Kobe Bryant scored 40 points and Andrew Bynum blocked Al Jefferson’s shot with 1.9 seconds left in overtime to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 90-87 victory over Utah on Wednesday.
Paul Millsap’s tip-in tied it at 78-78 with 21 seconds left in regulation, then Bryant missed a shot at the buzzer that would have won it in regulation for Los Angeles.
Millsap scored the first four points of overtime, but the Lakers fought back, with three-pointers by Bryant and Pau Gasol. The Jazz had a chance to win it, but Bynum blocked Jefferson’s short jumper.
Photo: EPA
Millsap led Utah with 29 points.
MAVERICKS 90, CELTICS 85
In Boston, Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points, driving past Kevin Garnett for the go-ahead layup with 5.1 seconds left in Dallas’ victory over Boston.
Dallas led most of the game, but Paul Pierce hit a three-pointer — just his second basket of the night — to tie it at 85 with 25 seconds to play. Former Celtic Delonte West dribbled the clock down to about 10 seconds before giving it to Nowitzki. The NBA finals most valuable player (MVP) cut to the basket past Garnett and picked up a foul from Brandon Bass while floating the ball into the basket.
Rajon Rondo scored 24 points for Boston and Garnett had 16 points with 10 rebounds.
BULLS 78, WIZARDS 64
In Chicago, John Lucas III scored a career-high 25 points filling in for injured Derrick Rose as Chicago beat Washington for their third victory in three nights.
Lucas, starting for the first time in his 70-game NBA career, was at the point in place of MVP Rose, who was out with a sprained toe. Kyle Korver added 14 points, and Luol Deng had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Jordan Crawford had 14 points for Washington.
THUNDER 95, HORNETS 85
In New Orleans, Kevin Durant had 29 points and 10 rebounds in Oklahoma City’s win over New Orleans.
Durant hit 11 of his last 14 shots after missing his first three. He took over in the third quarter, scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes to help the Thunder extend a two-point halftime lead to 12 points. The Hornets pulled within four early in the fourth, but never threatened after that.
Russell Westbrook had 22 points and seven assists, and James Harden added 14 points for Oklahoma City.
KNICKS 85, 76ERS 79
In New York, Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and nine rebounds as New York won their fourth straight game and snapped Philadelphia’s six-game winning streak.
Amare Stoudemire added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Josh Harrellson had 13 desperately needed points from the bench to help the Knicks improve to 6-4 — the first time they have been two games over .500 this season.
Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner each scored 16 points for the 76ers.
SPURS 101, ROCKETS 95, OT
In San Antonio, Tony Parker hit four free throws late in overtime to lift San Antonio past Houston.
Parker scored 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting to lead the Spurs. Tim Duncan had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard added 11 points.
Kyle Lowry scored 22 points for Houston, and Luis Scola had 20. Kevin Martin added 18, and Patrick Patterson had 10 points and seven rebounds.
PACERS 96, HAWKS 84
In Indianapolis, Danny Granger scored 24 points to break out of a shooting slump, and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead Indiana past Atlanta.
The Pacers improved to 7-3, matching their best start since 2005-2006. Indiana are 4-0 at home for the first time since winning their first seven home games in 2002-2003.
Josh Smith led Atlanta with 16 points, and Joe Johnson had 15.
KINGS 98, RAPTORS 91
In Toronto, Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 29 points, and DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds to help Sacramento beat Toronto for their first road victory of the season.
Isaiah Thomas scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Jimmer Fredette had 10 for the Kings.
Leandro Barbosa scored a season-high 24 points for Toronto.
NUGGETS 123, NETS 115
In Denver, Danilo Gallinari scored 22 points, and Arron Afflalo and Corey Brewer each had 19 as Denver beat New Jersey.
Jordan Farmar had a game-high 26 points, Anthony Morrow scored 23 points and Deron Williams had 16 points and 13 assists for New Jersey.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Clippers 95, Heat 89
‧ Magic 107, Trail Blazers 104
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