Down went Gilbert Arenas. And with him, in all likelihood, went the Washington Wizards' hopes of achieving much of anything in the NBA playoffs this season.
Arenas sprained his left knee in a collision with Gerald Wallace in a 108-100 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday. The three-time All-Star was to have an MRI exam yesterday to determine the extent of the damage, but the recovery time from such injuries is usually measured in weeks, not days, and the Wizards have only eight games left in the regular season.
The Wizards this week lost All-Star forward Caron Butler to a broken his hand. Butler is expected to miss at least six weeks, meaning he will play again only if Washington advances deep into the playoffs.
PHOTO: AP
Wallace, who survived several collisions in what became a very physical game, finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Bobcats. He had also stymied the Wizards the previous night, getting 34 points and 14 rebounds in a 122-102 win.
Raymond Felton added 19 points and seven assists, Emeka Okafor had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Walter Hermann had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats.
Antawn Jamison had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Wizards, who trailed the idle Miami Heat by a game in the Southeast Division.
Nets 101, Hawks 86
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, backup forward Bostjan Nachbar scored 26 points and New Jersey overcame a second-quarter drought for a victory over injury-ravaged Atlanta.
Vince Carter added 24 points and eight assists, and Jason Kidd had 10 assists as the Nets won for the fourth time in five games and sent the Hawks to their seventh straight loss.
Salim Stoudamire had 19 points, Zaza Pachulia 18, and Josh Smith added 15 for the Hawks.
Raptors 111, Magic 108
At Orlando, Florida, Chris Bosh scored 28 points, including five free throws down the stretch, to lift Toronto over Orlando.
Hedo Turkoglu shook off a recent shooting slump to score a career-high 37 points for the Magic, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Anthony Parker added 20 points for the Raptors, Joey Graham scored 19 and T.J. Ford had 16 points and eight assists.
Bulls 106, Pistons 88
At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Kirk Hinrich scored 29 points, Luol Deng added 22 and Chicago beat listless Detroit.
Ben Wallace missed the Bulls' game against his former team after going to the hospital with a sinus inflammation.
In other games it was:
* 76ers 92, Knicks 90
* Bucks 98, Celtics 89
* Hornets 101, Sonics 92, OT
* Warriors 110, Rockets 99
* Trail Blazers 94, Jazz 89
* Nuggets 120, Kings 115
* Clippers 90, Lakers 82
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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