Tim Duncan had 34 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, as the San Antonio Spurs beat the severely undermanned Los Angeles Clippers 99-90 on Saturday night.
Tony Parker had 18 points in his first game back since missing four with a sprained left ankle. The Spurs snapped a two-game skid, while the Clippers' losing streak increased to four.
Rookie Al Thornton led the Clippers with 25 points in his second career start. Chris Kaman added 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The game was never much in doubt, though the Clippers got within six points with less than two minutes to play. The Spurs led by as many as 24.
While Parker was back for the Spurs, top reserve Manu Ginobili left the game in the first quarter with a sprained left index finger. He sustained the same injury to his shooting hand on Dec. 2, but didn't miss any games.
Nets 100, Warriors 95
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Richard Jefferson scored 31 points and Jason Kidd collected his 94rd career triple-double as New Jersey beat Golden State.
Vince Carter finished with 23 points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 24.6 seconds left, for the Nets, who led by 14 in the first half and needed some clutch plays from their Big Three to get the win.
Kidd, who finished with 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, made two free throws with 22.1 seconds left to seal the victory.
Stephen Jackson had 21 points for Golden State (15-12). Monta Ellis added 19 and Andris Biedrins had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Suns 122, Raptors 103
At Phoenix, the Suns raced past Toronto despite a career-high 42 points by the Raptors' Chris Bosh.
Leandro Barbosa, starting in place of injured Raja Bell, scored 31 points, Amare Stoudemire added 28 and Grant Hill 25 as Phoenix swept the season series from Toronto for the fourth consecutive season. The Suns are 8-0 against the Raptors since Steve Nash came to Phoenix in 2004.
Bosh made 22 of 24 free throws, both career bests. His 22 makes are the most from the line in the league this season.
The Suns improved to 6-0 when Barbosa has started this season.
Pacers 93, Wizards 85
At Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as Indiana held off short-handed Washington.
Jermaine O'Neal had 18 points and eight rebounds, and reserve Kareem Rush added 15 points for the Pacers (15-13), who won for the fourth time in five games.
Antawn Jamison finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Roger Mason scored a career-high 20 points for Washington (13-13), which played without injured starters Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels.
Trailing by seven entering the fourth quarter, the Wizards used a 9-0 run to tie it at 70 with 8 minutes remaining. The Pacers responded by scoring the next seven points, including a Granger 3-pointer.
Heat 104, Jazz 102
At Miami, Dwyane Wade hit a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer, giving Miami a win over Utah.
Wade finished with 20 points for Miami, which wasted a 16-point second-half lead -- but won when last year's NBA finals MVP pump-faked, shot and saw the ball bounce off the rim and through the hoop as time expired.
Shaquille O'Neal finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Daequan Cook had 15 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left, for Miami.
Deron Williams scored 22 points, Andrei Kirilenko had 21 and C.J. Miles scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth for Utah, which took its only lead of the second half on a pair of free throws by Matt Harpring with 46.3 seconds remaining.
Rockets 116, Bulls 98
At Chicago, Tracy McGrady returned to the Houston lineup and had 20 points and eight assists to lead the Rockets past the Bulls.
Yao Ming had 18 points and eight rebounds but sprained his right thumb in the third quarter. X-rays were negative, and Yao retuned in the fourth quarter.
Bonzi Wells scored 20 points for the Rockets, who won for the second time in seven games and snapped a three-game losing streak.
Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 22 points and Luol Deng added 21 points and seven rebounds.
Bucks 103, Bobcats 99
At Milwaukee, rookie Yi Jianlian scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Michael Redd added 27 points to help Milwaukee outlast road-weary Charlotte.
The game was delayed 15 minutes after the Bobcats needed nearly 11 hours to get to Milwaukee after their flight left Charlotte at 9am After several diversions and a refueling and food stop, the team finally landed at Midway Airport in Chicago at 4:30pm and bused to the Bradley Center, arriving 60 minutes before the scheduled tip-off.
Jason Richardson scored a season-high 30 points for the Bobcats before fouling out late in the fourth. Emeka Okafor and Raymond Felton scored 17 points apiece, Gerald Wallace added 15 and Nazr Mohammed 14.
76ers 99, Grizzlies 97
At Memphis, Tennessee, Andre Iguodala made a 20-foot jumper as time expired to give Philadelphia the victory over Memphis.
Iguodala, who had 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter, converted the winner over Mike Miller from near the top of the key. By the time it went through the net, Iguodala and his teammates were already headed to the locker room after handing Memphis its ninth loss in the last 11.
Andre Miller led Philadelphia with 29 points, connecting on 10 of 18 shots. Kyle Korver scored 14.
Pau Gasol had 31 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis, including eight points in the final 1:18.
Hornets 110, Timberwolves 76
At New Orleans, Chris Paul had 19 points, 15 assists and five steals in only 30 minutes, helping New Orleans beat the downtrodden Minnesota team.
David West scored 22 points for the Hornets (17-10), who've won two straight overall and four in a row in New Orleans, where they improved to 8-5.
Ryan Gomes scored 20 to lead Minnesota (4-22), which won on Friday night but still has yet to win two straight this season and has won only once in its last eight games.
Al Jefferson and Gerald Green each scored 11 for the Timberwolves. Jefferson also had 13 rebounds.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and