The Chicago Bulls continue to thrive in the absence of league MVP Derrick Rose and cemented their place at the top of the Eastern Conference with a suffocating 85-59 road win over the Orlando Magic on Monday.
The Bulls are 10-4 without Rose, who has missed four straight games with a groin injury. Carlos Boozer scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds, while reserve point guard John Lucas put up 20 points to pick up the slack.
The 59 points scored by Orlando were the fewest allowed by Chicago in any regular-season game. The Bulls’ previous record low points allowed was 62 in 1997.
Photo: Reuters
Lucas said Rose was an influence even when he was not on the court.
Chicago (38-10) have built a three-game lead in the conference over Miami, who they beat 106-102 last week.
The Bulls raced to a 15-point lead against Orlando and dominated the fourth by outscoring the home team 25-11.
Dwight Howard recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds, but the Magic (29-18) could not get their offense on track and lost for the third time in four games.
Howard’s renewed commitment to the Magic was expected to settle the team after he waived the opt-out clause in his contract last week that would have allowed him to become a free agent after this season.
However, his decision has failed to provide the Magic with a spark.
CELTICS 79, HAWKS 76
In Atlanta, Georgia, Ray Allen hit two three-pointers in Boston’s 13-0 run in the fourth quarter and protected the lead with two free throws in the final seconds as the Boston -Celtics held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
The Celtics led 73-58 at the end of the run. Joe Johnson, who had 25 points, had three late three-pointers as the Hawks rallied. Johnson’s three with 11.8 seconds remaining cut the lead to 77-76.
Allen, who had 19 points, made two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining.
Jeff Teague launched an air ball on Atlanta’s final possession.
Kevin Garnett had 16 points, while Rajon Rondo had 10 points, 13 assists and six steals for Boston.
76ERS 105, BOBCATS 80
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Jrue Holiday had 20 points and six assists as first-placed Philadelphia defeated Charlotte to end a three-game losing streak and sweep the three-game season series between the teams.
Holiday, coming off a career-high 30 points in Saturday night’s loss at Chicago, was eight-of-13 shooting from the field and made all four shots from the free-throw line.
Thaddeus Young also had 20 points and Louis Williams chipped in with 19 for the 76ers.
Gerald Henderson had 14 points for the Bobcats, who failed to win back-to-back games for the first time this season.
CAVALIERS 105, NETS 100
In Newark, New Jersey, Tristan Thompson scored a career-high 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and gave Cleveland the lead with a tip-in with 1 minute, 11 seconds to play in a win over New Jersey.
Fellow rookie Kyrie Irving added 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak and sent the Nets to their third straight loss.
Newcomer Gerald Wallace had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead New Jersey. Deron Williams added 28 points, but threw the ball away with roughly 16 seconds to play when he passed up a three-point attempt to make a pass underneath with New Jersey down 103-100.
TIMBERWOLVES 97, WARRIORS 93
In Oakland, California, Kevin Love banked in a 16-foot jump shot with four minutes left, then added an insurance tip-in off a miss by J.J. Barea to help Minnesota keep their dimming playoff hopes alive.
Love finished with 36 points and 17 rebounds for his 39th double-double of the season.
Luke Ridnour added 11 points and 10 assists, while Anthony Tolliver scored 10 points off the bench, all in the fourth quarter for the Timberwolves.
In other NBA play, it was:
‧ Mavericks 112, Nuggets 95
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