Basketball

Shaquille O'Neal scored 18 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to counter a 37-point effort by former team-mate Kobe Bryant in leading the Miami Heat to a 97-92 home win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

In a Christmas Day clash, O'Neal and Bryant renewed their bitter rivalry but it was another former Laker that helped clinch victory for the Heat, Gary Payton hitting 21 points, including a three-pointer with just 65 seconds to play. However, it was Bryant and O'Neal that a sellout crowd at Miami had come to see, some paying as much as $1,000 for a seat. The duo's relationship seemed as strained as ever as they refused to acknowledge each other before the opening tip-off.