Dwyane Wade scored 33 points, including a game-saving layup with 4.3 seconds left, as the Miami Heat wasted most of a big lead before beating the short-handed Indiana Pacers 104-101 on Thursday night.
Jason Williams added 20 points and eight assists for the Heat, who led 91-75 with 8:05 left before the Pacers -- who had only 10 players in uniform -- got within two by going on a 23-9 run.
But Wade hit a pair of free throws with 24.5 seconds left, then drove the length of the court for the winning score.
PHOTO: AP
Danny Granger had a career-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting for Indiana, but came up short on a potential, game-tying 3-point try as the final buzzer sounded.
The Heat were playing without Shaquille O'Neal for the 32nd straight game while he continues his recovery from knee surgery. He was not scheduled to play in Philadelphia yesterday, either, but his return is expected soon.
Marquis Daniels had a season-high 23 points for the Pacers.
Mavericks 114, Lakers 95
At Dallas, Josh Howard scored 29 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 27 as Dallas avenged its only loss over the past six weeks with a victory over Los Angeles.
Dallas has won 19 of 20 games and six in a row since a 101-98 loss in Los Angeles on Jan. 7 that ended a 13-game winning streak.
After the Mavericks started 0-4 for the first time in team history, the defending Western Conference champions reached the midpoint of the regular season with the NBA's best record (33-8).
Jason Terry had a season-high 13 assists, with one early in the second quarter coming when he missed underneath, got his own rebound and swiped the ball in one motion to Nowitzki at the top of the key for a 3-pointer. That basket put the Mavs up 32-30 and they never trailed again.
Kobe Bryant had 26 points for the Lakers, whose three-game winning streak included a 100-96 victory at San Antonio on Wednesday night. Even though Bryant scored 13 points in the third quarter, that was when Dallas took control.
Howard and Nowitzki led six players in double-figure scoring for Dallas, which got 14 from Devean George, 12 from Terry and 11 each from Jerry Stackhouse and Buckner.
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header on Thursday gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendia headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Ozer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ’keeper. Nottingham Forest were stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland, with substitute Cho
RSS