The Atlanta Hawks completed their first season sweep of the Boston Celtics in 11 years, posting a 100-91 home victory in an Eastern Conference showdown on Friday.
Joe Johnson scored 16 of his 27 points in the final quarter to help the Hawks leapfrog the Celtics in the race for second place in the East with their fourth win of the campaign over Boston. Cleveland holds the top spot.
“We won’t stick our chests out yet, but we can stand straight up and look them eye-to-eye,” Atlanta’s Jamal Crawford told reporters after the Hawks won for the fourth time against Boston this season. “It shows we don’t fear anybody. I think it shows our growth that we can take a team’s best punch and come back and win.”
PHOTO: AFP
Crawford, who Boston coach Doc Rivers said before the game needed to be stopped, had 28 points as Atlanta also moved a half-game clear of the Magic heading into their Southeast Division showdown in Orlando, Florida, yesterday.
Crawford had 11 points and four assists in 13 minutes after coming off the bench in the first quarter of a physical game.
“They thought they were going to come in and bully us,” Atlanta forward Mo Evans said. “We had that same mentality. We were going to be physical and protect our home court.”
“Bodies were flying around everywhere,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.
Paul Pierce led Boston’s scoring with a season-high 35 points.
The Celtics scored 32 points in the third quarter to pull within a point at 74-73, but an 11-4 run to start the fourth secured the win for Atlanta.
■LAKERS V 76ERS
AFP, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Kobe Bryant’s return to his hometown of Philadelphia gave 76ers fans plenty of chances to boo him as he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-91 NBA victory.
Bryant, who was born in Philly and attended high school there, scored 24 points as Sixers fans jeered but jockeyed for position to take his photo.
Bryant led Lower Merion High School to a state championship in 1996 and visited his old school on Thursday. He said this was the first year he’d felt chills when he was introduced from Lower Merion High.
“I think because when you get older, you get more and more nostalgic,” Bryant said. “You start reminiscing on where everything started. It kind of creeps in on you.”
In other NBA action, it was:
● Thunder 101, Nuggets 84
● Cavaliers 94, Pacers 73
● Rockets 104, Trail Blazers 100
● Spurs 104, Grizzlies 97
● Bulls 108, Hornets 106, OT
● Jazz 101, Kings 94
● Heat 92, Pistons 65
● Bobcats 121, Warriors 110
● Timberwolves 111, Clippers 97
● Wizards 81, Nets 79
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