LeBron James scored 47 points on Tuesday, but his foul with 0.2 seconds left allowed Danny Granger to make the winning free throw, giving the Indiana Pacers a 96-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It’s the first time this season the Cavaliers have lost two straight games and this one was a surprise because the short-handed Pacers were missing three key players: Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Foster and Marquis Daniels.
The foul ended a bizarre sequence in which TJ Ford appeared to hit a winning fadeaway with 0.8 seconds left. But James drew a foul on an alley-oop and made both free throws with 0.4 seconds to go.
Then the Pacers tried the same play to Granger, and James was called for a foul he strongly disagreed with. Granger hit the first and deliberately missed the second to seal it.
SPURS 108, NETS 93
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Tim Duncan had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as San Antonio beat New Jersey for the 13th straight time.
Matt Bonner scored 13 of his 22 points in the opening 5 minutes of the third quarter in helping the Spurs win for the 15th time in 19 games since the start of this year.
NUGGETS 99, HEAT 82
At Miami, Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, Carmelo Anthony finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Denver, swept the series with Miami.
Kenyon Martin had 18 points and 10 rebounds, while JR Smith scored 10 for Denver, which wasted much of a 20-point first-half lead before pulling away late and defeating Miami for the eighth straight time.
RAPTORS 110, TIMBERWOLVES 102
At Minneapolis, Jason Kapono, the two-time defending 3-point contest champion, scored 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting as a reserve as Toronto beat Minnesota.
HAWKS 111, WIZARDS 90
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 22 points as Atlanta downed Washington to bounce back emphatically from its worst loss of the seasons.
Atlanta raced to a 9-1 lead before most of the sparse crowd had even settled into its seats. The Hawks pushed the margin as high as 22 points in the second quarter against an injury-plagued team that has managed the modest feat of back-to-back wins only once this season.
MAVERICKS 118, KINGS 100
At Dallas, Josh Howard and Antoine Wright both had 23 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 21 and JJ Barea had 10 as Dallas beat Sacramento.
The Kings (11-42) became the first NBA team guaranteed to have a losing season — and they still have 29 games remaining. Sacramento is 2-13 since beating Dallas 102-95 at home on Jan. 11.
In other NBA games on Tuesday it was:
• Bulls 107, Pistons 102
• Warriors 144, Knicks 127
• Lakers 105, Thunder 98
After letting another big lead slip with an error-strewn performance at the French Open on Wednesday, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka felt like getting as far away from the courts as possible. “Just want to quit tennis right now,” Sabalenka said after wasting a lead of a set and two breaks in a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss to Diana Shnaider in the women’s singles quarter-finals. “We’ll see in few days. Hopefully I’ll get back on track mentally.” Sabalenka’s wait for a first French Open title continues despite the four-time major winner leading 4-1 in the second set and being two points from victory while
BIG NAMES GONE: Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title, reaching semi-finals for the fifth time in six years and finishing second on three occasions Alexander Zverev on Tuesday breezed past Rafael Jodar to stay on course for an elusive Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Jakub Mensik halted Joao Fonseca’s scintillating run in the quarter-finals. Zverev, the highest-ranked player left in the men’s draw, put an end to Spanish teenager Jodar’s impressive Roland Garros debut, easing into the semi-finals with a 7-6, (7/3), 6-1, 6-3 win. The 29-year-old Zverev is the clear favorite for a maiden Grand Slam title. He has finished runner-up on three occasions, including at the 2024 French Open. “I want to win the matches that are ahead of
Liverpool are in advanced talks with former AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola as they seek a replacement for Arne Slot, reports said on Tuesday. Iraola has emerged as Liverpool’s top target to replace Slot, who was sacked on Saturday last week after a turbulent second season in charge. Liverpool have reportedly agreed a deal in principle to bring the Spaniard, who left Bournemouth at the end of this season, to Anfield. Sporting director Richard Hughes was heavily involved in hiring Iraola during his time at Bournemouth and is again spearheading the recruitment of the highly rated coach. The Reds are
KNICKS TAKE LEAD: San Antonio put on a 9-0 run to be up 95-94 with just over 2 minutes to play, but the rest of the game belonged to the New York Knicks It was past five minutes through the third quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday and the New York Knicks’ 11-game winning streak was in major jeopardy. The Knicks missed nine of their first 10 shots in the early part of the period and trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 14 points. They were floundering. Then something crazy happened. The Knicks found new life from an unlikely source: The Spurs. New York rallied to tie the game by the end of the period, gave up the lead briefly late in the fourth quarter, and pulled away late for a 105-95
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