Vince Carter scored 25 points as the Orlando Magic held off a late rally to edge the Los Angeles Lakers 96-94 on Sunday in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals opponents.
The Lakers lost for the third time in a row, something they have not done since obtaining Spanish star Pau Gasol in February 2008, dropping their fourth consecutive road game to stand at 46-18, second best in the NBA.
“I’m worried about what we can do to win ball games,” Gasol said. “I’m not worried about streaks.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson each added 15 points for the Magic, who won for the fifth time in a row.
The Lakers beat the Magic in January in Los Angeles, the first meeting between the clubs since the Lakers denied Orlando the title in last year’s NBA Finals.
“You could see it in everybody’s faces and everybody’s demeanor — everybody on that floor wanted to win that game,” Carter said. “It wasn’t just: ‘Yeah, OK, whatever.’ It was: ‘Let’s go get it.’ That game was game seven.”
Lakers star Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 34 points, 18 of them in the fourth quarter, despite a stomach illness that kept him on the bench much of the second quarter. He missed a final shot at the buzzer to seal the defeat.
“There are some things that, as an experienced team, we should not have happen to us,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “Those are the things we try to remedy, but today we were just a little bit off.”
Gasol, who scored 20 points, tipped in a Bryant miss to pull the Lakers within 93-89 with 48 seconds to play. Howard added a free-throw for Orlando, but Bryant responded with a three-pointer as Los Angeles pulled within 94-92.
Lakers standout Ron Artest — his hair dyed blonde with the word “defense” painted in purple in Hindi, Hebrew and Japanese — then fouled Nelson, who hit one-of-two free-throws to stretch the lead to 95-92.
Bryant sank a long shot thinking it was a game-tying three-pointer, but a video replay review showed his right foot was on the three-point arc and therefore the basket was only a two-pointer, leaving the Lakers one point down with 12.9 seconds remaining.
Carter was fouled with 9.7 seconds remaining and missed his first free-throw, but he hit the second free-throw to produce the final margin. Bryant missed at the buzzer and the Magic escaped with a victory.
CELTICS 86, WIZARDS 83
In Boston, Ray Allen scored a game-high 25 points, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 17.1 seconds remaining, as Boston rallied past Washington.
Boston trailed 79-66 with 6 minutes, 11 seconds remaining and responded with a 20-4 run to close out the game, with eight points from Allen and six from guard Rajon Rondo.
Al Thornton scored 24 points to lead the Wizards and Andray Blatche added 23 for Washington.
PISTONS 110, ROCKETS 107, OT
In Auburn, Michigan, Tayshaun Prince scored a season-high 29 points to help Detroit snap a six-game losing streak.
Richard Hamilton added 22 points for Detroit, while Kevin Martin had 27 points for Houston and Aaron Brooks scored 25. Martin and Brooks, though, both missed key three-point attempts in the last 10 seconds of overtime.
NUGGETS 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 106
In Denver, Colorado, Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points — his third consecutive game with at least 30 points — as Denver beat Portland for their third straight victory.
J.R. Smith added 22 points, Chauncey Billups had 21 points and Nene 14 for the Nuggets.
Jerryd Bayless’ 24 points led the Trail Blazers, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
76ERS 114, RAPTORS 101
In Toronto, Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 32 points and Jrue Holiday had 21 as Philadelphia beat Toronto to snap a five-game losing streak.
Andre Iguodala had 16 points and 10 assists, while Elton Brand had 12 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers. Louis Williams added 12 points.
THUNDER 108, KINGS 102
In Sacramento, California, Kevin Durant had 27 points and eight rebounds as Oklahoma City beat Sacramento.
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
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
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