taiwan’s top men’s doubles player Ray Ho also reached the second round. Hsieh, who made it to the semi-finals in the mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2024, and Wallner defeated Klepac and Glasspool 6-3, 7-5 in just more than an hour, converting three of five break points, while holding their opponents to just one conversion
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