Kobe Bryant hit a baseline jump shot with 4.2 seconds left as the Los Angeles Lakers wrapped up a six-game road trip by holding on to beat the Raptors 94-92 on Sunday, their eighth victory in nine meetings with Toronto.
Bryant, who scored 27 points, took an inbound pass from Metta World Peace and shot over the outstretched arms of James Johnson to deny the Raptors, who battled back after trailing by as many as 18.
Bryant made one of two from the line to put the Lakers up by two with 3.7 seconds left. Jose Calderon, who scored a career-high 30 points, inbounded to DeMar DeRozan for the final possession, but he airballed his potential tying shot at the buzzer.
Photo: Reuters
CELTICS 95, BULLS 91
In Boston, Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds to lead Boston over Chicago, who were without their star guard Derrick Rose.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 rebounds, reserve JaJuan Johnson had 12 points and Ray Allen 11 for the Celtics, who snapped a two-game skid. Rondo had season highs in both points and assists.
Photo: Reuters
C.J. Watson, who started in Rose’s spot, scored 22 points for the Bulls, whose win streak ended at five in the finale of a 6-3 road trip. Carlos Boozer also scored 22 and pulled down seven rebounds.
WIZARDS 98, PISTONS 77
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, JaVale McGee had 22 points and eight rebounds and John Wall dished out 15 assists as Washington routed Detroit.
Detroit entered on a season-best four-game winning streak, but saw it end when the Wizards went on a 22-2 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters.
Nick Young added 22 points for the Wizards. Greg Monroe had a game-high 27 for Detroit.
HEAT 107, HAWKS 87
In Atlanta, LeBron James scored 23 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 as Miami blew out Atlanta after racing to a 22-point lead at halftime.
The Heat made a big statement in the Southeast Division against the second-place Hawks, leading by as many as 32 in what turned into nothing more than a showcase for Miami’s Big Three.
By halftime, Wade already had 21 points, James was rolling along with 14 points and nine rebounds and Chris Bosh put a double-double in the books with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Bosh finished with 14 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. James grabbed 13 rebounds and doled out six assists. Wade had a couple of steals and blocked a shot.
WARRIORS 106, ROCKETS 97
In Oakland, California, Monta Ellis had 33 points and seven assists and David Lee added 15 points and 13 rebounds as Golden State beat Houston for their second straight victory over a Western Conference playoff contender.
Rookie reserve Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry had 14 points apiece and each made some big shots late to help the Warriors upset another top team. Golden State also won in Denver on Thursday night.
Kevin Martin started to break out of a recent shooting slump with 28 points and Luis Scola had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, whose three-game winning streak ended.
JAZZ 98, GRIZZLIES 88
In Memphis, Al Jefferson had 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and Gordon Hayward added 23 points as Utah snapped a three-game losing streak.
Hayward shot eight-for-12 from the field, part of a 51 percent shooting performance by the Jazz on the night. Paul Millsap finished with 16 for Utah, shooting 7 of 11. Raja Bell had 10 points.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 22 points, while Mike Conley (six assists) and Marc Gasol scored 17 apiece.
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