SPORTS DIGEST

BASKETBALL

Lebron James hit an NBA points milestone as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets 129-123. James had 31 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists – his 12th triple-double this season and 67th in his career, to become the first player to reach a landmark 30,000 points, 8,000 assists and 8,000 rebounds. The dramatic game also saw Cleveland snatch the lead with 40 seconds on the clock thanks to Rodney Hodd’s three-pointer followed up by two free throws from James and George Hill in the last 16 seconds. D’angelo Russell led the Nets with 25 points and six assists, but the Cavs dominated in the closing stages to secure the win. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade scored a season’s best 27 points as the Miami Heat battled to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 102-101. Miami took the lead for the first time in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, with 15 of Wade’s points coming in the final period. Philadelphia narrowly missed out on the win when JJ Redrick’s three-pointer hit the rim on the buzzer, leaving the 76ers disappointed after holding a 10-point lead in the fourth. NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION: Charlotte Hornets 118 Chicago Bulls 103, Cleveland Cavaliers 129 Brooklyn Nets 123, Denver Nuggets 120 LA Clippers 122, Miami Heat 102 Philadelphia 76ers 101, Milwaukee Bucks 104 Washington Wizards 107, Portland Trail Blazers 116 Sacramento Kings 99.

CRICKET

2nd ODI (Mount Maunganui) New Z ea land223(MJS ant n er 63 no,MJGu pt ill50)vEng land 225-4( BA Stokes 63 no, E JG Morgan 62). England beat New Zealand by 6 wkts.

ICE HOCKEY

Nashville extended their lead at the top of the Central Division by beating second-placed Winnipeg 6-5. After a scoreless first period, the Jets took a 4-3 lead into the final period but goals from Craig Stastny, Ryan Johansen and Ryan Hartman secured the win. Minnesota capitalised on Winnipeg’s defeat by beating St Louis 8-3. Eric Staal scored a hat-trick and had two assists with Mikael Granlund (2), Mikko Koivu, Jared Spurgeon and Jason Zucker also finding the net. Vladimir Tarasenko (2) and Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues. Pacific leaders Las Vegas were beaten 4-1 by Los Angeles. Jack Campbell finished the game with 41 saves while at the other end Anze Kopitar had a goal and an assist. San Jose Sharks closed the gap on Vegas with a 5-2 win over Edmonton. Joe Pavelski had a goal and three assists while Evander Kane had two assists as the Sharks moved to within 10 points of the Golden Knights. In the Eastern conference, Washington beat Ottawa 3-2. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice for the Capitals while Matt Niskanen contributed two assists. Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist for the Senators. Pittsburgh suffered their first home defeat since 4 January when they were beaten 3-2 by New Jersey. Taylor Hall equalled the Devils’ franchise record with points in 15 successive games thanks to a goal and an assist. Sidney Crosby scored his 21st goal of the season for the Penguins. NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE: Boston Bruins 4 Carolina Hurricanes 3, Dallas Stars 2 Calgary Flames 0, Florida Panthers 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 2, Minnesota Wild 8 St Louis Blues 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 New Jersey Devils 3, San Jose Sharks 5 Edmonton Oilers 2, Vegas Golden Knights 1 Los Angeles Kings 4, Washington Capitals 3 Ottawa Senators 2, Winnipeg Jets 5 Nashville Predators 6.

SNOOKER

WELSH OPEN (Cardiff) 2nd rd: David Grace (Eng) bt Jak Jones (Eng) 4-0, Liam Highfield (Eng) bt Ding Junhui (Chn) 4-1,Chris Wakelin (Eng) bt Andrew Higginson (Eng) 4-2, Peter Ebdon (Eng) bt Anthony Hamilton (Eng) 4-1, Fang Xiongman (Chn) bt Chen Zifan (Chn) 4-2, Craig Steadman (Eng) bt Thepchaiya Un-nooh (Tha) 4-2,Noppon Saengkham (Tha) bt Judd Trump (Eng) 4-1, James Wattana (Tha) bt Michael Holt (Eng) 4-2.

TENNIS

ATP DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2nd rd: Borna Coric (Cro) bt Benoit Paire (Fra) 6-1 6-4, (3) Roberto Bautista Agut (Spa) bt Pierre-hugues Herbert (Fra) 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-1, (8) Yuichi Sugita (Jpn) bt Jan-lennard Struff (Ger) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.