The Los Angeles Clippers took another step to come out of the shadows of the storied Los Angeles Lakers franchise by beating their Staples Center co-tenants and rivals 102-94 on Saturday.
Chris Paul exploded for 33 points, six assists and three steals and Blake Griffin finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers, who are in the midst of playing six of seven games at home.
Griffin also had five assists and Chauncey Billups scored 19 points.
Photo: AFP
The Clippers have been a different team since adding All-Star guard Paul this season. Heading into the contest, Paul was averaging 16.1 points and 8.8 assists per game.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers, posting his fourth-consecutive game of scoring 40 points or more.
Bryant finished with 42 points for the Lakers, who had their five-game win streak snapped. It was Bryant’s 111th 40-point game in his career.
The 16-time NBA champion Lakers won three of four contests against the Clippers last season and have won 16 of the past 22 meetings.
THUNDER 104, KNICKS 92
In Oklahoma City, the Thunder’s Kevin Durant scored 28 points Oklahoma City raced past the New York Knicks, notching their sixth straight NBA win.
James Harden added 24 off the bench and Russell Westbrook was on his way to his sixth career triple-double with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists before coach Scott Brooks pulled his All-Stars with the hosts up by 30 points late in the third quarter.
New York played without Carmelo Anthony because of a sprained ankle and injured wrist, but it was the Knicks’ defense that went missing.
Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City scored 70 points in the first half and kept their starters on the bench throughout the fourth quarter for the third straight home game won in a blowout.
BULLS 77, RAPTORS 64
In Chicago, Derrick Rose had 18 points and 11 assists, leading Chicago over Toronto in a low-scoring encounter.
Rose keyed a seven-point burst to open the fourth period, assisting on three straight field goals.
Carlos Boozer added 17 points for Chicago, who won their fifth straight and improved to a league-best 12-2.
The Bulls are 5-0 at home for the first time since opening the 1996-1997 season with seven straight. Chicago has held their opponents to just 66.8 points game on home court.
DeMar DeRozan and Leandro Barbosa scored 15 points each for Toronto, who dropped their fourth straight.
HAWKS 93, TIMBERWOLVES 91
In Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Ivan Johnson hit the clinching free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining, completing Atlanta’s comeback from an 18-point deficit to beat Minnesota.
Kevin Love missed a potential game-tying jump shot at the buzzer, but finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota.
Jeff Teague added 20 points and 10 assists for the Hawks, who overcame a season-high 20 turnovers and losing Al Horford to a torn pectoral muscle that will sideline the starting center for three to four months.
ROCKETS 107, TRAIL BLAZERS 105, OT
In Houston, Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 33 points as Houston downed Portland in overtime.
Kevin Martin scored Houston’s final six points in overtime with a layup and four free throws over the final 32 seconds of the extra period. He finished with 28 points.
Nicolas Batum had a season-high 29 points to lead Portland.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Mavericks 99, Kings 60
‧ Jazz 107, Nets 94
‧ Pacers 97, Celtics 83
‧ 76ers 103, Wizards 90
‧ Grizzlies 108, Hornets 99
‧ Bobcats 112, Warriors 100
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
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite