Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and had a season-high nine assists despite fracturing his right hand in the Denver Nuggets?135-115 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
Anthony injured his hand when the ball was slapped away early in the third quarter. He continued playing, but frequently grabbed at his hand.
He had the Nuggets trainer check it out a few times when play stopped and then left for good late in the fourth quarter.
PHOTO: AP
Kenyon Martin scored 25 points and Chauncey Billups scored 13 of his 24 points in the final quarter for the Nuggets, who have now won four in a row. They set a season-high in points against the Pacers.
Their previous best was 132 against Toronto early last month.
Denver are 24-12 after 36 games, matching the Nuggets?best start since their first year in the NBA in 1976-1977.
Danny Granger had 36 points, the most scored against the Nuggets this season. He has now scored 30 or more points 10 times this season.
NETS 98, KINGS 90
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Vince Carter scored 29 points, and Yi Jianlian added 22 points and a season-high 13 rebounds as New Jersey handed Sacramento their 11th straight road loss.
Jarvis Hayes had a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:53 to play as the Nets won consecutive games at home for the first time this season.
New Jersey won despite playing the second half without point guard Devin Harris, who 苔ggravated a hamstring injury before the break.
Kevin Martin, who scored 45 on Saturday night, had 36 points for the woeful Kings (8-27).
SPURS 91, HEAT 84
At Miami, Tim Duncan had 19 points and nine rebounds as the Southwest Division-leading San Antonio beat Miami for their third straight win.
San Antonio put five players in double figures, ran out to a quick 10-point lead and shot 59 percent in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
George Hill scored 15 points for the Spurs, who got 11 points from both Roger Mason and Matt Bonner and 10 from Manu Ginobili.
Dwyane Wade had 24 points and 12 assists ?his eighth 苓ouble-double of the season ?for the Heat, who also got 15 points from Shawn Marion. Michael Beasley had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double with Miami.
BUCKS 107, RAPTORS 97
At Milwaukee, Michael Redd had a season-high 35 points and Charlie Villanueva scored 13 of his 25 in the fourth quarter to lead Milwaukee to their first win without Andrew Bogut in 21 months.
Milwaukee, who finished the game on a 13-0 run, lost their previous nine games ?including four this season ?without Bogut, the former No. 1 pick who missed his second straight game on Monday with back spasms.
The Raptors, playing without center Jermaine O?eal and guard Jose Calderon on this two-game road trip, turned to Chris Bosh, who had 31 points and 11 rebounds to help Toronto hold the lead through most of three quarters.
Andrea Bargnani had 21 points and Anthony Parker finished with 12 for Toronto.
JAZZ 119, WARRIORS 114
At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 25 points and 15 assists and Ronnie Brewer scored seven crucial points down the stretch as Utah held off Golden State.
Williams tied his season high in assists as the Jazz led most of the way but could never break the game open from the Warriors, despite the loss of Stephen Jackson to a hamstring injury at the end of the first half. Neither team led by more than nine in the run-and-gun contest.
Jamal Crawford scored 28 points and Maggette had 23 points in his return but the Warriors have now lost four of five games and were winless on their three-game road trip.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set