Denver’s Carmelo Anthony scored 38 points as the Nuggets overcame the loss of star guard Chauncey Billups to beat the Houston Rockets 111-101 in the NBA on Wednesday.
Billups, who had 15 points and is averaging 17.5, left the game with a groin strain late in the third quarter. There was no immediate word on his status for today’s game at New Orleans.
Reserve J.R. Smith added 21 points for the Nuggets, who retained a 3-1/2 game lead atop the Northwest Division.
Aaron Brooks scored 23 points for Houston.
LAKERS 107, BUCKS 106, OT
In Milwaukee, Kobe Bryant hit a 15-footer as time expired to give Los Angeles an overtime win over Milwaukee.
Bryant scored the game’s final seven points over the last 1:18 of overtime. He had 27 of his 39 points in the second half and overtime, but missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it in regulation.
Given a second chance in overtime, he made no mistake.
Pau Gasol had 26 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for the Lakers, who tied Boston for the best record in the NBA with their 13th win in the past 14 games.
MAVERICKS 100, THUNDER 86
In Oklahoma City, Dirk Nowitzki had 35 points and 11 rebounds to lead Dallas to a comfortable win over Oklahoma City.
Nowitzki made up for Kevin Durant matching his lowest-scoring total of the season with only 12 points on 4-for-18 shooting.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 16 points.
MAGIC 118, RAPTORS 99
In Orlando, Florida, potent 3-point shooting helped Orlando to a win over Toronto.
Dwight Howard had 18 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks for the Magic.
Orlando shot 14 of 30 from beyond the arc.
Toronto’s Hedo Turkoglu was showered with a mix of cheers and boos and scored 14 points as he returned to Orlando, where he was a fan favorite before parting ways in the offseason.
HAWKS 110, GRIZZLIES 97
In Atlanta, the hosts pulled away in the second half for their fifth straight win, beating Memphis.
Despite playing only 29 minutes, Joe Johnson scored 26 points, making 10 of 16 shots from the field, including a couple of 3-pointers, and chipped in with eight rebounds and three assists.
SPURS 103, WARRIORS 91
In Oakland, California, San Antonio picked up a rare road win, beating Golden State.
Tim Duncan had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and Richard Jefferson scored 17 points for the Spurs, who downed Golden State for a seventh straight time.
In other NBA action it was:
• Cavaliers 108, 76ers 101
• Hornets 95, Pistons 87
• Pacers 101, Bobcats 98
• Kings 112, Wizards 109
• Jazz 108, Nets 92
• Clippers 120, Timberwolves 95
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