Heat streak continues, now it’s 26 games
NBA: LeBron James finished with 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, Chris Bosh added 15 points and the Miami Heat won their 26th straight game, topping the Charlotte Bobcats 109-77 in Miami on Sunday night.
Norris Cole scored 15 and Ray Allen added 14 for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade, held from the lineup because of right knee soreness that the team believes is minor. The Heat are now seven wins shy of matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the league record of 33.
Charlotte led by 11 in the early going and was within five in the third quarter, but two huge spurts by the Heat were more than enough to put the game away.
Penguins top Flyers for 12th straight win
NHL: Tyler Kennedy scored 2:33 into overtime and the Pittsburgh Penguins ran their winning streak to 12 games with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers .
Sidney Crosby tied things late in regulation and Kennedy won it with his fifth goal of the season, a wrist shot from the left circle.
• Capitals beat Rangers in shootout: Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin scored in the shootout and regulation to give the visiting Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers.
Braden Holtby made 30 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped three of four Rangers in the shootout as the Capitals extended their winning streak to three.
• Lightning fire Boucher: With the team in next to last place in the Eastern Conference and on its way to missing the playoffs for a second straight year, the Tampa Bay Lightning (13-17-1) fired coach Guy Boucher.
Assistants Martin Raymond and Dan Lacroix shared the coaching for Sunday night’s game at Winnipeg.
Minnesota caps season with title
Women’s hockey: Amanda Kessel scored twice, and Minnesota breezed by Boston University 6-3 in Minneapolis to finish the first perfect season in the 13-year history of NCAA women’s hockey.
Mira Jalosuo, Hannah Brandt, Milica McMillen and Rachel Ramsey also scored for the Gophers (41-0), who won their second straight national championship – and fourth overall – and stretched their record winning streak to 49 games. Their last loss was to North Dakota on Feb. 17, 2012.
Sarah Lefort, Marie-Philip Poulin and Jenelle Kohanchuk scored for the Terriers (28-6-3).
Sharapova advances at Key Biscayne
Tennis: Maria Sharapova has advanced to the fourth round at the Sony Open by beating fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-4, 6-2 at Key Biscayne, Fla.
In sunny, sweltering weather, Sharapova erased eight of the nine break points she faced. She also benefited from eight double-faults by Vesnina.
No. 6 Angelique Kerber was beaten by No. 28 Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-0, while and No. 11 Nadia Petrova lost to No. 22 Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (7), 6-4.
In men’s play, No. 3 David Ferrer defeated Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-5.
Virginia ousts St. John’s from NIT
Men’s basketball: Justin Anderson scored a career-high 18 points and Virginia (23-11) extended its home winning streak in Charlottesville, Va., to 19 games with a 68-50 victory against St. John’s (23-11) in the second round of the NIT.
Fellow freshman Taylor Barnette added a career-high 13 points for Virginia . Barnette scored the last eight in a span of 90 seconds.
Canadian Goodman wins U.S. slalom title
Skiing: World champion Mikaela Shiffrin straddled a gate in the final run, handing the slalom title to Canadian Ana Goodman in the U.S. Alpine Championship in Squaw Valley, Calif.
The 18-year-old Shiffrin, from Vail, Colo., had a 1.22-second lead after the opening run, but straddled the gate in the middle section in the second run.
Resi Stiegler of Jackson Hole, Wyo., was second, and third went to Norway’s Tonje Sekse.
Katie Hartman of Breckenridge, Colo., won the combined title with the fastest total time from the super G and slalom.
British cyclist Froome wins Criterium
Cycling: Tour de France runner-up Chris Froome of Britain won the Criterium International in the third and final stage in Col De L’Ospedale, France.
Froome broke away 3.4 miles from the end of the 110-mile stage to beat Team Sky teammate Richie Porte by 27 seconds and overtake the Australian in the overall standings. Froome had started the day two seconds behind Porte, who won the individual time trial Saturday.