Dwight Howard broke Wilt Chamberlain’s nearly 50-year-old NBA record for the most free-throw attempts in a game, making 21 of 39 in the Orlando Magic’s 117-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.
The Warriors hacked Howard intentionally throughout, sending the notoriously poor shooter to the line in record-setting fashion. Chamberlain shot 34 for the Philadelphia Warriors against St Louis on Feb. 22, 1962.
Howard finished with 45 points and 23 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to propel the Magic to their third straight victory. Monta Ellis had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and David Lee added 26 points and 12 rebounds for the short-handed Warriors, playing without starters Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright.
Howard had never shot more than 24 free throws in a game — which he had four times previously — and fouled so early.
CAVALIERS 101, SUNS 90
In Phoenix, rookie star Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 26 points and Antawn Jamison matched his season high with 23, helping Cleveland beat Phoenix.
Irving, who played only 11 games at Duke before being drafted first overall, topped his previous high of 21. Anderson Varejeo contributed 15 rebounds.
Steve Nash led six Suns players in double figures with 16 points, becoming the 15th active player to reach 16,000 points. He also had 15 assists. Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix.
Michael Redd, playing his first game for Phoenix, had 12 points in 19 minutes.
GRIZZLIES 94, KNICKS 83
In Memphis, Tennessee, Rudy Gay scored a season-high 26 points as Memphis beat New York to end their winning streak at four games.
The Knicks played most of the second half without scoring leader Carmelo Anthony after he sprained his right ankle early in the third period. He did not return and X-rays were negative.
Gay made 11 of 16 shots to help the Grizzlies snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 4-6. O.J. Mayo scored 18 points, also a season high, on 7-of-12 shooting and had eight rebounds. Tony Allen added 12 points, and Marc Gasol had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Anthony and Bill Walker each scored 14 points to lead the Knicks (6-5). Rookie guard Iman Shumpert had 12 points, but was 5 of 20 from the field.
HAWKS 111, BOBCATS 81
In Atlanta, Josh Smith scored 30 points and Joe Johnson added 23 as Atlanta won their first game without All-Star center Al Horford, routing Charlotte to improve to 8-4.
The Hawks learned earlier in the day that Horford, a leader on and off the court, will miss at least three months after tearing the pectoral muscle in his left shoulder on Wednesday night in Indiana.
Byron Mullens led the Bobcats with 21 points in his first start.
BUCKS 102, PISTONS 93
In Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and Stephen Jackson added 25 as Milwaukee beat Detroit.
The Bucks improved to 4-0 at home and 4-6 overall, while the Pistons dropped to 2-9 with their sixth straight loss and fifth in a row on the road. Detroit last lost six straight from March 13-April 3, 2010.
Rookie Jon Leuer, making his first start for the Bucks, added 15 points and six rebounds.
Greg Monroe led the Pistons with a career-high 32 points and had 16 rebounds.
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