Mo Williams strengthened his argument to be an All-Star by scoring a career-high 43 points, and LeBron James recorded his 20th career triple-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings 117-110 on Tuesday.
Williams, who is hoping to join James on the Eastern Conference team at next month’s All-Star game in Phoenix, had his finest game since joining the Cavs.
The do-it-all point guard went 15-of-24 from the floor, made a career-best seven 3-pointers and added 11 assists and eight rebounds.
PHOTO: AP
James scored 23 points with 15 rebounds and 11 assists, his third triple-double this season. He picked up assist No. 10 in the third quarter with a pass to Williams, who knocked down three consecutive threes — all off feeds from James — in a span of 1:05. Williams was so good, James only had to take 10 shots.
Kevin Martin scored 35 points and John Salmons 21 for the Kings, who lost their sixth straight and dropped to 0-19 against the East.
MAGIC 135, PACERS 111
At Orlando, Florida, Mickael Pietrus had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead Orlando past Indiana in his first game in almost a month.
Pietrus, who missed the previous 12 games with a broken right wrist, came off the bench to lead a well-balanced Magic attack.
Seven players reached double figures scoring, including Rashard Lewis with 24 points and Dwight Howard with 22.
The Magic, who never trailed, snapped a two-game losing streak.
NUGGETS 100, GRIZZLIES 85
At Memphis, Tennessee, Chauncey Billups scored 14 consecutive points in the third quarter and finished with 29 to lead Denver over Memphis. Billups’ 14-point run allowed the Nuggets to build a 15-point lead en route to their 30th victory of the season.
SPURS 106, JAZZ 100
At Salt Lake City, Tim Duncan had 24 points and nine rebounds, and Manu Ginobili scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as San Antonio edged Utah.
In April last year, Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying finally opened up about her future in the sport in which she had competed professionally since 2009. “My plan is to retire after the end of next year’s season. Even if I’m still able to compete, I would prefer not to,” she said at a promotional event. If true, the Paris Olympics would be her last stab at an Olympic gold medal, a prize some might think a player who has topped the rankings in women’s singles for a record total of 214 weeks — between December 2016 and September 2022 — should
Vivian Kong on Saturday won Hong Kong’s third ever Olympic gold medal, disappointing the home crowd as she beat France’s Auriane Mallo-Breton 13-12 in sudden death in the women’s epee final. Kong wiped away tears after she clinched the title, having held her nerve when she trailed 7-1 in the second period and with a passionate home crowd, including French President Emmanuel Macron, urging Mallo-Breton on. Her gold emulates that of fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long in the men’s foil in Tokyo three years ago and sailor Lee Lai-shan who won the women’s sailboard title at Atlanta in 1996. “I just thought it was
Japan’s 14-year-old Coco Yoshizawa on Sunday grabbed gold in the all-teenage women’s street skateboard final at the Paris Olympics, after nailing a high-risk ride down the hand-rail. Yoshizawa went into her penultimate trick with two big scores, but needing a third to complete her total, before finishing in style. “I knew that if I wanted to win, I had to go for the most difficult tricks. I didn’t aim for second or third place; I aimed for the top spot with my highest difficulty moves,” she said. Even though all her rivals had one more run, she raised her board above
POLYNESIAN FOCUS: The separate opening event welcomed visitors with Tahitian dancing, while athletes participated in rituals to mark the occasion Tahitian dancers in palm-leaf skirts mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games commenced in French Polynesia on Friday, about 16,000km from the main ceremony in Paris. “The people of Tahiti, we are all enchanted to have these Olympics Games here and to welcome all our friends from all over the world,” French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson told reporters. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. All the world is looking at us for this mighty wave.” Just steps from the ocean and set against the lush green mountains of Tahiti, the event was heavily