Tim Duncan had a season-high 31 points and 12 rebounds, and the defending champion San Antonio Spurs defeated the New Jersey Nets 85-71 Wednesday night in the first meeting between the teams since the NBA championship round.
Tony Parker added 17 points in just his second game of the season and Manu Ginobili had 12 points and eight rebounds as the Spurs won their second straight game since Duncan and Parker returned to the lineup.
Jason Kidd, who spurned a free agent offer from the Spurs in the offseason, had 14 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season and the 52nd of his career.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Kenyon Martin added 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since spraining his left ankle Oct. 31.
Bulls 89, Celtics 82
In Boston, Jalen Rose scored 20 points and Eddy Curry added 16 points and 14 rebounds as Chicago got its third road victory to match its total for all of last season.
PHOTO: AFP
Chicago's third straight road win improved the Bulls to 3-1 on the road. The Bulls finished 3-38 away from the home in 2002-03.
Mike James had 18 points and Paul Pierce 14 for the Celtics, who lost for the first time in three games.
Heat 88, Cavaliers 83
In Miami, Eddie Jones scored 25 points and Lamar Odom added 14 points and 10 assists, helping Miami become the final NBA team to break into the victory column.
LeBron James had 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting for Cleveland, which lost its 26th straight road game since February and failed in its bid for the franchise's first three-game winning streak since April 2002.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 points for the Cavaliers, and Carlos Boozer had a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Heat lost their first seven games, the franchise's worst start since going 0-17 to open its inaugural season of 1988-89. They missed their last five shots, giving the Cavaliers plenty of chances to pull off a late rally.
But James was stifled on three key possessions, committing an offensive foul with 2:08 left, having a shot blocked by Udonis Haslem with 1:30 remaining and failing to handle a quick pass from Ilgauskas with 18.5 seconds left.
Grizzlies 107, Magic 97
In Orlando, Florida, Memphis withstood a season-high 36 points from Tracy McGrady and handed Orlando its seventh consecutive loss.
Pau Gasol and James Posey had 28 and 24 points, respectively, in leading the Grizzlies to their second road win of the season.
The Grizzlies, who beat the Lakers on Monday night, used their superior front court to dominate the game and closed it out with a 15-0 run featuring two 3-pointers by Posey and one by Jay Williams.
McGrady scored with 6:42 remaining, giving the Magic their last lead at 89-87. It was his only basket of the fourth period, and McGrady limped off in the final seconds with a strained tendon in his right foot.
SuperSonics 104, Bucks 99
In Milwaukee, Rashard Lewis had 31 points and nine rebounds to lead Seattle.
Lewis, the league's second-leading scorer, was 12-of-19 from the field as Seattle improved to 3-0 on the road.
Vladimir Radmanovic added 22 points and eight rebounds, and Ronald Murray followed up his career-high 29-point effort Tuesday with 20 points.
Michael Redd and Toni Kukoc had 20 points apiece to lead Milwaukee.
Hornets 96, Jazz 88
In New Orleans, Baron Davis had 23 points and nine assists, and New Orleans won for the first time in three games.
David Wesley scored 17 and reserve Steve Smith added 15 points in 20 minutes, hitting all seven of his free throws.
Matt Harpring scored 20 points to lead Utah (4-4), which dropped to 0-4 on the road. Andrei Kirilenko and DeShawn Stevenson added 15 points apiece.
Davis shot only 7-for-20 from the field but made four 3-pointers to go with 5-of-8 free-throw shooting.
Hawks 99, Suns 94
In Phoenix, Dion Glover scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta to its first victory in Phoenix in nearly 12 years.
Stephen Jackson had 18, Jason Terry scored 17 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 16 for the Hawks, whose last road victory against the Suns came on Nov. 15, 1991. Atlanta had lost 16 of its last 22 games overall against the Suns.
Stephon Marbury and Shawn Marion scored 22 points apiece for the Suns, whose modest two-game winning streak was snapped.
Warriors 87, Pistons 85, OT
In Oakland, California, Calbert Cheaney hit two big shots in overtime while scoring a season-high 24 points for Golden State.
Cliff Robinson helped put away his former teammates, hitting a jumper with 43 seconds left and playing solid defense as the Warriors held Detroit to 2-of-8 shooting in overtime.
Golden State got its fourth straight home victory over the Pistons, while Detroit lost in overtime for the first time in more than two years.
Chauncey Billups had 19 points and a season-high 12 assists for the Pistons, who lost their second game in two days following a five-game winning streak. Richard Hamilton added 17 points.
Detroit's Tayshaun Prince matched his career high with 16 points, but missed a long jumper at the buzzer.
Lakers 94, Raptors 79
In Los Angeles, Shaquille O'Neal had 23 points and 14 rebounds and the Los Angeles Lakers kept the Toronto Raptors winless on the road.
The Lakers got 17 points from Karl Malone and 16 points from Gary Payton to end their two-game losing streak. Toronto fell to 0-4 away from home under first-year coach Kevin O'Neill.
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points, going 8-of-10 on free throws, as one of four Lakers starters in double figures. He will leave the Lakers on Thursday to attend his first hearing before the judge that will preside over his sexual assault trial in Colorado.
Vince Carter led the Raptors with 23 points, their only starter in double figures. Guard Milt Palacio scored two points starting in place of Alvin Williams.
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