Joe Johnson scored a season-high 34 points and Josh Smith had a career-best 29 to lead the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks to a 111-102 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Atlanta (4-1) moved three games over .500 for the first time in 7 1/2 years. The Hawks have had seven consecutive losing seasons and never recovered after starting last season 0-9.
But Johnson is off to one of the best starts in the NBA right now. He also had eight rebounds, five assists and finished 12-for-20 in the game against Toronto.
Chris Bosh had 19 points and 17 rebounds for the Raptors.
Nuggets 108, 76ers 101
At Philadelphia, Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points, Andre Miller added 18 and Marcus Camby had 10 points and 11 rebounds to lift Denver past Philadelphia for its first victory. The Nuggets (1-3) had been the NBA's only winless team.
Wizards 116, Bucks 111
At Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, and Washington overcame an 11-point deficit in the final period. Arenas also had 11 assists and scored the last six points for the Wizards.
SuperSonics 99, Bobcats 85
At Charlotte, North Carolina, Ray Allen scored 26 points and Rashard Lewis added 19 of his 21 in the second half to lead Seattle over Charlotte, spoiling Adam Morrison's first NBA start. Lewis scored 11 points in the third quarter, when the Sonics outscored the Bobcats 35-19 to erase a four-point deficit.
Pacers 93, Magic 83
At Indianapolis, Al Harrington tied a season high with 32 points to lead Indiana over Orlando. Danny Granger scored 18 points and Jermaine O'Neal added nine points and 11 rebounds.
Jazz 107, Celtics 100
At Boston, Deron Williams had 26 points and 14 assists, Carlos Boozer added 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Utah beat Boston for the first time in nearly three years. Mehmet Okur added 23 points for the Jazz, who snapped a four-game losing streak to the Celtics.
Heat 113, Nets 106
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Dwyane Wade scored 34 points, Udonis Haslem added a career-high 28 and Miami pulled away from New Jersey in the fourth quarter.
Rockets 103, Knicks 94
At Houston, Yao Ming scored 35 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and matched a career high with seven blocks as the Rockets beat New York for the fourth straight time.
Trail Blazers 92, Hornets 91
At Portland, Oregon, Zach Randolph had 31 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 2.4 seconds left, and Portland rallied from a 27-point deficit to shock New Orleans.
Pistons 97, Lakers 83
At Los Angeles, Tayshaun Prince tied a career high with 31 points, Chauncey Billups added 21 and Detroit led virtually the entire game in beating the Lakers. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 19 points.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care