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.
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