Chauncey Billups scored 24 points and Antonio McDyess added 18 in just 20 minutes to help the Detroit Pistons hand the Boston Celtics their 15th straight loss, 109-102 on Tuesday.
The Celtics, who extended the worst losing streak in franchise history, haven't won since a 128-119 victory in Memphis on Jan. 5. They have allowed at least 100 points in five straight games.
Boston also had to send forward Paul Pierce home with an infected left elbow. Pierce, who has missed Boston's last 23 games with a foot injury, is expected to be hospitalized for at least two days, which will push his possible return back past the All-Star break.
Knicks 102, Clippers 90
At New York, Stephon Marbury scored 12 of his 15 points in an early second-half run that overwhelmed the Los Angeles Clippers and turned the game around for New York.
Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry each scored 23 points to lead New York, which shot poorly and defended worse in the first two quarters before controlling the second half of its second consecutive victory.
New York never led in the first half and trailed by as much as 12. But the Knicks stormed out of halftime with a 24-4 spurt, turning a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead in a span of 9 1/2 minutes and handing the Clippers their second straight loss.
Rockets 98, Grizzlies 90
At Memphis, Tennessee, Tracy McGrady scored 33 points and had eight assists to lead Houston over Memphis.
Houston won for the sixth time in the last seven games while Memphis, which has the worst record in the NBA, has lost three straight.
Pau Gasol led Memphis with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Mike Miller added 12 points, but was only 5-for-17 from the field. Lawrence Roberts finished with 10 points.
Bucks 116, Magic 111
At Milwaukee, Ruben Patterson scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and struggling Milwaukee beat Orlando to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Bucks won their seventh straight at home against the Magic but have still lost 15 of their last 18 games overall, in part because Michael Redd remains sidelined with a sprained left knee.
Milwaukee hopes to hit its stride when Redd returns as early as this week from an absence of at least 16 games. Regardless, the Bucks finally found the much-needed offense they've been missing since his departure.
Earl Boykins had 24 points, Charlie Villaneuva 22 and Charlie Bell 20 for the Bucks.
Suns 109, Trail Blazers 102, OT
At Portland, Oregon, Amare Stoudemire scored 36 points and Leandro Barbosa added 25 to help Phoenix past Portland.
Phoenix was missing two-time MVP Steve Nash, who sat out with a shoulder injury that kept him out of the second half in Monday's 113-108 win over Denver.
Stoudemire scored the first five points of the extra period and Barbosa knocked in back-to-back 3-pointers as the Suns held off the Blazers.
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