Dirk Nowitzki scored 43 points, including three free throws in the final 5 seconds of overtime, to lift the Dallas Mavericks over the Indiana Pacers 115-113 in the NBA on Friday.
Jason Terry had 30 points, Josh Howard scored 15 and Nowitzki grabbed 12 rebounds for Dallas, who are 16-1 in their last 17 games and an NBA-best 30-8 overall.
Jermaine O'Neal finished with 26 points and nine rebounds and Danny Granger and Stephen Jackson scored 22 apiece for the Pacers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Hawks 99, Pistons 93
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 34 points and Josh Smith, just back from hernia surgery, hit a 3-pointer with 10.7 seconds left to help Atlanta hold off Detroit.
Johnson finished 13-of-17 from the field, making four from 3-point range. Josh Childress added 18 points, while Marvin Williams and Shelden Williams had 12 apiece.
Bobcats 126, Knicks 110
At New York, Emeka Okafor had 20 points and a career-high 10 blocks, Derek Anderson scored 29 points and Charlotte snapped New York's three-game winning streak.
Matt Carroll added 23 points for the Bobcats, who rode a strong second half to their second impressive road victory this week.
76ers 110, Bucks 97
At Philadelphia, Willie Green scored 30 points, Andre Iguodala had 26 and Kyle Korver 17 to help Phila-delphia beat Milwaukee and snap a four-game skid.
Andre Miller had 11 points and 11 assists, Samuel Dalembert added 16 points and the Sixers sent the Bucks to their fifth straight loss.
Hornets 104, Wizards 97
At Oklahoma City, Desmond Mason scored 22 points and converted a late three-point play to help New Orleans hold off Washington.
Devin Brown matched his high this season with 19 points and added a career-high nine assists for New Orleans, which was missing three injured starters.
Raptors 95, Celtics 86
At Boston, Chris Bosh scored 27 points and T.J. Ford added 19 to lead Toronto.
The Raptors took command with a 16-6 run to close out the third quarter with a 67-58 lead. Bosh scored 10 in the quarter and six during the run.
Timberwolves 116, Grizzlies 110
At Memphis, Tennessee, Kevin Garnett had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks as Minnesota weathered Memphis' late rally for its fifth win in six games.
Mike James scored 16 for the Timberwolves and Justin Reed had 10 off the bench.
Trail Blazers 95, Kings 87
At Portland, Oregon, Zach Ran-dolph scored 23 points, Juan Dixon added 21 and Portland snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Sacramento.
Brandon Roy had 11 points and five assists and Dan Dickau scored 11 points starting at point guard for the Blazers in place of Jarrett Jack, who was injured in an auto accident Friday morning.
Heat 118, Warriors 96
At Oakland, California, Dwyane Wade had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Miami earned its first three-game winning streak of the season.
Jason Kapono scored 20 points and Alonzo Mourning had 19 to lead the defending NBA champions to their highest point total this season.
Rockets 90, Nuggets 86
At Denver, Shane Battier scored 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and Houston held off Denver for its eighth win in nine games.
Tracy McGrady added 12 points and 11 assists and Dikembe Mutombo grabbed 10 rebounds for the Rockets.
SuperSonics 122, Jazz 114, OT
At Seattle, the Sonics' Ray Allen scored a career-high 54 points, the second-most in franchise history, and Seattle snapped a six-game losing streak with an overtime win over Utah.
Allen made nearly every shot in the closing moments of regulation and overtime, carrying the Sonics to their first victory since Dec. 31 against Boston.
Allen also made 12 free-throws and added 10 rebounds.
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
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but