Anthony Parker scored a season-high 26 points and Chris Bosh added 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors overcame a 39-point performance by Orlando’s Dwight Howard to beat the Magic 108-102 on Sunday.
Parker was 13-of-16 from the field and came within one point of his career high. The Raptors also got 18 points from Andrea Bargnani, 12 from Roko Ukic and 11 from Will Solomon.
Howard matched his career high in both points and field goals, but it wasn’t enough for Orlando, which had won 17 of 20 coming in.
LAKERS 100, TRAIL BLAZERS 86
At Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol added 19 as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Portland for their sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight at home.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 22 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double figures. But the Blazers shot only 39 percent overall.
Facing the Trail Blazers for the first time since their season-opening 96-76 win — Portland’s lowest point total ever against the Lakers — the defending Western Conference champions pulled away with a 15-3 run that increased their four-point lead to 75-59 with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
KNICKS 100, CELTICS 88
At New York, Wilson Chandler scored a career-high 31 points and New York snapped an eight-game losing streak against sputtering Boston.
Al Harrington added 30 for the Knicks, who hadn’t beaten Boston at Madison Square Garden since March 23, 2005, dropping the last six meetings.
Paul Pierce scored 31 points for the Celtics, who lost for the fourth time in six games after a 27-2 start. Ray Allen added 16, but Garnett, who seemed to hurt his right leg late in the third quarter, had only six points on 1-of-6 shooting with nine rebounds.
WIZARDS 80, CAVALIERS 77
At Washington, LeBron James was called for traveling while driving for the potential tying basket with 2.3 seconds left as his Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Eastern Conference-worst Washington.
James finished with 30 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. But nobody else on the Cavaliers scored more than 13, and they were held to their lowest point total this season.
In other games it was:
• Pistons 88, Clippers 87
• Grizzlies 102, Mavericks 82
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two