Blake Griffin had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Eric Gordon scored 29 as the Los Angeles Clippers beat Cleveland 100-92 on Saturday to end a nine-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
About one and a half hours before tipoff, the arena was in lockdown while police subdued a knife-wielding man who got past security and ended up in front of the Cavaliers’ bench. Both teams were tucked away in their dressing rooms during the tense standoff.
It did not delay the start of the game.
Photo: Reuters
J.J. Hickson led the Cavs with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Samardo Samuels scored 17 before fouling out with 1 minute, 19 seconds remaining.
TRAIL BLAZERS 110, 76ERS 101
In Portland, Oregon, Wesley Matthews had 17 of his 28 points in the first quarter to help Portland beat Philadelphia.
Gerald Wallace added 25 points and a season-high eight assists for the Trail Blazers (40-29), who won for the seventh time in nine games to move within a half-game of Denver for the fifth playoff spot in the Western Conference. LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and Nicolas Batum finished with 16.
Lou Williams had 24 points, part of a 59-point night for Philadelphia’s reserves. Thaddeus Young had 19 points and Jodie Meeks added 17.
CELTICS 89, HORNETS 85
In New Orleans, Ray Allen scored 20 points, including the clinching free throws with 2.8 seconds left, as Boston rallied to get the win.
Allen also had a key offensive rebound that led to Glen Davis’ two foul shots that made it 87-83 with 15.2 seconds remaining. Davis also had 20 points.
David West led New Orleans with 32 points. Marco Belinelli added a season-high 23 points, but Chris Paul went without a basket for only the fourth time in his -career, finishing 0 of 9 from the floor.
He finished with four points and 15 assists.
HEAT 103, NUGGETS 98
In Miami, LeBron James scored 33 points and Dwyane Wade had 32 as Miami never trailed.
Chris Bosh finished with his fifth straight double-double, 18 points and 11 rebounds. However, the Heat may have taken a significant hit when starting point guard Mario Chalmers was carried off the floor late in the first quarter with what was preliminarily diagnosed as a sprained right knee.
Chalmers, who has started 27 straight games since Jan. 22, was to be re-examined yesterday.
J.R. Smith had 27 points and Danilo Gallinari finished with 23 for Denver.
SPURS 109, BOBCATS 98
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan took his first game off all season, while Steve Novak scored 19 points, helping San Antonio to the victory.
The Spurs let the 34-year-old Duncan rest a night after they -really needed him in a win over Dallas.
Gerald Henderson led Charlotte with 19 points. Stephen Jackson, the Bobcats’ leading scorer, didn’t play because of a strained hamstring.
GRIZZLIES 99, PACERS 78
In Memphis, Tennessee, Tony Allen had 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead Memphis to an easy win.
Zach Randolph added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, who moved one-and-a-half games ahead of idle Utah for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Mike Conley also had 17 points to go along with nine assists.
Danny Granger and Darren Collison led the Pacers with 17 points each, while Tyler Hansbrough had 14 points.
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