Devin Harris hit an unbelievable, lunging half-court shot at the buzzer as the New Jersey Nets snapped a season-high five-game losing streak with a 98-96 victory over the slumping Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
With players from both teams surrounding the scorer’s table, the referees watched replays of Harris’ shot for nearly three minutes before signaling the basket was good.
Seconds earlier, the 76ers seemingly nailed down the victory when Andre Iguodala sank the second of two free throws to give them a one-point lead with 1.8 seconds to play.
The Nets quickly inbounded the ball to Harris, who bobbled it after bumping with Iguodala and then heaved in the winner from in front of the scorer’s table.
Harris finished with a game-high 39 points, but his 22nd shot of the night will be one Nets fans remember.
KNICKS 123, PACERS 119
At New York, Nate Robinson scored a season-high 41 points, including the tiebreaking layup with 26 seconds left, as New York beat Indiana.
Robinson scored 32 in the second half, helping the Knicks pull out a game against a team missing most of its best players. Al Harrington added 27 points and David Lee had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks.
Jarrett Jack scored a season-high 33 points and Marquis Daniels matched a season best with 28 for the Pacers, who had won two in a row overall and four in a row at Madison Square Garden. They fell to 4-2 when playing without both All-Star Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy. Troy Murphy had 19 points and 21 rebounds for the Pacers.
CELTICS 114, NUGGETS 76
At Denver, Ray Allen scored 26 points and Paul Pierce had 22 as Boston handed Denver one of its worst ever home losses.
It was Boston’s second game since Kevin Garnett strained a muscle in his right knee that is expected to sidelined him for at least two weeks.
Rajon Rondo, coming off a career-high 32 points in Boston’s 20-point win at Phoenix on Sunday, added 14 points for the Celtics, who raced to a 60-37 halftime lead that rendered the second half a let’s-get-it-over-with exercise.
This was Denver’s worst home loss since Feb. 2, 1998, when the Nuggets were routed by Chicago 111-72. The 38-point margin of defeat tied for the second-biggest home loss since Denver joined the NBA in 1976.
J.R. Smith had 19 points and Carmelo Anthony 18 for the Nuggets.
JAZZ 108, HAWKS 89
At Salt Lake City, Deron Williams had 15 points and 10 assists and Utah welcomed back Carlos Boozer from a three-month absence with a win over Atlanta.
The Jazz won their fifth straight and got to use Boozer sparingly in his first game since Nov. 19, when he injured a tendon in his left quadriceps. The two-time All-Star also had knee surgery to remove cartilage in January and was finally back on Monday after missing 44 straight games. He finished with two points and five rebounds as the rest of the Jazz handled the scoring.
Joe Johnson had 15 points to lead the Hawks.
HORNETS 112, KINGS 105
At Sacramento, California, Chris Paul had 27 points and 13 assists as the New Orleans Hornets held off a fourth-quarter rally by Kevin Martin and Sacramento.
David West had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who had lost two straight and eight of 12. Tyson Chandler, playing his first game since New Orleans tried to trade him to Oklahoma City, had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Kevin Martin scored 24 of his 32 points in the fourth period for the Kings, setting a new Arco Arena record for points in a quarter.
CLIPPERS 118, WARRIORS 105
At Los Angeles, Zach Randolph had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Eric Gordon also scored 27 points as the Los Angeles Clippers downed Golden State to snap a three-game losing streak.
Gordon had a career-high six 3-pointers and has scored 21-plus points in each of his last five games for the Clippers, who beat the Warriors for the first time since Nov. 2, 2007.
Baron Davis added 25 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, who got off to a slow start and were without starter Al Thornton, missing his second game of the season with a right foot injury.
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