Serge Ibaka tied his career best with 25 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds as Oklahoma City beat San Antonio 107-93 for their 11th straight win.
The Thunder took control with a string of 11 straight points during the third quarter, punctuated by Nick Collison’s put-back that made it 71-56 with 4 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in the period.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich kept his starters parked on the bench throughout the fourth quarter, even as San Antonio cut an 18-point lead in half with about 5 minutes left.
Tony Parker and Nando De Colo had 14 points apiece to lead the Spurs, who could have created a virtual tie for the best record with a win. Manu Ginobili did not play for the Spurs because he bruised his left quadriceps in Saturday’s win at Boston.
Russell Westbrook chipped in 22 points and nine assists, Kevin Martin scored 20 and Kevin Durant had 19 as Oklahoma City maintained sole possession of the best record in the NBA.
It was the teams’ first meeting in Oklahoma City since the Thunder overcame a 2-0 deficit in the Western Conference finals by winning the next four games. The Spurs drew a measure of revenge in the season opener by beating Oklahoma City on Parker’s jumper as time expired.
GRIZZLIES 80, BULLS 71
In Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Conley had 17 points, Zach Randolph added 10 points and 15 rebounds and Memphis overcame a poor start to beat Chicago.
Conley was six of 12 from the field and had four assists. Rudy Gay scored 12 points for the Grizzlies, but shot five of 13, continuing his slump. Wayne Ellington scored all 11 of his points in the second quarter, when the Grizzlies reserves provided a lift after Memphis shot poorly in the first period.
Carlos Boozer led the Bulls with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Marco Belinelli finished with 13 points.
Both teams shot just better than 37 percent. However, Memphis was six of 11 from three-point range compared to the Bulls hitting only two of 11 long-range shots.
CLIPPERS 88, PISTONS 76
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jamal Crawford scored 15 points and Chris Paul added 14 to lead Los Angeles past Detroit for their 10th straight win.
Blake Griffin had 15 points for the Clippers, who had five players in double figures.
Griffin had two breakaway dunks in the last 30 seconds, one on a pass banked off the backboard by Crawford.
Brandon Knight led the Pistons with 16 points and Tayshaun Prince added 15. Detroit have lost five straight.
MAGIC 102, TIMBERWOLVES 93
In Orlando, Florida, Glen Davis scored 28 points and J.J. Redick had 18 points and seven assists as Orlando beat Minnesota.
The Magic won their third straight and stopped the Timberwolves’ four-game winning streak. Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 11 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double, and Arron Afflalo scored 13 points.
Kevin Love led Minnesota with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Nikola Pekovic had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who led by 15 in the middle of the third quarter, but could not hang on.
SUNS 101, KINGS 90
In Phoenix, Arizona, Shannon Brown scored 14 of his 22 points in the third quarter, Jared Dudley added 20 points and the Phoenix Suns pulled off another big rally to beat the Sacramento Kings 101-90 on Monday night.
The Suns were out of sorts throughout the first half, scoring 43 points while trailing by up to 19. Brown helped them outscore Sacramento 31-14 in the third quarter and Dudley provided the cushion down the stretch to give Phoenix their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Luis Scola gave the Suns his usual hustle while scoring 14 points and dishing out a career-high 10 assists.
The Kings played well early, but faded down the stretch to lose their fourth straight game.
Jimmer Fredette had 22 points and Aaron Brooks added 12 for Sacramento.
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
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
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