In brief: Beasley’s career night leads Heat
NBA: Michael Beasley scored a career-high 30 points and the short-handed Miami Heat won their season-best fifth straight by defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 100-87 in double overtime on Friday night at Memphis, Tenn.
The Heat, playing without Dwyane Wade and Rafer Alston, blew an 18-point lead in regulation then pulled away in the second overtime behind Udonis Haslem, who scored eight points in the final five minutes.
Jermaine O’Neal finished with 18 for the Heat before fouling out.
Marc Gasol led Memphis with 22 points and O.J. Mayo had 17. Zach Randolph scored 16 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.
The teams ended regulation tied at 76 after O’Neal misfired on an 11-footer as the fourth quarter expired. Beasley’s jumper from the corner at the end of the first overtime left the game tied at 85.
•Boston rides defense over Portland: Ray Allen scored 21 points, including eight straight early in the fourth quarter to stymie a run by Portland, and the Boston Celtics beat the Trail Blazers 96-76 at Portland.
Kevin Garnett scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half, helping the Celtics on the second night of a difficult West Coast two-step. After holding off the Lakers 87-86 Thursday night in Los Angeles, the Celtics easily dispatched a rested Portland team and handed the Blazers their worst loss of the season.
Garnett and his frontcourt mates dominated the interior in the first half, as Boston built an 18-point halftime lead.
Casey cruises through Match Play
Golf: Paul Casey has yet to play the final four holes at Dove Mountain after three days of the Match Play Championship.
That’s because the Englishman has won all three of his matches 5 and 4, the latest over Brian Gay in the third round at Marana, Ariz. Casey lost to Geoff Ogilvy in the final last year and won the European World Match Play Championship in 2006.
Casey, the highest remaining seed at No. 6 and one of three English players still in it, advanced to a quarterfinal against Stewart Cink, the lone surviving American and a semifinalist in 2008 and 2009.
Cink beat South African Charl Schwartzel in 19 holes, rolling in a 29-foot putt on the 16th and an 18-footer on the 18th to avoid elimination.
•Durant leads Mayakoba Golf Classic: Joe Durant shot a 5-under-par 66 to increase his lead to two strokes in the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic at Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Durant, 45, a four-time tour winner, had a 12-under 130 total on the Mayakoba Resort’s Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon course. He opened with a 64.
J.P. Hayes (67) was second, and Cameron Beckman (68) was another stroke back at 9 under. Tom Pernice Jr. (68) and Brian Stuard (67) were 8 under.
•Jenkins, Haas share lead at Allianz: Tom Jenkins and Jay Haas shot rounds of 8-under 64 to take the lead after the first round of the Allianz Championship at Boca Raton, Fla.
Corey Pavin started on the back side in his second Champions Tour event and briefly reached 8 under before a bogey at the eighth. He finished with a 7-under 65.
•Kim shaken by Thai traffic accident: Christina Kim was shaken but unhurt when the bus she was riding in crashed leaving the course hosting the LPGA Tour’s season-opening event at Pattaya, Thailand.
The accident involved the bus, a truck and a police car.
Kim, returning to her hotel after shooting a 72 in the second round of the Honda PTT LPGA Thailand, gave her version of the accident on Twitter and posted photos that showed minor damage to the three vehicles involved.
Daytona champ McMurray takes pole
NASCAR: Jamie McMurray has gone from winning the Daytona 500 to sitting on the pole in California.
After a whirlwind week of appearances and interviews as the champion of NASCAR’s season opener and biggest race, McMurray got back into the cockpit of his No. 1 Chevrolet and qualified first with a lap of 183.744 mph at the two-mile superspeedway in Fontana, Calif.
Earnhardt Ganassi teammate Juan Pablo Montoya will start alongside McMurray on the front row after a lap of 183.477 mph. Clint Bowyer is third in another Chevy, with Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Ford qualifying fourth.
Matt Kenseth, who won at California the last two Februarys, qualified 20th.
Clemson reports secondary violations
College: Clemson’s athletic department reported 17 NCAA secondary violations, including one where a head coach gave staffers an improper money gift last spring and an assistant coach who posted a message on a prospect’s Facebook wall.
The school said several of the violations involved infractions that took place before the athlete enrolled at Clemson. Athletic department spokesman Tim Bourret said such incidents are now processed through the school’s compliance office.
Bourret would not identify any of the sports, personnel or athletes involved.
Williams will defend Dubai title
Tennis: Venus Williams ended the stirring run of Israel’s Shahar Peer 6-1, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Dubai Championships.
Victoria Azarenka ousted Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal at Aviation Club and will face Williams, who is going for her second straight Dubai title.
Peer’s movements in Dubai have been restricted to the court and a hotel due to organizers’ security concerns. The Israeli, who was last year denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates authorities, was surrounded by guards and played on the most secure court – not Centre Court – all week. Despite this, she beat three seeds, including No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.