Sasha Pavlovic scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to pick up the slack for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers shut down Kobe Bryant in the final minutes for a 99-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Pavlovic finished with 21 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas 17 and Anderson Varejao with 12 as the Cavaliers improved to 20-7 at home with their second straight solid effort.
James had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but he deferred to Pavlovic and others down the stretch and Cleveland's supporting cast came through. James was outscored 25-7 by Bryant in the second half, but the All-Star forward got to crown the Cavs' win with a soaring dunk in the final seconds.
Timberwolves 109, Celtics 107
At Minneapolis, Ricky Davis' jumper from the corner with 0.2 seconds remaining dealt the Celtics their franchise-record 18th straight loss.
Davis finished with 28 points, Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and another former Celtic, Mark Blount, added 20 points for the Timberwolves.
Bulls 116, Suns 103
At Phoenix, Kirk Hinrich scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Chicago completed a seven-game road trip with the victory over the short-handed Suns.
Phoenix played without Steve Nash for the third consecutive game because of a sore right shoulder. The Suns also didn't have starter Boris Diaw because of back spasms.
Heat 100, Spurs 85
At Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 18 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and the Heat held San Antonio without a field goal for more than seven minutes down the stretch.
Wade hit seven of 10 field goals in the final period and added seven assists.
Pacers 94, Clippers 80
At Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal scored 21 points and set an Indiana franchise record for career blocked shots.
The Pacers took control with a 16-0 run at the end of the second quarter and built their lead to 23 points early in the third period.
The Clippers rallied within seven points midway through the final quarter, but O'Neal then hit two straight baskets and Mike Dunleavy, who finished with 20 points, added another basket to push Indiana's lead to 89-76. Los Angeles came no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Trail Blazers 94, Wizards 73
At Washington, Jarrett Jack and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points apiece and Portland held Gilbert Arenas to nine points.
Arenas, who vowed to score 50 points in retaliation for being left off the US national team last summer by Portland coach Nate McMillan, shot 3-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-8 on 3-pointers.
SuperSonics 114, Kings 103
At Sacramento, California, Ray Allen scored 25 points and hit a key 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter to help Seattle win its second straight road game following a franchise-record 15-game skid away from home.
Chris Wilcox added 25 points on 8-for-9 shooting for the Sonics and Rashard Lewis had 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Hawks 106, Warriors 105
At Oakland, California, Josh Smith scored 11 of his 29 points in Atlanta's big first quarter and also had 10 rebounds, leading the Hawks to their fifth straight road victory.
Joe Johnson scored 21 points for Atlanta.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
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