SPORTS digest

James to sit out against Rockets

CLEVELAND

LeBron James received another award and got some time off from his boss.

On Monday, James was named the Eastern Conference’s player of the week for the 52nd time in his career while Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he’s resting the superstar tonight against the Houston Rockets.

James kept his upcoming schedule a secret following practice when he met with reporters, deferring to Lue, who divulged that he will sit James for the fourth time this season.

The Cavs played Saturday, and after facing the Rockets, they won’t play again until hosting Brooklyn on Thursday. After consulting with Cleveland’s training staff, Lue felt it was an ideal time to give the 31-year-old a break as the Cavs begin gearing up for the playoffs.

“Not too many chances and opportunities to rest one game and have four days off, so I thought it was a good opportunity to rest him,” Lue explained.

Cleveland is 1-2 without James this season.

The Cavs are entering the home stretch of the season — they’ve got nine games left — before they begin a run at their second straight Finals.

Murray loses to Dimitrov

KEY BISCAYNE, FLA.

No. 2 seed Andy Murray lost the final five games and was beaten by No. 26 Grigor Dimitrov 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-3 Monday in the third round of the upset-filled Miami Open.

Murray, who won the Key Biscayne title in 2009 and 2013, committed 22 unforced errors in the final set and 55 total. He was broken six times, including in his final three service games.

Murray’s elimination leaves the tournament without four of the five top-seeded men. Among them only No. 1 Novak Djokovic reached the round of 16.

In addition, eight-time Key Biscayne champion Serena Williams lost in the fourth round Monday to Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-2.

Chiefs safety retires after concussions

KANSAS CITY, MO.

Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah retired after seven seasons Monday, joining the growing list of players who have walked away from the NFL because of health concerns.

Husain had his fifth concussion this season, which sidelined him for five weeks. The 30-year-old player returned to help Kansas City beat Houston for its first postseason victory in more than two decades.

The Chiefs appeared to know weeks ago that Abdullah was leaning toward retirement, moving quickly to place the franchise tag on Eric Berry. They also have safeties Ron Parker and Daniel Sorenson on the roster, and coach Andy Reid indicated that Jamell Fleming would move over from cornerback.

Abdullah joined the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State, and spent four productive seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. He left in his prime to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, then returned after one season.

Ex-Michigan player gets probation

ANN ARBOR, MICH.

A former University of Michigan football player has received two years’ probation for filming sex acts with a woman without her consent.

The Ann Arbor News and the Detroit Free Press report that 21-year-old Logan Tuley-Tillman was sentenced Monday in a Washtenaw County court.

Tuley-Tillman pleaded guilty in February to a felony count of capturing/distributing an image of an unclothed person and a felony count of using a computer to commit a crime.

The woman’s cellphone was used to record their activities. Police have said the woman reported the sex was consensual, but the recording wasn’t.

Tuley-Tillman previously told investigators he was too drunk to remember recording the event.

Coach Jim Harbaugh removed the lineman from the team in September.

Staff/wire reports