LeBron James scored 33 points and barely missed a triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 114-113 on Tuesday for the second time in this NBA season.
James added 12 assists, nine rebounds and five steals to pace the Cavaliers, who handed the NBA's best road team just their fifth loss away from home. Cleveland also beat the Celtics in overtime on Nov. 27.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 21 points for Cleveland.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 24 points.
Spurs 116, Pacers 89
At Indianapolis, Tim Duncan dominated the middle and San Antonio's stingy second-half defense turned a close game into a rout.
Duncan had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and backup guard Jacque Vaughn scored 16 points off the bench.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 16 points in their season-high seventh-straight defeat.
Tied at halftime, the Pacers opened the third quarter shooting 1-of-11, a lapse that allowed San Antonio on an 8-0 run. By the time it ended, the Spurs had outscored Indiana 18-2, building an insurmountable 77-61 lead with 4:18 to go.
76ers 101, Wizards 96
At Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala scored 20 points and Philadelphia stunned Washington with a 17-0 run late in the fourth quarter, handing Washington their fourth-straight loss.
The Sixers trailed by 12 early in the fourth before Rodney Carney's open dunk off a turnover tied the score at 90. Iguodala's layup at the 4 minute mark put the 76ers ahead 92-90. They would never trail again.
DeShawn Stevenson scored 19 points for the Wizards.
■ LEBRON: NO CONTEST
AP, MEDINA, OHIO
NBA star LeBron James pleaded no contest to driving 101mph (163kph) on his 23rd birthday in December and was ordered to pay US$259 in fines and court costs.
The Cleveland Cavaliers player entered the plea on the speeding charge on Monday through his lawyer in Medina Municipal Court, clerk of court Nancy Abbott said on Tuesday. James was found guilty by Magistrate Charles Lawrie and avoids a court hearing on Monday, when the Cavaliers play in Orlando.
James was ticketed by the State Highway Patrol on Interstate 71 south of Cleveland at about 3am on Dec. 30. James later said he was heading home after the team arrived in Cleveland.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of