LeBron James and the Cavaliers turned a close game into a clinic as Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, watched from courtside seats as Cleveland beat the Brooklyn Nets 110-88 on Monday.
Kevin Love was shooting free-throws when the royal couple emerged into the stands with 7 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Perhaps distracted by the ensuing loud roar from the crowd, Love missed the second, leaving the game tied at 61.
James proceeded to put on a stellar show, throwing sharp passes to go with his nine points in the period and the Cavs cruised from there to their seventh straight victory.
Photo: EPA
He finished with 18 points after joining Kyrie Irving and some Nets players in wearing “I Can’t Breathe” shirts during warmups in support of US man Eric Garner, who reportedly died after being put in a chokehold by a police officer.
WARRIORS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 86
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Stephen Curry overcame a rare off-night from long range to post 21 points and seven assists, helping Golden State to their 13th consecutive win with a victory over Minnesota.
Curry missed six of seven three-point attempts, but the top-ranked Warriors’ defense forced the short-handed Timberwolves to shoot 36 percent and turn the ball over 19 times for an NBA-best 18-2.
Klay Thompson added 21 points and the Warriors left holding their breath after Andrew Bogut suffered a knee injury. He watched the rest of the game from the bench.
Andrew Wiggins had 21 points and six rebounds for the Timberwolves, who were without three starters and have lost six in a row.
RAPTORS 112, NUGGETS 107 OT
In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had 13 points and 13 assists, while Jonas Valanciunas added 18 points and 12 rebounds as Toronto rallied to beat Denver in overtime.
Lou Williams scored 26 and Amir Johnson 18 for the Raptors, who trailed by five points with less than three minutes to play, but got a game-tying three-pointer from Patrick Patterson with 28 seconds left.
WIZARDS 133, CELTICS 132, 2OT
In Washington, John Wall scored 26 points, including the last 10, as Washington rallied to beat Boston in double overtime.
Wall added a career-high 17 assists, Paul Pierce scored a season-high 28 points, while Marcin Gortat had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Washington.
Also on Monday it was:
‧ Hawks 108, Pacers 92
‧ Kings 101, Jazz 92
‧ Clippers 121, Suns 120
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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