Rasheed Wallace returned from his one-game suspension to score 20 points, Tayshaun Prince added 20 more and Richard Hamilton scored 19 Thursday as the Detroit Pistons survived another Miami rally to beat the Heat 95-82 and move a step closer to securing home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.
Detroit (61-14) saw most of a 12-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate before winning its sixth straight game and moving three ahead of idle San Antonio in the race for the NBA's best record.
Dwyane Wade had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Shaquille O'Neal scored 28 for Miami, which played without injured starters James Posey and Jason Williams, plus top reserve Alonzo Mourning.
Miami (49-26) lost for the fifth time in nine games, and saw its edge for the East's second-best record shrink to 2 1/2 games over New Jersey.
Nets 113, Bobcats 102
>BAt East Rutherford, New Jersey, Richard Jefferson scored a season-high 40 points, Jason Kidd had his 74th triple-double, and the Nets extended the longest winning streak in the NBA this season to 14.
The Nets also matched the longest winning streak in franchise history, having won 14 in a row from Jan. 25-Feb. 24, 2004. New Jersey broke a tie with Dallas for the longest winning streak in the NBA this season.
Once the blowout was ensured, the Nets even were able to get Kidd a final rebound in the last minute to add to his triple-double total. He finished with 13 points, 12 assists and 10 boards, moving within four triple-doubles of Wilt Chamberlain for third place on the career list.
Vince Carter added 20 points for the Nets, who pulled away in the third quarter by shooting 14-for-18 (78 percent) from the floor. Jefferson scored 26 points in the second half.
Raymond Felton scored 20 points and Primoz Brezec had 16 for the Bobcats.
Nuggets 110, Lakers 108, OT
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony's jumper with 3.8 seconds left in overtime gave Denver the win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anthony scored 33 points to lead the Nuggets, who closed in on their first Northwest Division title since 1987-88. Any combination of Denver wins or Utah losses totaling two will give the Nuggets the crown.
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
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was