Riley returns to coaching with victory
Everything about Pat Riley’s return to the sideline looked familiar: whistling at his players through a curled tongue, stalking the sideline in French cuffs and slicked back hair.
And relying on his All-Star big man to win the game.
Riley’s second tenure as Miami Heat coach got off to a successful start Tuesday, getting 30 points from Shaquille O’Neal in a 100-97 victory over the Bulls in Chicago.
“You coach on instinct,” Riley said. “It’s going to take some time for me to get real comfortable with all the things you have to do at the end of the game. It’s going to take me time to get up to speed on everything.”
O’Neal made his first start in his second game back for Miami since spraining his right ankle – an injury that knocked him out of 18 games. Dwyane Wade and Antoine Walker scored 14 apiece.
Kirk Hinrich led the Bulls with 26 points, and Darius Songaila added a season-high 19. Chicago’s Ben Gordon scored nine points in 25 minutes after missing two games with a sprained right knee.
Hawks 100, Cavaliers 94: At Cleveland, Al Harrington scored 20 points and Tyronn Lue had a season-high 19 as Atlanta won its second road game, surprising Cleveland.
Joe Johnson added 18 for the Hawks, who came in an NBA-worst 3-16 overall and only 1-10 outside Atlanta, but followed up their win on Saturday over the San Antonio Spurs with another nice all-around effort.
Spurs 95, Clippers 87 (OT): At San Antonio, Tim Duncan hit two free throws with 12 seconds left to send the game into overtime and then led San Antonio past Los Angeles.
Elton Brand led the Clippers with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Cassell added 20 points.
Kings 93, Timberwolves 91: At Minneapolis, Bonzi Wells hit a 3-pointer from the corner as time expired to lift Sacramento to a victory over Minnesota.
Brad Miller caught an inbounds pass out past the 3-point line with 2.7 seconds to play and heaved a desperate pass to Wells in the corner. Wells caught it and unleashed a rainbow that swished through the net as the buzzer sounded. The play was reviewed and the call stood.
Nuggets 101, Bobcats 85: At Charlotte, N.C., Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 42 points and Denver handed Charlotte its eighth straight defeat.
Emeka Okafor had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats, who haven’t won since Nov. 26 against Washington.
Wizards 94, Nets 74: At Washington, Chucky Atkins ran the offense with Gilbert Arenas nursing a sore back and Jarvis Hayes scored 19 points to lead a balanced attack for Washington in a victory over New Jersey.
Arenas sat out for the first time this season. He bruised his back when he crashed to the floor after his shot was blocked from behind Saturday in a loss to Chicago.
Off the court
After spending all season on the bench with an abdominal injury, star forward Grant Hill is expected play for Orlando for the first time this season tonight against New York. Hill had surgery for a sports hernia Oct. 31. … The Clippers will hold training camp in Moscow next fall before playing exhibition games against two of Russia’s top teams.