Sports Digest: Williams sisters win in Fed Cup shutout

VENUS WILLIAMS, LIEZEL HUBER GET DOUBLES WIN: After hitting her first competitive serve in five months just long, Venus Williams relaxed, recoiled and fired off another that was too much for Anastasiya Yakimova.

Williams' comeback was off to a good start that just got better as she teamed with Liezel Huber for a 6-1, 6-2 doubles victory over Yakimova and Darya Kustova that capped a 5-0 Fed Cup shutout for the United States against Belarus on Sunday.

"It was perfect conditions," Williams said.

Williams' U.S. teammates, including younger sister Serena, had already secured the victory and swept through four rounds of singles, relieving any pressure Venus Williams may have felt in her first match since she withdrew after the opening round of the U.S. Open because of an autoimmune disease.

Pro basketball

HEAT DEFEAT RAPTORS: LeBron James took a hard foul and clearly was not happy. So the next time he saw the ball, he made sure no Toronto player could reach him.

James' steal and dunk with just more than two minutes left gave Miami some breathing room, and the Heat held on to defeat the Toronto Raptors 95-89 on Sunday. James finished with 30 points and Dwyane Wade added 25 for the Heat (18-6), who won for the 10th time in its last 12 games and moved within one game of Chicago (20-6) for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

"We stuck with our principles," James said. "And that's to defend."

Chris Bosh scored 12 points against his former team, which saw a 15-point edge trimmed to three in the final minutes but never surrendered the lead. Mario Chalmers added 11 for Miami.

Men's track and field

SMITH SETS TWO VU RECORDS: Sophomore Julian Smith lowered his school records in the 60- and 200-meter dashes Saturday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.

Smith took sixth in the 60 with a time of 6.86 seconds, improving his school record by .05. He shaved .05 off his mark in the 200, placing fourth with a time of 21.7 seconds.

Winter sports

AMERICAN MANCUSO WINS SUPER-G: Julia Mancuso won a super-G on Sunday for her first World Cup victory of the season, while fellow American Lindsey Vonn skied off the course and did not finish.

Vonn captured her 50th World Cup win in a downhill on the same slope a day earlier. But she could not hold the line on Sunday after hitting a bump midway down the icy piste.

Anna Fenninger of Austria was second and Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was third.

Vonn remains overall leader.

College basketball

'COMMUNITY NIGHT' TUESDAY AT SSC: Tuesday is "Community Night" at South Suburban College when residents, local businesses and their employees in SSC's District 510 in Illinois will be admitted free. The women's team will face Daley College at 5 p.m., while the men will host Robert Morris at 7 p.m.

Girls swimming

EIGHT LOCAL ENTRIES ADDED TO STATE FINALS: Eight local entries received a call down to compete in Friday's IHSAA state girls swimming prelims. All eight didn't win their sectional events or meet the state-cut time, but they were added to fill the minimum 32 spots for each event. Individual additions include Munster's Jillian Homans in the 200 free (24th, 1:55.06), LaPorte's Carly Jackson in the 100 fly (16th, 58.44), Valparaiso's Allie Lamberson in the 100 free (21st, 53.0), Wheeler's Danielle Radosevich in the 100 back (16th, 58.98) and Crown Point's Alex St. Amour in the 100 breast (19th, 1:07.31). Relay additions included Valparaiso's 200 free (25th, 1:41.83) and 400 free (24th, 3:42.85) and Crown Point's 400 free (25th, 3:43).

Boys Basketball

WHEELER'S JOHNSON REACHES 200 WINS: Wheeler's 74-42 win over Morgan Township Saturday marked the 200th victory in Tom Johnson's coaching career. Johnson, in his first year with the Bearcats and 18th overall, coached previously at Lebanon, Crown Point and Oak Hill.

Around the horn