Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 15 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 103-97 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
DeShawn Stevenson added a season-high 17 points, while Caron Butler had 16 points for Dallas.
The Mavericks hit 14 of 26 from three-point range to prevail in a matchup of Western Conference heavyweights.
Deron Williams scored 19 of his 34 points in the first half to lead the Jazz, who had won nine of 11. Paul Millsap added 16 points, while Ronnie Price scored 14 for Utah.
HEAT 104, KINGS 83
In Sacramento, California, Dwyane Wade’s flying, one-handed rebound jam highlighted his 36-point night as Miami beat Sacramento for their season-best eighth straight win.
LeBron James scored 25 and Chris Bosh added 14 points and a season-high 17 rebounds as the Heat broke open a close game in the third quarter.
After losing three of four in late November, the Heat have won every game during this winning streak by double digits.
Omri Casspi had 20 points for the Kings, who have lost 15 of 17 and have the second-worst record in the NBA.
RAPTORS 120, PISTONS 116
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jerryd Bayless matched a career high with 31 points as Toronto pulled off their biggest comeback in -franchise -history to beat Detroit.
Toronto overcame a 25-point second-half deficit to end a four-game losing streak. The victory was just the Raptors’ third of the season on the road.
Italy’s Andrea Bargnani added 22 points, including a pair of key three-pointers in the fourth quarter, while Brazilian Leandro Barbosa scored 20. Ben Wallace had a career-high 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Rodney Stuckey scored 23.
Toronto shot 65 percent from the floor in the first half, but committed 14 turnovers that led to 29 Detroit points. The Pistons only turned the ball over once on their way to a 72-53 lead.
GRIZZLIES 84, CLIPPERS 83
In Los Angeles, Zach Randolph had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Spain’s Marc Gasol added 17 points as Memphis held on to beat Los Angeles.
Baron Davis missed an 18-footer at the buzzer for the Clippers, who were coming off an 87-86 loss to the Lakers on Derek Fisher’s driving layup at the buzzer on Wednesday.
Eric Gordon scored 25 points, while Blake Griffin had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Gay, the Grizzlies’ leading scorer, was held to 12 points on five for 12 shooting.
BULLS 113, TIMBERWOLVES 82
In Chicago, Derrick Rose had 21 points and seven assists to lead Chicago over Minnesota for their season-best fifth straight victory.
Rose set a career high with five three-pointers. It was the third time this season he has made four or more threes. He made that many just once during his first two NBA seasons.
Luol Deng added 19 points and Carlos Boozer 17 for Chicago, which out-rebounded Minnesota 53-36.
Kevin Love had 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Michael Beasley added 16 points for the Timberwolves.
In Saturday’s other action, it was:
‧ Rockets 110, Cavaliers 95
‧ Celtics 93, Bobcats 62
‧ Hawks 97, Pacers 83
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set