Kobe Bryant's 50-point streak is over. But the Los Angeles Lakers' season-high winning streak lives on.
Bryant scored 17 points in the first nine minutes on Sunday night, but cooled off after that and finished with 43 in the Lakers' fifth straight victory, a 115-113 triumph over the Golden State Warriors.
Bryant had scored at least 50 points in four straight games to become the second player in NBA history with such a streak.
PHOTO: AP
Lamar Odom had 24 points and 19 rebounds to match his career high and Smush Parker scored 13 points for the Lakers (38-32), who won their fifth straight and eighth in a row over the Warriors.
Monta Ellis matched his career high with 31 points to lead the Warriors (33-38), who lost for just the third time in 11 games.
Al Harrington added 23 points, Stephen Jackson scored 16 and Andris Biedrins had 13 points and 12 rebounds for Golden State.
Bryant shot 15-of-33 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the foul line. He also had nine rebounds and no assists.
Bulls 92, Pacers 90
In Indianapolis, Ben Gordon's spinning fadeaway from just inside the foul lane with 2.8 seconds left lifted Chicago over Indiana.
Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal had a chance to force overtime, but missed a jumper from near the free-throw line as time expired. He finished with 39 points, the second-highest total of his NBA career, and had 14 rebounds. He scored Indiana's last 14 points.
Timberwolves 94, Trail Blazers 93
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett's 5m fadeaway jumper in the final second lifted Minnesota.
After LaMarcus Aldridge tipped in a miss by Jarrett Jack to give Portland a 93-92 lead, Garnett took an inbounds pass with 2.2 seconds to go, wheeled and dropped a jumper over Aldridge at the other end to give the Wolves the win.
Garnett finished with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Kings 107, Suns 100
In Sacramento, California, Mike Bibby scored 37 points and hit two of his career-best nine 3-pointers in the final 1:15 for Sacramento.
Ron Artest added 24 points and nine rebounds for the struggling Kings, who improbably snapped a three-game losing streak without the help of injured starters Kevin Martin, Brad Miller and Kenny Thomas.
Sacramento posted a win for just the second time in nine games, and avoided a four-game season sweep by the Suns, who already have clinched the Pacific Division title.
Pistons 121, Bucks 95
In Milwaukee, Tayshaun Prince scored 28 points and three bench players made key contributions to carry short-handed Detroit.
Reserve forward Jason Maxiell had 19 points and 15 rebounds -- both career highs -- for the Pistons. Detroit needed to rely heavily on its bench after losing Rasheed Wallace to an NBA suspension and Richard Hamilton to an illness that might have carried over to Chris Webber. Webber apparently became sick during the game and sat out the second quarter.
Guard Flip Murray started for Hamilton, shooting 5-for-6 from the floor in the first half on his way to scoring 16 points. Forward Antonio McDyess scored 13 of his 20 points in second quarter.
Mavericks 104, Hawks 97
In Atlanta, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard each had 28 points and Jason Terry scored 15 of his 27 in the fourth quarter to lead Dallas to its sixth straight win.
Dallas' biggest lead came at the 5:16 mark of the second quarter, when Howard's turnaround jumper made it 51-28.
Hornets 106, Rockets 94
In Oklahoma City, Chris Paul scored 28 points and David West added 23 to lead New Orleans.
Tracy McGrady scored 31 points to lead Houston, which had a five-game winning streak snapped. Yao Ming added 16 points, Luther Head scored 15 off the bench.
Nuggets 105, Cavaliers 93
In Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points, Nene had 21 and Allen Iverson 18 and Denver finished off Cleveland with a late flurry.
With the win, Anthony improved to 5-2 in career NBA matchups with LeBron James, his close friend and US Olympic teammate.
LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 18 points apiece for the Cavs, who played sloppily down the stretch and missed their final six shots as they tried to keep up with the Nuggets.
Spurs 120, SuperSonics 79
In Seattle, Tony Parker set the tone with 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter, Manu Ginobili hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 off the bench as San Antonio rolled.
San Antonio won its third straight and for the 16th time in its past 18.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo on Friday said that he will probably be out for an extended period after hurting his right calf again after a similar injury caused him to miss eight games earlier this season. Antetokounmpo had his right calf wrapped in the first half of their 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He did not appear comfortable the rest of the night and left for good with 34 seconds remaining. “At the end, I could not move no more, so I had to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player said he expected to undergo an MRI
Taiwanese FORTUNES: Wu Fang-hsien and Hsieh Su-wei both advanced to the last 16 of the women’s doubles, but Ray Ho was ousted in the men’s doubles Carlos Alcaraz yesterday stepped up his quest to win a maiden Australian Open as he overwhelmed showman Corentin Moutet to reach the last 16, while Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Hsieh Su-wei both advanced to the last 16 of the women’s doubles. Three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev battled through on day six at a warm and sunny Melbourne Park, as did Coco Gauff. Top seed Alcaraz was never in danger against French 32nd seed Moutet, easing through 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena in 2 hours, 5 minutes. It was the Spaniard’s 100th Grand Slam match and he boasts a remarkable 87-13 win-loss record,
LICENSE TO THRILL: Fans of Learner Tien, the youngest man to reach the quarter-finals in 11 years, wore ‘L Plates,’ signs for learning drivers, in support of the 20-year-old Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Japanese partner Eri Hozumi yesterday dominated eighth seeds Ellen Perez of Australia and the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs to advance to the Australian Open quarter-finals, the furthest the Taiwanese has made it since her first appearance in Melbourne in 2020. Wu and Hozumi overpowered world No. 21 Perez and world No. 20 Schuurs 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 11 minutes at 1573 Arena in much cooled temperatures since Saturday’s blazing 40°C disrupted play. World No. 34 Wu has now made it further in the Australian Open since she was knocked out in the third round in 2024. The Taiwanese-Japanese duo
RSS