NBA: Heat extend home win streak to clinch playoff berth

MIAMI – The Miami Heat won their 16th consecutive home game, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 99-93 on Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) to clinch their fourth straight NBA playoff berth.

LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points for the Heat who are an NBA best 22-2 at home this season.

James also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Heat, who have not lost at home since January 22 against Milwaukee.

The Heat’s longest home winning streak is 18 games, set between January and April of 2005.

Miami continues their five-game home stand against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time) before taking on Memphis, Detroit and Boston.

Mario Chalmers had 19 points, six rebounds and four assists as Miami rebounded from a one-sided 19-point loss to the Celtics in Boston on Sunday (Monday, PHL time).

James scored 14 consecutive Heat points in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh finished with 17 points and Udonis Haslem had 11 rebounds.

Miami played without all-star guard Dwyane Wade, who missed the game with an injured left knee. The Heat are 9-1 without Wade, who could return to play against the Thunder.

Evan Turner finished with 26 points and eight rebounds for the 76ers, who are 1.5 games back of Boston for first place in the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia has lost five of its last half dozen road contests.

Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala had 11 points before leaving the game in the third quarter after being poked in the eye.

Turner scored 15 points in the first half as the 76ers led 54-51 at halftime. Philadelphia led 11-6 in fast-break points and shot 53 percent from the field in the opening half.

This was the fourth meeting of the season between the two, with Miami having now swept the season series by winning them all. – AFP

Balanced Magic rout 76ers; Irving returns for Cavs

Six players scored in double figures and the Orlando Magic booked their third straight win with a 103-87 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, while rookie star Kyrie Irving had 22 points in his return for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Ryan Anderson had a game-high 27 points and made seven of 10 attempts from beyond the arc, while Dwight Howard had 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Hedo Turkoglu (11 points), Jason Richardson (14 points), Jameer Nelson (12 points), and JJ Redick (12 points) all finished in double-figures.

The Magic torched the Sixers as they made 53.3% of their field goal attempts, including 15-of-25 three-pointers.

“When everybody’s active and everybody’s involved, that’s when we play our best,” Anderson said in an interview with NBA.com.

The Sixers never led in the game and fell behind by as much as 17 points. They made only three field goals in the first six minutes of the game and surrendered an 11-0 run that saw the Magic go up 23-6.

“They are a match-up problem for us, but we were able to trump them in the first game because we got our work done early. Tonight, they got off to a good start and we were not able to bounce back,” said Sixers guard Lou Williams, who led his team with 21 points and seven assists.

Meanwhile, top draft pick Kyrie Irving returned to the Cavaliers after missing three games due to a concussion. He led the Cavs with 22 points and five assists in their 98-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

“Just because I had a concussion, my game wasn’t going to change,” Irving told NBA.com. “I was still going to be aggressive and attack the basket.”

Irving was eight-of-12 from the field and turned the ball over only once in 37 minutes of action. Starting center Semih Erden added a career-high 18 points to go along with his eight rebounds.

The Pacers, meanwhile, lost the second game of a back-to-back-to-back. They were blown out by the Miami Heat in their first assignment.

It was the fifth loss in a row for the Pacers, who had to cope without leading scorer Danny Granger.

“Give credit to Cleveland for playing a better game than we did tonight. Kyrie Irving was terrific,” Indiana head coach Frank Vogel said.

Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies edged the New Jersey Nets, 105-100.

Rudy Gay had 25 points, Tony Allen added 21 and Mareese Speights scored 20 for the Grizzlies, who won their 16th game of the season.

Deron Williams had 26 points for the Nets but was held scoreless in the final quarter.

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Toronto Raptors, 113-106, behind a 34-point performance from Tony Parker.

It was the Spurs’ ninth straight victory. (abs-cbn)

Undermanned Bulls defeat Bobcats; Thunder bounce back

MANILA, Philippines — Despite missing key players, the depleted Chicago Bulls still had enough firepower to defeat the Charlotte Bobcats, 95-89.

Playing without last season’s most valuable player Derrick Rose and veteran big man Joakim Noah, along with key reserve Taj Gibson, the Bulls leaned on Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng to hold off the Bobcats in the second half.

Boozer had 23 points, Deng scored 22 and Richard Hamilton came off the bench to fire 20 points for Chicago.

“We are disappointed that we are going through some injuries, but we are confident in the guys who are stepping in,” Deng told NBA.com.

The Bulls led by as much as 19 points, before the Bobcats mounted a small rally in the fourth period to make the final score more respectable.

Gerald Henderson led Charlotte with 22 markers.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from their surprising loss against the Washington Wizards to defeat the New Jersey Nets, 84-74.

Kevin Durant had 20 points and a season high 15 rebounds to lead the Thunder, who improve their record to 13-3, tops in the Western Conference.

“I was just a little amped because of the last game. We lost,” Durant told NBA.com. “I just wanted to have a good start.”

The Thunder defense gave the Nets fits, as they made only 31% of their shots and were out-rebounded 55-46. New Jersey was also three-of-23 from behind the arc.

The Houston Rockets defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 105-102, at home, behind 25 points from Kevin Martin. (abs-cbn news)

Kings forward Hayes dislocates shoulder, to miss 3-4 weeks

Sacramento Kings forward Chuck Hayes will be sidelined for about three to four weeks after dislocating his left shoulder in Thursday’s win against the Milwaukee Bucks, the National Basketball Association (NBA) team said on Friday.

Hayes was injured when he collided with Bucks center Drew Gooden with his left arm extended in the second quarter of the game.

The injury occurred one night after Hayes hit the floor hard after taking a charge from Denver’s Chris Andersen.

“That’s in my top five all-time for charges,” Hayes told reporters on Thursday. “The one from Birdman (Andersen) was more painful than any charge I’ve taken. I saw him coming down the lane for a dunk, a big man coming full speed, and I knew it’d hurt.”

Hayes, who signed a four-year, $22.4 million contract with the Kings in the offseason, has averaged 5.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists this season. — Reuters

 

Lakers down Rockets, 108-99

Kobe Bryant rediscovered his scoring touch to tally 37 points and lead the Los Angeles Lakers to top spot in the Pacific division with a 108-99 win over the visiting Houston Rockets on Tuesday.

Bryant, who had connected on just 26 percent of his shots over his previous two games, finally caught fire against the Rockets while team mate Andrew Bynum had 21 points and 22 rebounds as the Lakers got their fourth win in five games.

“I just had to make some adjustments,” Bryant told reporters as he continues to play with an injured right wrist. “Some shots (it) hurts, some it doesn’t, so it’s inconsistent. But you have to find a rhythm.”

Los Angeles held an 82-81 lead with about 10 minutes remaining of a previously tight contest but outscored the Rockets 18-8 over the next eight minutes, led by nine points from Bryant during the stretch.

Bryant made 14-of-29 shots and also had eight rebounds and six assists.

The win moved the Lakers (4-3) a half-game in front of the cross-town Clippers in the division. The Rockets (2-3), meanwhile, have lost all three of their road games this season.

Houston’s Kyle Lowry just missed a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Luis Scola added 20 points.

The visitors stayed in touch with the Lakers throughout the game, trailing by four at halftime and just one after three quarters, but they were pounded on the inside.

Los Angeles grabbed a 53-38 advantage in rebounds led by 7-footer Bynum.

After being suspended the first four games of the season because of a flagrant foul during the last post-season contest, Bynum has exploded back onto the scene with three straight double-figure games in points and rebounds.

“Rebounding the basketball is big. It’s important to us and it’s something I’ve been working on,” Bynum said. “I’ve been doing a lot of work before practice. I’m super confident right now.” — Reuters