Brandon Knight scored 17 points, and Kyle Singler and Tayshaun Prince had 15 apiece as the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-79 on Monday night for their fifth straight home win.
Detroit is 1-10 on the road, but 5-3 at home, and the Pistons have recovered a bit after losing their first eight games of the season. They beat Phoenix by 40 last week in their previous home game, and the victory over Cleveland was not really as close as the score indicated.
Detroit led 56-39 at halftime after holding the Cavaliers to 29 percent shooting.
Cleveland was without guard Dion Waiters, who sat out with a sprained left ankle. Anderson Varejao had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Cavs.
TRAIL BLAZERS 118, BOBCATS 112
In Charlotte, North Carolina, LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Luke Babbitt hit a pair of clutch three-pointers and Portland overcame an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Charlotte in overtime Monday night.
The Blazers trailed 97-79 with 5:17 left in regulation, but stormed back to tie the score and sent it into overtime on Babbitt’s three with 22 seconds left.
Charlotte had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Kemba Walker’s drive and fall-away jumper from the baseline did not fall.
Damian Lillard scored 24 points and Nicolas Batum added 17 points for the Blazers, who finished a road trip with two straight wins.
Ben Gordon set a franchise record with eight three-pointers — all after halftime — for the Bobcats, who dropped their fourth straight game. Gordon finished with 29 points to surpass 10,000 for his NBA career.
MAGIC 102, WARRIORS 94
In Oakland, California, Glen Davis and Arron Afflalo scored 24 points apiece, and Orlando outlasted Golden State for their second straight victory.
A night after an emotional win against former franchise center Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando outscored Golden State 33-25 to pull away in the fourth quarter. J.J. Redick had 10 of his 22 points in the fourth and Nikola Vucevic finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds to help the Magic begin their five-game west coast trip 2-0.
Stephen Curry had 25 points and 11 assists and David Lee added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, who were going for their first four-game winning streak under coach Mark Jackson. Instead, they had their five-game home winning streak snapped as they head on the road for a season-long seven-game trip.
HORNETS 102, BUCKS 81
In New Orleans, Louisiana, Ryan Anderson scored 22 points, Robin Lopez added 21 and New Orleans won for only the second time in 11 games.
Lopez shot eight of 10 from the field and made all five free throws he attempted. He also scored 11 straight points during a pivotal 13-0 run in the third quarter that gave New Orleans the lead for good.
Jason Smith added 12 points and Greivis Vasquez had 11 for the Hornets, who shot 52.4 percent.
NUGGETS 113, RAPTORS 110
In Denver, Colorado, Corey Brewer scored 19 points, JaVale McGee had 17 points and five blocks, and Denver withstood a late rally to beat Toronto.
Andrea Bargnani scored 23 points for Toronto and Kyle Lowry had 24, including 12 in the fourth quarter when the Raptors cut a 17-point lead to one with 2:18 left.
Ty Lawson, who finished with 16 points, hit a three-pointer and Toronto missed their next three shots as Denver built a 110-104 cushion. Lowry hit another three with 14 seconds left, and after two free throws from Andre Iguodala, Amir Johnson hit a three with 7.9 seconds remaining to make it 112-110.
Kenneth Faried hit one of two free throws with 5.8 seconds left and DeMar DeRozan missed a long three at the buzzer.
Faried had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Six players scored in double figures for Denver.
CLIPPERS 105, JAZZ 104
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Blake Griffin scored 30 points, Jamal Crawford added 20 off the bench and Los Angeles handed Utah their first loss at home this season.
Crawford made a pair of free throws late and ex-Clipper Randy Foye countered with a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining. However, Foye’s desperation 3 after stealing the ensuing inbounds pass missed its mark.
Mo Williams led the Jazz against his former team with 20 points and 12 assists. Foye added 19 points and Al Jefferson had 16 points and 10 rebounds but had a layup blocked by DeAndre Jordan with 26 seconds left that would have tied the score at 101.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
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Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was