Ron Artest had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 98-75 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jermaine O'Neal had 17 points, nine rebounds and six blocks Tuesday and Jeff Foster added 10 points and nine boards to help NBA-leading Indiana improve to 12-2.
PHOTO: AFP
"We were able to score efficiently, which is a good sign," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.
Kevin Garnett led the cold-shooting Timberwolves with 25 points and 16 rebounds.
Heat 91, Hornets 87
In Miami, Eddie Jones and Brian Grant each hit two free throws in the final 15 seconds to help the Miami Heat beat the New Orleans Hornets. Lamar Odom's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:21 remaining put Miami ahead for good at 87-84. Jones led the Heat with 25 points. Baron Davis scored 28 points for the Hornets.
Bucks 95, 76ers 91
In Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 26 points and rookie T.J. Ford had a season-high nine assists, leading the Milwaukee Bucks over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joe Smith had 16 points and nine rebounds, Desmond Mason added 13 points, and Tim Thomas had 12 points despite playing only a minute in the fourth quarter after spraining his left ankle.
Allen Iverson led the 76ers, who had won eight of their previous 10 games in Milwaukee, with 28 points. Derrick Coleman scored 14 points, and Kenny Thomas had 12.
Mavericks 124, Bulls 98
In Dallas, Michael Finley scored a season-high 28 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks over the Chicago Bulls, who lost in their first game with interim coach Pete Myers.
Finley scored 13 of his points in a 33-15 third-quarter run in which the Mavericks made 12 straight shots.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set