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.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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