The Dallas Mavericks lost Dirk Nowitzki to a knee injury in the second quarter, but still did enough to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-93 on Monday night for their 17th victory in 18 games.
Nowitzki, from Germany, scored 13 points before leaving in the second quarter with what the Mavericks said was a sore right knee.
Shawn Marion led the effort to replace him, scoring 20 points off the bench.
Dallas improved to 11-1 on the road this season, best in the NBA, and 24-5 overall.
Kevin Durant scored 28 points, one game after a season-high 44 points on Christmas Day against Denver. James Harden had 18 for the Thunder.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle also missed the game due to a knee injury.
HAWKS 95, BUCKS 80
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Joe Johnson added another 15 points as the Hawks beat the Bucks.
The Hawks (20-13) were back in Milwaukee for the first time since winning a pivotal Game 6 in the first round of the playoffs last year to send the series back to Atlanta where they won to advance.
They were impressive once again, opening a double-digit lead in the first quarter and shooting 50.7 percent from the field for the game.
John Salmons scored 18 for the Bucks, who struggled in their first home game after a successful Western Conference trip.
MAGIC 104, NETS 88
In Newark, New Jersey, Dwight Howard had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Magic to their third straight win with a victory over the Nets.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points as the Magic had six players in double figures in beating the Nets for the third time in three meetings this season.
Orlando hit a dozen three pointers and shot 49 percent from the field, despite the team showing up less than 90 minutes before the game because one of its buses got stuck in a snow drift on the way to the venue.
Devin Harris scored 24 points to lead New Jersey, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
GRIZZLIES 96, RAPTORS 85
In Memphis, Tennessee, Zach Randolph scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half as the Grizzlies woke up from a slow start to beat the Raptors.
Tony Allen had 14 points and a season-high six steals, part of 15 Memphis steals on the night. Allen also had eight rebounds, also a season high.
Linas Kleiza led the short-handed Raptors with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. DeMar DeRozan finished with 18 points.
BOBCATS 105, PISTONS 100
In Charlotte, North Carolina, D.J. Augustin scored 27 points and Stephen Jackson added 23 as the new-look Bobcats held on to beat the Pistons to give interim coach Paul Silas a victory on his debut.
With Silas using new combinations and forcing the pace after replacing the fired Larry Brown just last week, the Bobcats built a 23-point lead and then nearly wasted it.
Ben Gordon missed two tying three-point attempts in the closing seconds, before Tyrus Thomas’ two free throws with one second left finally put it away for the Bobcats, ending a four-game losing streak.
Charlie Villanueva scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting for the Pistons.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Timberwolves 113, Hornets 98
‧ Trail Blazers 96, Jazz 91
‧ Rockets 100, Wizards 93
‧ Clippers 100, Kings 99
‧ Warriors 110, 76ers 95
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB