Is LeBron James running out of records to chase? How his list of accomplishments keeps growing
LeBron James might be running out of records to chase. He already has gotten plenty of them: most points scored, most seasons played, most minutes played, most All-NBA selections, most All-Star selections, most field goals made, most field goals attempted, most playoff games, most playoff points, highest career earnings. James has all those marks, and many more. Becoming the outright holder of the games-played record was inevitable.
Durant passes Jordan, then Thompson tips in the winner in Rockets’ 123-122 victory over Heat
HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 27 points to move past Michael Jordan for fifth place on the NBA’s career scoring list and Amen Thompson had a tip-in at the buzzer to lift the Houston Rockets to a 123-122 win over the Miami Heat. Durant’s shot for the win bounced off the rim and Thompson tipped it in to give Houston the thrilling victory. Durant has 32,294 points in his career, two more than Jordan. Bam Adebayo had 32 points and tied a career high with 21 rebounds for the Heat, who dropped their fourth straight.
Boozer, No. 1 overall seed Duke get rolling after halftime to beat TCU 81-58 and reach Sweet 16
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Cameron Boozer shook off a quiet first half to finish with 19 points while No. 1 overall seed Duke shot 61.5% after halftime Saturday to pull away from TCU for an 81-58 win in a physical second-round game at the NCAA Tournament. The freshman named a unanimous first-team Associated Press All-American earlier this week had just two points and missed his only shot in the first half. But he scored three times during the 11-0 second-half burst. That was part of a larger 26-6 surge spanning nearly nine minutes. Micah Robinson scored 18 points for TCU.
UNC is evaluating its basketball program after another early March Madness exit under Hubert Davis
North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham says the school is evaluating “all facets” of its tradition-rich men’s basketball program after another early exit from the NCAA Tournament under Hubert Davis. Cunningham issued a statement Saturday saying he is working with UNC chancellor Lee Roberts and executive associate AD Steve Newmark in that review. Newmark will take over as Cunningham’s successor in the coming months. Davis closed his fifth season with a first-round loss to VCU after blowing a 19-point lead. UNC has just three March Madness wins in the last four seasons.
Sungjae Im takes lead into Innisbrook finale, with Brandt Snedeker also in final group
PALM HARBOR, Fla. (AP) — Sungjae Im was in position for a wire-to-wire victory in the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook after a slow start in his return from a wrist injury. Brandt Snedeker was right beside him in the final pairing — with a hot new putter in the bag. Im holed a sweeping 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th hole Saturday for a 2-under 69 and a two-stroke lead over Snedeker, the 45-year-old U.S. Presidents Cup captain playing on a sponsor exemption, and David Lipsky. Snedeker birdied three of the first four holes in a 67, and Lipsky had a 70. After missing two straight cuts in his return, Im led by a stroke after each of the first two days. He has an 11-under 202 total.
Rick Pitino and Bill Self finally meet again when St. John’s faces Kansas in NCAA Tournament
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Rick Pitino and Bill Self have racked up a combined 1,769 victories with consistent excellence at every stop in their college basketball coaching careers. These Hall of Famers are also two of only three active coaches to win multiple national titles. Yet during their decades on benches from Providence to Tulsa and far beyond, Pitino and Self had somehow coached against each other only once. These icons of their profession finally meet again on the NCAA Tournament stage when Pitino’s revitalized St. John’s takes on Self’s perennially powerful Jayhawks in San Diego for a spot in the East Region’s Sweet 16.
LeBron James breaks NBA mark for games played, Luke Kennard makes winning 3 in Lakers’ win vs. Magic
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — LeBron James set the NBA record by playing in his 1,612th regular-season game and Luke Kennard made a 3-pointer off a pass from James with 0.6 seconds left to send the Los Angeles Lakers to a 105-104 comeback victory over the Orlando Magic. Luka Doncic scored 33 points in the Lakers’ ninth straight win, but was called for his 16th technical foul, an automatic one-game suspension by the league if it’s not rescinded. James had 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals on his record-breaking night, passing the mark Robert Parish held for nearly 30 years. Paolo Banchero scored 16 points to lead the Magic.