THE BULLETIN • Friday, December 3, 2010 D3
NBA ROUNDUP
S B
NBA SCOREBOARD EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division
Football • Steelers say Roethlisberger’s right foot not broken: The Pittsburgh Steelers say quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t have a broken right foot but instead is healing from an aggravation of a previous injury where scar tissue is present. The Steelers issued a statement Thursday night refuting a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report that Roethlisberger broke a metatarsal bone in his foot. He has worn a protective boot all week, and has been fitted with a protective game shoe. Previously, the Steelers said Roethlisberger had a sprained right foot. • Ohio State president to be silent on BCS in future: Ohio State president Gordon Gee plans to stick to academics from now on, leaving football to his athletic director and Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel. Gee has been criticized for telling The Associated Press last week that teams from the Big Ten and SEC deserve to play in BCS bowl games more than schools such as TCU, because they play a “murderer’s row” of opponents and “we do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor.” Gee told the Columbus Dispatch on Wednesday that he should not have gotten involved and “what I should do is go over to the surgical suites and get my foot extricated from my mouth.” • Colorado has new coach?: University of Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn said Thursday he hopes to hire a football coach in the next few days and denied he had already offered the job to Washington Redskins assistant Jon Embree. Former Buffaloes coach Bill McCartney told the Denver Post that Colorado was awaiting an answer from Embree, the Redskins tight ends coach who played for the Buffs in the late 1980s before a brief career as an NFL tight end with the then-Los Angeles Rams. Bohn quickly issued a statement denying the job had been offered to anybody yet. He said the search committee still hasn’t completed its work.
Baseball • Rivera, Yanks close to deal: Mariano Rivera and the New York Yankees are close to an agreement on a two-year contract for about $30 million, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke early Friday on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made. The person said negotiations were not quite complete. While talks with Derek Jeter have gone slowly, negotiations with Rivera, who turned 41 this week, had proceeded smoothy. Earlier Thursday, the Yankees increased their contract offer to Jeter. The team informed Jeter’s side of the new offer during a telephone conversation early Thursday, a person familiar with the negotiations said. • Giants, LF Burrell agree to 1-year deal: Pat Burrell and the World Series champion San Francisco Giants have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, giving the club another returning face for what it hopes will be another deep run in 2011. The 34-year-old Burrell came to the Giants on a minor league deal May 29 after his release by Tampa Bay and spent a short stint with Triple-A Fresno before joining the Giants on June 4. He batted .266 with 18 home runs and 51 RBIs in 96 games for San Francisco, becoming the everyday left fielder. • Red Sox, Varitek reach agreement: The Red Sox are keeping captain Jason Varitek. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the catcher has reached a preliminary agreement with Boston on a $2 million, one-year contract. The 38-year-old Varitek has spent his entire major league career with the Red Sox after making his debut in 1997. He batted .232 with seven homers and 16 RBIs in a substitute role last season, when injuries helped limit him to 39 games. • Ex-Yankee Leyritz gets probation, fine: Former New York Yankees World Series hero Jim Leyritz was sentenced Thursday to one year’s probation and fined $500 for a drunk driving conviction, a far lesser penalty than he had faced before a jury decided he wasn’t responsible for a woman’s death in a 2007 traffic crash. Circuit Judge Marc Gold imposed the sentence for the misdemeanor on the 47-year-old former ballplayer, who was acquitted last month of DUI manslaughter in the death of 30year-old Fredia Ann Veitch. Leyritz could have gotten up to 15 years if convicted of manslaughter • Dunn, White Sox ink $56M, 4-yr deal: Slugging first baseman Adam Dunn has agreed to join the Chicago White Sox for a four-year, $56 million contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Thursday. Dunn hit 38 home runs with 103 RBIs for Washington last season. He hit .260 and is the big, left-handed bat the White Sox were seeking. Even after adding Dunn, the White Sox are still hoping to re-sign Paul Konerko, who is a free agent after turning down Chicago’s arbitration offer.
Golf •Harrington leads: Padraig Harrington led the Nedbank Golf Challenge by one stroke after picking up five birdies on the back nine to shoot a 6-under 66 Thursday in the opening round. The Irishman’s first birdie came on No. 8, and he made seven in his last 11 holes to overtake Ross Fisher of England at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa. Fisher led at 7 under before a double bogey at No. 17, just before play was suspended for nearly two hours because of rain and lightning. Top-ranked Lee Westwood shot a 68 after overcoming a slow start.
Soccer • Upstarts face powers in Women’s College Cup semis: Both semifinal games of the NCAA Women’s College Cup feature an upstart against a traditional power. The question is whether Stanford and Notre Dame will benefit from their experience in past national semifinals. No. 4 seed Notre Dame (19-2-2) plays No. 3 seed Ohio State (17-4-2) in today’s first semifinal, followed by No. 2 seed Boston College (17-6-1) against No. 1 seed Stanford (22-02). The winners meet Sunday for the title.
Swimming • Lochte wins 200 IM: Ryan Lochte has won the 200-yard individually medley and finished eighth in the 50 freestyle at the U.S. Short Course National Championships in Columbus, Ohio. The two-time gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics came from behind in the 200 IM to defeat Austrian Olympian Markus Rogan on Thursday. — From wire reports
Boston New York Toronto New Jersey Philadelphia
W 14 10 7 6 5
L 4 9 11 13 13
Orlando Atlanta Miami Charlotte Washington
W 14 12 12 6 5
L 4 7 8 12 12
Chicago Indiana Cleveland Milwaukee Detroit
W 9 9 7 6 6
L 7 8 11 12 13
Pct .778 .526 .389 .316 .278
GB — 4½ 7 8½ 9
L10 8-2 7-3 6-4 3-7 3-7
Str W-5 W-2 W-1 L-2 W-2
Home 8-1 3-5 5-4 4-5 4-4
Away 6-3 7-4 2-7 2-8 1-9
Conf 11-2 7-4 6-6 3-9 4-10
Away 5-2 7-2 3-5 3-7 0-9
Conf 11-2 8-4 10-4 3-8 3-12
Away 4-5 5-3 3-5 2-8 2-9
Conf 2-3 5-4 6-8 5-4 3-7
Southeast Division Pct .778 .632 .600 .333 .294
GB — 2½ 3 8 8½
L10 9-1 6-4 6-4 4-6 3-7
Str W-5 W-4 W-3 L-2 L-4
Home 9-2 5-5 9-3 3-5 5-3
Central Division Pct .563 .529 .389 .333 .316
GB — ½ 3 4 4½
L10 6-4 6-4 3-7 3-7 3-7
Str L-1 L-1 L-2 L-2 L-3
Home 5-2 4-5 4-6 4-4 4-4
WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division Tony Dejak / The Associated Press
A Cleveland Cavaliers fan yells at Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) during the first quarter of Thursday’s game in Cleveland.
James scores 38 as Heat rout Cavs
San Antonio Dallas New Orleans Memphis Houston
W 15 14 13 8 6
L 3 4 5 11 12
Utah Oklahoma City Denver Portland Minnesota
W 15 13 11 8 4
L 5 6 6 10 14
L.A. Lakers Phoenix Golden State Sacramento L.A. Clippers
W 13 9 8 4 4
L 6 9 11 12 15
Pct .833 .778 .722 .421 .333
GB — 1 2 7½ 9
L10 8-2 8-2 5-5 4-6 4-6
Str L-1 W-7 W-1 L-1 W-1
Home 7-2 8-3 8-1 6-4 4-4
Away 8-1 6-1 5-4 2-7 2-8
Conf 9-3 8-3 8-5 6-5 4-8
Away 7-2 7-2 3-5 4-7 1-9
Conf 7-5 6-5 7-4 4-6 2-9
Away 5-4 5-6 3-7 2-4 0-8
Conf 9-5 8-5 5-7 1-7 4-11
Northwest Division Pct .750 .684 .647 .444 .222
GB — 1½ 2½ 6 10
L10 8-2 8-2 7-3 3-7 3-7
Str W-7 W-2 W-5 L-5 L-5
Home 8-3 6-4 8-1 4-3 3-5
Paciic Division Pct .684 .500 .421 .250 .211
GB — 3½ 5 7½ 9
L10 Str 5-5 L-4 5-5 W-1 2-8 L-2 1-9 L-5 3-7 W-1 ——— Thursday’s Games
Miami 118, Cleveland 90
Home 8-2 4-3 5-4 2-8 4-7
Phoenix 107, Golden State 101 Today’s Games
The Associated Press CLEVELAND — LeBron James insisted it wasn’t personal, even if it was for 20,000 or so fans. “It’s a basketball game,” James said after scoring 38 points to silence an angry crowd and lead the Miami Heat to a 118-90 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. It was James’ first game back in the city where he played for seven years before leaving via free agency, angering disbelieving fans who considered him one of their own. “I don’t hold any grudges,” said the player once heralded as “King James” by most of those same irate fans. “They came out to support their team.” Before the game, fans peppered him with obscene chants and booed every time he appeared on the giant monitors over midcourt. They held up signs that read, “Quitness” and “Play Like It’s Game Five” — a reference to his Nike marketing campaign and also last season’s pivotal game in the playoff series with Boston, when many felt James had quit on the Cavaliers. There were five guys wearing a single letter each on their white T-shirts that spelled out: LeBum. He said he tried to smile and shrug off the insults. “I just tried to keep a clear head,” he said. “It’s nothing personal from myself to these fans. It won’t be. Ever.” Dwyane Wade added 22 points, James Jones 18 and Chris Bosh 15 for the Heat, a star-studded team which has seldom played like one in going 12-8 so far. “It was a great collective effort,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “This is the first time I have seen this connection all year long.” Daniel Gibson scored 21 for the Cavaliers, who have lost six of eight and now play seven of their next eight on the road. James had 10 more points than Cleveland’s
starting lineup. He had half the points in a 16-0 first-quarter run that immediately knocked the Cavaliers back on their heels. Ahead by 19 at the half, the Heat poured it on by shooting 73 percent from the field in the third quarter, with James scoring 24 points while going 10 of 12 and Wade hitting all four of his attempts. The lead stretched to 30 points and beyond. “I thought he played great,” Cleveland coach Byron Scott said of James. “Simple as that. I thought he played great.” James sat on the bench for all of the fourth quarter, with dozens of security guards and police lining the team’s entrance to the court and guarding against objects thrown at him. After the final seconds sifted away, he left without incident. The Heat were happy that things turned out so well for their star swingman. “One thing we preach a lot about in Miami is family,” Wade said. “This is our brother.” Throughout the game, James frequently bantered with his former coaches with the Cavaliers and even talked to fans at courtside. The native of nearby Akron smiled while shooting free throws, in spite of what seemed like the entire arena chanting, “Akron hates you!” The early spurt left a crowd of 20,562 with nothing left to cheer except James’ occasional missed shot. He didn’t miss many, finishing 15 of 25 from the field, to go with eight assists and five rebounds. Also on Thursday: Suns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Warriors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 OAKLAND, Calif. — Jason Richardson scored 25 points against his former team and Grant Hill added 24 to lead Phoenix over Golden State. Steve Nash added 13 points and matched his season high with 16 assists for the Suns.
New Jersey at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Portland at Washington, 4 p.m. Orlando at Detroit, 4:30 p.m. New York at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Minnesota at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Indiana at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Dallas at Utah, 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Toronto, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Houston at Memphis, 5 p.m. Chicago at Boston, 5 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Denver, 6 p.m. Sacramento at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s Games
Atlanta at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Houston at Chicago, 5 p.m. Orlando at Milwaukee, 5:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m. Cleveland at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Dallas at Sacramento, 7 p.m. All Times PST
SUMMARIES Thursday’s Games
Heat 118, Cavaliers 90 MIAMI (118) James 15-25 6-9 38, Bosh 6-11 3-5 15, Ilgauskas 0-0 0-0 0, Arroyo 3-9 0-0 6, Wade 1016 2-3 22, Anthony 1-1 2-2 4, Chalmers 3-5 0-0 9, Howard 3-6 0-0 6, Jones 6-8 1-2 18, House 0-1 0-0 0, Dampier 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 47-83 14-21 118. CLEVELAND (90) Graham 2-5 0-0 4, Hickson 3-9 0-0 6, Varejao 1-4 2-2 4, M.Williams 2-8 6-8 11, Parker 1-4 0-0 3, Jamison 4-10 2-2 11, Hollins 0-2 4-6 4, Gibson 6-14 5-7 21, Moon 1-3 0-0 2, Sessions 2-5 7-8 11, J.Williams 3-8 0-0 6, Powe 2-4 3-4 7. Totals 27-76 29-37 90. Miami 31 28 36 23 — 118 Cleveland 23 17 25 25 — 90 3-Point Goals—Miami 10-24 (Jones 5-7, Chalmers 3-4, James 2-7, House 0-1, Wade 0-1, Bosh 0-1, Arroyo 0-3), Cleveland 7-19 (Gibson 4-6, Parker 1-2, M.Williams 1-2, Jamison 1-3, Hickson 0-1, Graham 0-1, J.Williams 0-2, Moon 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 49 (Wade 9), Cleveland 51 (Varejao 8). Assists— Miami 30 (Wade 9), Cleveland 21 (Sessions 7). Total Fouls—Miami 28, Cleveland 19. Technicals—House, Gibson. A—20,562 (20,562).
Suns 107, Warriors 101 PHOENIX (107) Hill 9-11 6-6 24, Barron 1-4 0-0 2, Frye 3-8 3-4 10, Nash 4-9 5-5 13, Richardson 10-15 2-2 25, Turkoglu 4-9 0-0 9, Warrick 2-4 2-2 6, Dragic 3-5 0-0 7, Dudley 2-4 3-3 7, Childress 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 40-73 21-22 107. GOLDEN STATE (101) D.Wright 4-13 0-0 10, Lee 10-17 5-6 25, Biedrins 2-5 0-0 4, Curry 4-10 0-0 9, Ellis 16-27
3-7 38, Williams 3-4 0-0 8, Carney 1-3 1-2 4, Adrien 1-1 1-2 3, Bell 0-1 0-0 0, Lin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 41-82 10-17 101. Phoenix 31 21 23 32 — 107 Golden State 20 29 23 29 — 101 3-Point Goals—Phoenix 6-18 (Richardson 3-4, Turkoglu 1-3, Frye 1-3, Dragic 1-3, Childress 0-1, Dudley 0-2, Nash 0-2), Golden State 9-18 (Ellis 3-5, Williams 2-2, D.Wright 2-7, Carney 1-1, Curry 1-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Phoenix 41 (Frye 10), Golden State 41 (D.Wright 10). Assists—Phoenix 25 (Nash 16), Golden State 27 (D.Wright, Ellis, Curry 7). Total Fouls—Phoenix 16, Golden State 21. Technicals—Golden State defensive three second. A—18,328 (19,596).
LEADERS Through DEC. 2 SCORING G FG FT Durant, OKC 16 142 130 Bryant, LAL 19 171 138 Rose, CHI 15 149 69 Ellis, GOL 19 183 81 Nowitzki, DAL 18 169 96 Westbrook, OKC 19 152 157 James, MIA 20 160 143 Gordon, LAC 17 134 120 Stoudemire, NYK 19 164 124 Anthony, DEN 17 139 103 Martin, HOU 18 115 139 Granger, IND 17 133 67 Williams, UTA 20 147 116 Ginobili, SAN 18 122 94 Howard, ORL 18 134 116 Wade, MIA 19 138 117 REBOUNDS G OFF DEF Love, MIN 18 85 184 Noah, CHI 16 66 132 Evans, TOR 15 65 117 Howard, ORL 18 51 166 Gasol, LAL 19 68 158 Griffin, LAC 19 71 150
PTS 437 507 387 474 447 467 483 409 457 394 407 377 441 387 384 405
AVG 27.3 26.7 25.8 24.9 24.8 24.6 24.2 24.1 24.1 23.2 22.6 22.2 22.1 21.5 21.3 21.3
TOT 269 198 182 217 226 221
AVG 14.9 12.4 12.1 12.1 11.9 11.6
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
No. 9 Missouri holds off Last-second free throw lifts No. 4 Oregon’s late rally, 83-80 Kansas past UCLA The Associated Press
EUGENE — Marcus Denmon scored 19 points and No. 9 Missouri held on to beat Oregon 83-80 on Thursday night in a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series game. Kim English had 12 points for the Tigers (6-1), who nearly blew all of their 20-point halftime lead. Ricardo Ratliffe and Michael Dixon added 11 points each for Missouri and Matt Pressey had 10 points. E.J. Singler scored a career-high 19 points for the Ducks (4-3), who trailed 44-24 at halftime but shot 62.1 percent from the field and made eight of 15 3-pointers in the second half. Freshman Johnathan Loyd made two 3s in the final 14 seconds, the second of which cut the Tigers’ lead to 82-80 with 8 seconds to play. But Dixon made one of two free throws with 5.3 seconds left, and the Ducks missed on a last-ditch effort to tie the game as time ran out. Loyd, Jay-R Strowbridge and Joevan Catron all had 15 points for the Ducks. Missouri was coming off its first loss of the season — 111-102 in overtime to No. 16 Georgetown on Tuesday — but the Tigers played sharp in the first half, leading by as many as 22 points and shooting 64.3 percent from the field. Denmon, who had a career-high 27 points against the Hoyas, scored 13 in the first half. He finished the game five of seven from the field, three of four from 3-point range and six for seven from the free throw line. He had a team-best eight rebounds. Oregon, which was turned down by Missouri’s Mike Anderson during its coaching search last spring before hiring Dana Altman from Creighton, was without two starters who were late scratches. Teondre Williams sat because of a concussion and Jeremy Jacob was held out after experiencing discomfort in his surgically repaired right knee. Still, the Ducks kept their deficit under 10 points until a 3-pointer by Pressey sparked an 11-2 run that made it 31-13 with 6:22 to play in the first half.
The Associated Press
Rick Bowmer / The Associated Press
Missouri’s Ricky Kreklow, left, battles for a loose ball with Oregon’s Johnathan Loyd, center, and Malcolm Armstead in the first half of Thursday’s game in Eugene. Missouri’s length and athleticism kept the Ducks from having an inside presence early. Oregon finished the first half with just 10 points in the paint and was blocked five times, including three times by Ratliffe, who finished with four blocks. Oregon scored 14 of its 24 points in the first half on two 3-pointers and eight free throws and shot just 23.3 percent. But Singler capped a 10-0 run early in the second half with the first of his three 3-pointers as the Ducks cut their deficit to 49-41 with 13:25 to play.
LAWRENCE, Kan. — After almost 40 minutes of bruising, banging, and shouting, everything came down to a little bump and one soft toss. The bump was by UCLA guard Malcolm Lee, the toss was by Kansas’ Mario Little. His first free throw with seven-tenths of a second remaining dropped and lifted No. 4 Kansas to a pulsating 7776 victory over UCLA on Thursday night. Tyler Honeycutt, capping a 33-point game, hit a 3-pointer with 5 seconds to go that tied the score between two of basketball’s most storied programs at 76-76. Then Lee fouled Little as he got set to try to avoid overtime. After conferring at the scorer’s table, officials said to put .7 seconds back on the clock and Little walked to the line as a roaring crowd of 16,300 implored him to keep the Jayhawks’ home court winning streak alive. “I think he just bumped me,” said Little, who was in coach Bill Self’s doghouse earlier for taking some poor shots. “When I first knew I was fouled and they called it, free throws is what I do. I just stepped up and knocked it down. I knew I had two chances. Sink the first one and then let them deal with it.” After making the first foul shot, Little missed the second. The Bruins (3-3) rebounded and Honeycutt made a desperation hurl across the court, missing for one of the few times all game, and Kansas (7-0) saw its school-record homecourt winning streak reach 64. Also on Thursday: No. 11 Baylor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Arizona State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 WACO, Texas — LaceDarius Dunn had six 3pointers and finished with 24 points as Baylor (60) stretched its home winning streak to 11 games. Rihards Kuksiks hit consecutive 3-pointers for Arizona State (3-3) in the opening minute of the second half to tie the game at 33. Dunn responded with a 3-pointer, the first of his two in a quick 7-2 run that gave Baylor the lead for good.