The Chicago Bulls put together a 19-0 points run spanning the second and third quarters to overturn a deficit and beat the Brooklyn Nets 96-85 on Saturday, closing within three games of the NBA Central Division lead.
Joakim Noah had 21 points and 10 rebounds while Carlos Boozer scored 20 points for the Bulls, who began the month on a winning note after going 5-8 last month, just their second losing month in 2.5 seasons under coach Tom Thibodeau.
Also on Saturday, Philadelphia ended a seven-game skid by beating Golden State, Milwaukee downed Toronto in overtime and Portland earned only their second win in almost a month by defeating Minnesota.
Photo: Reuters
Chicago’s Noah followed up the third triple-double of his career with another terrific performance that also included four blocks. He committed five turnovers, but it was an impressive follow-up to Thursday’s gem, when he had 23 points, 21 rebounds and a career-high 11 blocks in a win over Philadelphia.
Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 22 points — 14 in the first quarter.
Philadelphia’s Evan Turner had 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, while Jrue Holiday scored 27 as the 76ers won 104-97 against the Golden State Warriors.
The Sixers are 5.5 games behind Milwaukee for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 25 games left.
Stephen Curry scored 30 for the Warriors, who have lost four in a row.
Milwaukee’s Monta Ellis scored six of his 23 points in overtime and Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings added five apiece in the extra period to spark the Bucks to a 122-114 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 24 points and J.J. Hickson added 18 points and 16 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-96.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS