James hits 41 as Heat hike home streak
NBA: LeBron James scored a season-high 41 points, Mario Chalmers added 19 and the Miami Heat clinched a playoff spot with a 99-93 win over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
James scored 14 straight Miami points in the fourth quarter, helping the Heat finish off a four-game season sweep of Philadelphia and extend their home-court winning streak to 16 games.
• Spurs win eighth straight: Danny Green scored 19 points against a Cleveland team that released him last season and Tony Parker added 19 as the visiting San Antonio Spurs coasted to their eighth straight win, 125-90 over the Cavaliers.
Green played his rookie season for Cleveland, which cut him at the end of training camp in 2011.
• Granger leads Pacers’ rally: Danny Granger scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and the Indiana Pacers rallied from 17 points down in the second half to beat the New York Knicks 112-104 at Indianapolis.
New York’s Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 39 points .
• Lakers turn back Nets: Kobe Bryant scored 24 points and rattled home a 3-pointer with 6.8 seconds left, and the host Los Angeles Lakers blew every bit of a 17-point lead before holding on for a 91-87 victory over the New Jersey Nets.
Mariners oppose proposed arena site
BASEBALL: The Seattle Mariners believe a proposal to build a new NBA/NHL arena in Seattle needs to find a different home.
The Mariners sent a formal letter to the city of Seattle and King County officials opposing the idea of a new multipurpose arena in the same neighborhood as the Mariners’ home of Safeco Field.
The letter, signed by Mariners chairman Howard Lincoln, cited concerns about traffic and scheduling of events taking place in an area that already features Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field – the home to the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders.
“The proposed SODO location, in our view, simply does not work,” Lincoln wrote. “It would bring scheduling, traffic and parking challenges that would likely require hundreds of millions of dollars to mitigate. We doubt that an arena could succeed financially at this location, given mitigation costs and necessary scheduling limitations. Without highly restrictive scheduling limitations, traffic gridlock would put all of the area’s teams at risk.”
Lincoln suggested suburbs of Renton and Bellevue, along with Seattle neighborhoods of South Lake Union and Seattle Center – where KeyArena sits – should be looked at for a new facility.
Rangers claim top seed in East
NHL: Ryan Callahan and Artem Anisimov scored as part of a four-goal first period, and the visiting New York Rangers clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 1994 with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Rangers are tops in the East for the first time since Mark Messier led them to their last Stanley Cup championship 18 years ago.
• Analyst apologizes for Crosby remarks: Hockey analyst Mike Milbury apologized for critical comments made about Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Labeling Crosby “a punk,” Milbury, the former NHL coach and general manager, criticized the Pittsburgh center on a Philadelphia radio station Monday. He called out Crosby for his role in instigating a game-ending line brawl in Sunday’s contest between the Penguins and Flyers.
Milbury is an analyst on NBC and also appears on CBC. He called Crosby “little goody two shoes” and also referred to “his 35th concussion.”
• Reference costs Oilers coach: The NHL has fined Edmonton coach Tom Renney for his critical comments following the Oilers’ 2-0 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
Renney was docked $10,000 for suggesting the Oilers didn’t get more calls in their favor because “maybe they need Hollywood in the playoffs,” referring to the league possibly favoring the Kings.
Aztecs, Orange will play on Midway
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Organizers say San Diego State and Syracuse will play in the inaugural Battle on the Midway basketball game on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum on Nov. 9. The Midway has been berthed on San Diego Bay since 2004. The game will be part of a Veterans Day weekend celebration.