Eric Gordon scored 16 of his 24 points in the third quarter, as the New Orleans Pelicans had little trouble beating the Miami Heat 105-91 on Saturday despite losing Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson to injuries.
Omer Asik scored 15 points and Tyreke Evans added 13 to help the Pelicans snap a four-game slide.
Mario Chalmers scored 20 points for Miami, who were playing for the first time since learning that All-Star forward Chris Bosh would miss the remainder of the season with blood clots in one of his lungs.
Dwyane Wade scored 19 points and Hassan Whiteside finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds for the Heat, who kept the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Goran Dragic, making his Miami debut after being acquired in a trade from Phoenix, had 12 points.
Davis departed with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left in the first quarter, moments after he attempted a shot and made contact with Miami’s Hassan Whiteside. Anderson was ruled out shortly before half-time after spraining his right knee jostling for a rebound.
THUNDER 110, HORNETS 103
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Russell Westbrook had 33 points and 10 assists, as Oklahoma City beat Charlotte for their fifth straight victory.
With Kevin Durant sidelined with soreness in his right foot, Westbrook was 12 of 27 from the field, and shot nine of nine from the foul line, stretching his streak of consecutive free throws to 43.
Serge Ibaka had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Enes Kanter had 10 points and 13 rebounds in his first game with the Thunder. Al Jefferson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a season-high 20 points for Charlotte.
CLIPPERS 126, KINGS 99
In Los Angeles, California, J.J. Redick scored 24 points, hitting four three-pointers and all eight of his free throws, and Los Angeles routed Sacramento for their fourth straight victory.
Austin Rivers had a career-high 28 points and fellow reserve Jamal Crawford added 23 to help the Clippers improve to 4-1 without injured All-Star Blake Griffin. DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 21 points for the Kings. Coach George Karl was tagged with his first loss after winning his debut against Boston on Friday last week.
In others games it was:
‧ Rockets 98, Raptors 76
‧ Bulls 112, Suns 107
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
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