The Boston Celtics bounced back from a nail-biting defeat to an NBA title rival by beating the New York Knicks 110-100 on Friday.
Paul Pierce scored 26 points and Ray Allen finished with 22 as the Celtics quickly returned to winning ways after the 110-109 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
The win meant the Celtics won the season series against New York 3-1 and have won nine of the past 10 in the rivalry.
PHOTO: AP
It was a fitting end to a difficult week for the Knicks, who lost to three of the NBA’s best teams and surrendered a couple of the greatest performances in Madison Square Garden history over a matter of days. Kobe Bryant scored 61 points for the Lakers on Monday and LeBron James had 52 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
PACERS 107, MAGIC 102
In Indianapolis, Indiana, the Pacers snapped a three-game losing streak by edging Orlando.
Danny Granger scored 14 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter.
It was the 15th time he had scored 30 or more points this season for the Pacers, who avoided getting swept in the four-game season series between the two teams.
It was Orlando’s second game without All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson, who’s out for the season with a dislocated right shoulder.
HAWKS 102, BOBCATS 97
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlanta rallied from a 17-point deficit to overwhelm an undermanned Charlotte.
Marvin Williams scored 29 points and his impressive free-throw shooting keyed the comeback. He went 18-for-20 from the line as the Hawks won their second straight game without All-Star Joe Johnson, who is ill.
The Hawks got two big defensive plays in the final seconds to give the Bobcats their fourth straight loss.
Charlotte lost Raja Bell to a groin injury in the third quarter, and was also without top scorer Gerald Wallace for a fourth straight game.
HORNETS 101, RAPTORS 92
In New Orleans, the home team tied a franchise record with 15 three-pointers, snapping their four-game losing streak and beating Toronto.
Peja Stojakovic scored a season-high 28 points, including seven threes, his last coming during a decisive stretch in the fourth quarter when the Hornets hit six from distance in under five minutes.
Toronto lost its fifth straight.
NUGGETS 124, WIZARDS 103
In Washington, Denver welcomed back starters Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups to cruise past Washington.
Carmelo Anthony delivered 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Nuggets celebrated their best 50-game record since they joined the NBA in 1976.
Billups came back from a sprained right ankle to score 16 points against a Wizards team that dressed only nine players because of injury and illness.
Martin, returning after missing two games with a throat infection, had his share of highlight-worthy dunks, too, finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds.
SUNS 115, WARRIORS 105
In Phoenix, the hosts pulled away in the final three-and-a-half minutes to shake off Golden State.
Grant Hill scored a season-high 27 points as the Suns avenged a loss to the Warriors two days previously. The Suns’ Shaquille O’Neal became the seventh player in NBA history to score 27,000 points.
In other games it was:
• Thunder 102, Trail Blazers 93
• Jazz 111, Kings 107
• Clippers 126, Grizzlies 105
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but