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CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- With 3 1/2 minutes left and Duke trying to close out its first road win in the conference this season, superstar spectator LeBron James was on his feet -- to leave. The Blue Devils made it routine. Freshman Jabari Parker had 17 points and a season-high 15 rebounds Wednesday to lead No. 18 Duke past Miami 67-46. A sellout crowd included James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant, all of whom played in the Olympics for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. James and Wade sat in the first row across from the Blue Devils bench, and Krzyzewski said they caught his eye after Parker scored on a strong inside move. "You could see LeBron and Dwyane go nuts, because thats was a big-time play," Krzyzewski said. "Those are great guys, and I appreciate them coming." Parker, who visited briefly before the game with Wade, said he was also pleased to have the celebrity audience. "Its a blessing to get their support, to see those superstars give support to the little guys," Parker said. Parker helped the Blue Devils to a 42-28 advantage on the boards, which allowed them to overcome a poor shooting night. Duke outscored Miami 22-7 on second-chance points. "Im a little bit -- maybe a lot -- surprised by the way we played," Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga said. "We were like deer in the headlights with all the attention this game got, and all the celebrities that showed up. I think we froze in that environment." The Blue Devils (15-4, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) avenged a 27-point loss the last time they played in Coral Gables. That was a year ago, when Duke was ranked No. 1. "Because of last years embarrassment for the program, we just wanted to redeem ourselves," Parker said. Duke improved to 1-2 in the league on the road after losing at Notre Dame and Clemson. The Blue Devils are 4-4 away from home overall. Theyve won their past two games by a combined 56 points. Krzyzewski earned his 899th win at Duke, which leaves the NCAA mens career leader in victories one shy of joining Syracuses Jim Boeheim with at least 900 wins at one school. Defending conference champion Miami (10-8, 2-4) remained winless in three league games at home. The Hurricanes will try to bounce back Saturday, when they play host to No. 2 Syracuse. "Its really a matter of effort," Larranaga said. "Weve got to play harder." A grinning Wade amused the crowd at halftime by taking some shots from half court, including several with his back to the basket. He went 0 for 6, and the home team didnt fare much better. A methodical pace should have been to Miamis liking, but while Duke made only eight of 25 3-pointers, the offensively challenged Hurricanes were even worse. They went 2 for 10 from behind the arc and shot 35 per cent overall. Donnavan Kirk led Miami with 11 points. Rodney Hood had 12 points and six rebounds for Duke, while Amile Jefferson added eight points and seven rebounds. But the biggest force on the boards was the 6-foot-8 Parker, who had six of Dukes 15 offensive rebounds. He also blocked three shots. "Hes a long way from dominating," Krzyzewski said. "Hes in a process of getting better. The potential is there to be an outstanding player, and he was really good tonight." Miami stayed close for most of the first half, in part because Duke missed nine consecutive 3-point shots. But the Blue Devils forced three turnovers during an 11-0 run near the end of the half, and they led 33-21 at halftime. Duke then scored the first six points of the second half to take command. When Miami cut the margin to 47-35, Parker converted a three-point play and Rasheed Sulaimon sank a 3-pointer to restore Dukes comfortable cushion. A dunk by Hood with 3 1/2 minutes left gave the Blue Devils their first 20-point lead. At that point, James -- and many other spectators -- headed for the exits. The Blue Devils stayed in the lead early by hitting the boards hard. Of their first 17 points, 14 came following offensive rebounds. "We didnt have that much effort as a team," Miami centre Tonye Jekiri said. "The aggressiveness wasnt there going for the rebound." . Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. .C. -- Lucy Li made two double bogeys, a triple bogey and finished her historic round at the U. . PAUL, Minn. . -- Alex Anthopoulos spoke volumes with what he didnt say on right-hander Ervin Santana. . TSN was honoured with several awards, with Rod Smith and James Duthie sharing the win for Best Sports Host for SportsCentre and the NHL: Season On The Brink coverage, respectively.MELBOURNE, Australia - Maria Sharapova moved closer to another Australian Open title, set to face a fellow Russian in the semifinals who has never beaten her. Sharapova made all the big points look easy Tuesday in defeating 20-year-old Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-2 — her fourth consecutive win over the Canadian — and advance to a semifinal against Ekaterina Makarova, who earlier beat third-seeded Simona Halep 6-4, 6-0. I felt pretty good from the start, didnt feel I had too many letdowns, Sharapova said, adding that her close call in the second round — facing two match points against a qualifier — sharpened her focus for the rest of the tournament. When you are down and out in the second match, I dont want to face that call with my father too many times during a tournament, she said. The last time Sharapova and Bouchard met — in the semifinals at the French Open last year — Bouchard won the first set before Sharapova came back to take the next two. The Russian then won the title at Roland Garros. This time, Bouchard, who made the finals of Wimbledon and two other Grand Slam semis last year, didnt come close to taking a set, looking flat from the outset while being broken in her opening service game. The Genie Army, a group of young Australian men who croon about the Canadian player, was left to sing another day. Bouchard had 30 unforced errors and had her service broken four times. She didnt give me many chances, and against the great players you have to take any chances you can get, Bouchard said. If you dont have time, you have to go for riskier shots, and I made a few too many unforced errors because I was under pressure. Bouchard said she plans to go back to Canada to see her family, reflect on some possible coaching changes and decide whether shell play Fed Cup for Canada against the Czech RRepublic in Quebec City on Feb.dddddddddddd 7-8. Sharapova, the 2008 Australian Open champion and a two-time finalist, has a 5-0 record against Makarova, including wins in the quarterfinals here in 2012 and 2013. In four of those losses, Makarova failed to win a set. She is going to come into that match free and happy to be in that situation, Sharapova said. And thats dangerous. She uses that left-handed serve really well. Its always tricky playing a lefty and your compatriot, as well, but one of us will be in the final and that makes me happy. It will be Makarovas second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. She made her first major semi at last years U.S. Open, losing to Serena Williams after beating Bouchard in the fourth round. Im so comfortable here, its all the atmosphere and maybe memories from New York that I bring here, said Makarova. The other womens semifinalists will be determined on Wednesday when No. 1-ranked Williams plays last years finalist, Dominika Cibulkova, and Venus Williams, playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal in nearly five years, takes on 19-year-old American Madison Keys. If the Williams sisters play each other in the semifinals, it would be their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament since the Wimbledon final in 2009 — won by Serena. The 26-year-old Makarova has had her best Grand Slam results at Melbourne Park, advancing to fourth round twice as well as those quarterfinal losses to Sharapova. Last year, she lost to eventual champion Li Na in the fourth round. Halep said her nerves got to her. I was just I was a little bit stressed, I dont know why, the 23-year-old Halep said. I had experience from last year to play quarterfinals, so it doesnt mean that I felt pressure. I just I didnt feel the game, the ball. It was a very bad day for me. ' ' '
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