Andrei Kirilenko had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and former Pistons player Mehmet Okur added 13 points and 17 rebounds as the Utah Jazz beat NBA-leading Detroit for the second time this season, 94-90 in overtime Saturday night.
The win gave Utah a season-series sweep of Detroit and almost as many wins against the Pistons (2) as the rest of the NBA combined (3). The Pistons (26-5), losers for just the second time in 13 games, had their 10-game home winning streak snapped.
Chauncey Billups scored 19 of his 24 points after halftime for Detroit, and Richard Hamilton added 18. Ben Wallace had 16 rebounds, but just four points.
PHOTO: AP
Rookie Deron Williams had 14 points for Utah off the bench.
Cavaliers 96, Bucks 88
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 35 points and shook off the effects of a hard fall as Cleveland rebounded from an awful loss by beating Milwaukee.
James landed with a thud under the basket on a drive late in the third quarter, but after having his left thigh treated by Cleveland's trainers, the third-year star led a fourth-quarter push that gave the Cavs their ninth win in 11 games.
Drew Gooden added a season-high 17 rebounds and Donyell Marshall scored 14 points, including a crucial 3-pointer that put the Cavs ahead 89-80 with 3:05 remaining.
The Cavaliers are 2-1 without Larry Hughes, their second-leading scorer, who will miss at least six weeks following surgery to fix a broken finger.
Michael Redd scored 30 points to pace the Bucks, who have lost three straight for the first time this season. T.J. Ford came back after missing four games with a foot sprain to add 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Milwaukee.
Suns 91, Spurs 86
At Phoenix, Shawn Marion and Steve Nash triggered a fourth-quarter surge to help Phoenix snap San Antonio's five-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders.
Marion scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to finish with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Nash scored 10 points in the fourth and had 22 points and 10 assists in the Suns' seventh victory in eight games. The lone loss in the stretch was in triple overtime to the Knicks in New York on Monday night.
Boris Diaw also scored 18 points for Phoenix, which beat San Antonio for only the second time in their last nine regular season meetings.
Tim Duncan had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs.
Hawks 101, Hornets 93
At Atlanta, Al Harrington scored 24 points and Atlanta withstood a career-high 29 points from Speedy Claxton to end New Orleans' three-game winning streak.
Joe Johnson added 20 points for Atlanta and hit a key 3-pointer to help turn back the Hornets' fourth-quarter comeback attempt.
Despite Claxton's strong effort and 22 points from David West, the Hornets could not overcome the absence of rookie guard Chris Paul.
Paul was with the team but not in uniform after tearing a ligament in his right thumb Friday night in a home win over Portland. Paul's right hand was in a cast, and he is expected to miss two weeks.
Kirk Snyder started at point guard in place of Paul, the NBA leader among rookies in scoring, assists, steals and minutes. Snyder scored a career-high 22 points Friday, but had only four points with four assists Saturday.
Magic 108, Bobcats 92
At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Orlando took advantage of the injury-riddled Charlotte frontcourt.
Tony Battie added 16 points and 12 rebounds, both season highs, as Orlando broke a three-game losing streak. Steve Francis had 18 points and six assists for the Magic, who outscored the Bobcats 58-24 in the paint.
The Magic placed forward Grant Hill on the inactive list with a strained groin. Hill reinjured himself against New Jersey on Friday night and is listed day-to-day.
Reserve Keith Bogans scored a season-high 22 points for Charlotte, which has lost four straight. The undermanned Bobcats played without injured big men Emeka Okafor, Jake Voskuhl, Melvin Ely and Sean May, and were outrebounded 47-33.
Wizards 103, Celtics 102
At Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 31 points, including two free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining, and Washington beat Boston to snap a four-game losing streak.
Antawn Jamison added 24 points and eight rebounds for the Wizards, who blew a seven-point lead in the final 29 seconds. Caron Butler added 20 points and Brendan Haywood grabbed 12 rebounds for the Wizards.
Ricky Davis scored 24 points to lead the Celtics, who have lost six of their last eight games.
Bulls 111, Grizzlies 82
At Chicago, Kirk Hinrich scored 26 points and Ben Gordon had 21 as Chicago shot 62 percent and ended Memphis' five-game winning streak.
Hinrich shot 9-of-12 from the field and Gordon, in just his sixth start of the season, was 7-for-11.
Antonio Burks scored a career-high 18 points and Pau Gasol had 15 for the Grizzlies.
Chicago finished 11-of-15 on 3-pointers. Andres Nocioni added 16 points for the Bulls.
Mavericks 83, Timberwolves 79
At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki overcame 3 quarters of being pestered by Kevin Garnett to score seven straight points in the closing minutes, helping Dallas rally past Minnesota.
Nowitzki scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, most coming during a 14-3 run over the last 3:04.
The Timberwolves lost for the 10th time in 13 games, dropping them to 15-16. It's the first time they've been under .500 since they were 1-2 on Nov. 5. This also was their sixth straight road loss.
Dallas won its second straight and fourth in five games, with the lone exception a 91-78 loss in Minnesota on Wednesday night. The Mavericks won despite shooting a season-low 35.3 percent.
Garnett had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Wally Szczerbiak added 25 and 10.
Lakers 112, Clippers 109
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 50 points and made a fadeaway jumper in the lane with 12 seconds remaining to lead the Lakers past the Clippers.
Bryant had 40 second-half points, including 22 in the fourth quarter as the Lakers stormed back from a 13-point deficit late in the third.
Bryantscored 18 points in the third quarter. He finished the game 17-of-41 overall.
Mobley scored 36 points for the Clippers, and Elton Brand had 28 points and 10 rebounds.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and