Sam Cassell scored 20 points to help Milwaukee erase a 13-point deficit as the Bucks scored an important 106-99 win over the Houston Rockets in NBA action on Wednesday.
The Bucks moved two games ahead of Washington for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the win.
Houston is now one-and-a-half games behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Gary Payton and Toni Kukoc both scored 18 points for the Bucks, who scored 20 of their points on 22 Houston turnovers.
James Posey scored 20 points to lead the Rockets, but Houston still lost for the fourth time in five games. Steve Francis added 17 points.
Yao Ming had 15 points and six rebounds for the Rockets, but 12 of those points and four of the rebounds came in the first quarter.
Houston had a 33-20 lead in the second quarter, but the Bucks rallied to tie the game before the half before taking over in the second half.
76ers 108 Bulls 101
In Philadelphia, Allen Iverson scored 24 points and a had a season-high 12 assists as the 76ers edged the Chicago Bulls 108-101.
Kenny Thomas added 16 points and 14 rebounds for the 76ers, who have won three straight and are 20-5 since the All-Star break.
Jay Williams scored 23 points for the Bulls, while Donyell Marshall added 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Pacers 103 Cavaliers 82
In Cleveland, Al Harrington scored 24 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 103-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jonathan Bender added 21 points for Indiana, which was missing Jermaine O'Neal with a sprained right ankle.
Ron Artest was assessed a technical foul in the fourth quarter and was the object of irate fans after pushing Ricky Davis out of bounds.
Davis scored 27 points for the Cavaliers, losers of four straight.
Celtics 90 Heat 62
In Boston, Paul Pierce scored 28 points to lead the Celtics past the Miami Heat 90-62.
Antoine Walker added 11 points for the Celtics, winners of three straight. Tony Delk had 10 points.
Raptors 89 Pistons 78
In Auburn Hills, Vince Carter scored 18 points as the Toronto Raptors won the second of back-to-back games for the first time this season, downing the Detroit Pistons 89-78.
Jerome Williams had 11 points and 16 rebounds for Toronto, which lost to Detroit in Toronto Tuesday night.
The Raptors were 0-14 in the second game of back-to-backs before on Wednesday night.
Richard Hamilton and Chancey Billups both had 16 points for Detroit, while Ben Wallace added 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Timberwolves 91 SuperSonics 86
In Minneapolis, Troy Hudson scored 31 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves got past the Seattle SuperSonics 91-86.
Kevin Garnett added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the T-Wolves, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Spurs 105 Grizzlies 87
In Memphis, Tim Duncan scored 33 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs downed the Memphis Grizzlies 105-87.
Malik Rose added 18 points for the Spurs, who have won seven straight games.
Lorenzen Wright scored 24 points for the Grizzlies, who have lost five games in a row.
Kings 105 Wizards 99
In Washington, Chris Webber had 28 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 105-99 win over the Wizards, dealing Washington's playoff hopes a blow.
Mike Bibby added 17 points.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB