Associated Press
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C ó LeBron James scored 11 points and had five assists and Shaquille O’Neal had 12 points and four rebounds as they took their show on the road for the first time in a 102-96 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.
O’Neal is still trying to get used to his new teammates. He had a couple of no-look passes go awry in the first quarter.
But the Cavaliers’ new center got into a groove during a brief third quarter appearance, making a short hook shot and a dunk and hitting Mo Williams for an open 3-pointer before leaving the game for good.Gerald Wallace led Charlotte with 18 points, while Alexis Ajinca added 15 points off the bench. Raymond Felton, returning to play in his home state of South Carolina for the first time as a pro, scored 11 points.
GOLFSAN FRANCISCO ó Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker were perfect as Presidents Cup partners, and they got enough help from everyone else Saturday to put the Americans in position to stay perfect on home soil.
With an improbable rally by Woods in the morning and pure putting by Stricker in the afternoon, they became the first partnership in the Presidents Cup ó and the first in 30 years of any team competition ó to go 4-0.
Phil Mickelson had a chance to join them with an undefeated record using different partners. Mickelson and Sean O’Hair, who won their match handily in the morning, each had a birdie putt inside 15 feet on the final hole for the win, but had to settle for a halve.
DANICA
FONTANA, Calif. ó Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he’d love to see good friend Danica Patrick in NASCAR, but isn’t sure when ó or even if ó the IndyCar star will make the transition to stock car racing.
Patrick and Kelley Earnhardt, general manager of JR Motorsports, have had preliminary talks about Patrick racing in the Nationwide Series, but Earnhardt Jr. said any discussions were in the “early stages.”
“Right now it’s just Kelley and her having a few phone conversations,” Earnhardt said.
Patrick hasn’t ruled out running some stock car races in the future. She’s currently fifth in the IndyCar Series standings.
She has repeatedly declined to reveal anything about her plans for 2010 and beyond in recent days. She chided a reporter for asking about her future and immediately walked away.
“It’s interesting to see her interest in NASCAR, it’s interesting for all of us,” Earnhardt said. “If we’re a piece of that, if we play a part in that, we’ll see down the road.”