Kobe Bryant scored 34 points, while playing much of the second half in obvious pain with an injured left leg, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied in the final minutes without him to stay in the NBA playoff race with a 118-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
Immediately after the game, the Lakers announced Bryant probably had a torn tendon. He was to have an MRI scan yesterday, but Bryant knows the injury is likely to end his season.
The fifth-leading scorer in NBA history stayed in the game until 3:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, despite injuring his leg early in the second half. Bryant apparently hyperextended his knee, before tearing his tendon later in the half.
Photo: EPA
Stephen Curry scored 47 points in a dynamic performance for the Warriors, but Los Angeles played just enough late defense to hang on for a crucial win.
Los Angeles stayed one game ahead of Utah for the eighth playoff spot in the NBA Western Conference with two games to go. The Jazz hold the tiebreaker.
GRIZZLIES 82, ROCKETS 78
In Houston, Texas, Marc Gasol had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Memphis ended a 13-game losing streak in Houston.
Zach Randolph scored 15 points and Jerryd Bayless had 13 for the Grizzlies, who won in Houston for the first time since April 2006.
James Harden scored 30 points, but missed a potential game-tying jumper from near the top of the key just before the buzzer.
Memphis has won seven of eight games, while the Rockets lost for the third time in 11 home games.
HEAT 109, CELTICS 101
In Miami, LeBron James scored 20 points in 29 minutes and Rashard Lewis added 19 as Miami topped Boston to match the franchise record for home wins in a season.
Dwyane Wade, back after missing six games with bone bruises around his right kneecap, scored 11 in 34 minutes for Miami, who won their 35th home game to match the standard set in 2004-2005.
The Heat erased an early 13-point deficit with a 41-point second quarter, shooting 16 for 19 in the period. Miami also made 12 three-pointers to push their season total to 686, another team record.
Jeff Green scored 25 for Boston, who played without Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics’ bench was outscored 52-14.
JAZZ 107, TIMBERWOLVES 100
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Al Jefferson tied a career high with 40 points, including a clutch jumper with 39 seconds left, to power Utah past Minnesota.
Jefferson scored 19 points on nine-of-11 shooting in the third to turn a seven-point deficit into an 82-81 lead entering the fourth. His 14-footer as the shot clock expired gave Utah a 101-98 lead with 39 seconds remaining.
NETS 117, PACERS 109
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Deron Williams had 33 points and 14 assists as Brooklyn defeated Indiana to secure home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson each had 24 points for the Nets, who have won four of their last five games.
David West had 26 points and nine rebounds and Paul George had 21 for the Pacers, who have lost three of four.
The Nets are guaranteed the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and pulled within two games of the Pacers for No. 3.
KNICKS 101, CAVALIERS 91
In Cleveland, Ohio, Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and 14 rebounds in just three quarters as New York bounced back after having their winning streak stopped at 13 games one night earlier.
Anthony’s streak of scoring at least 35 points ended at six games as New York coach Mike Woodson chose to rest the All-Star forward the entire fourth quarter.
In other NBA play, it was:
‧ Hawks 109, Bucks 104
‧ Spurs 108, Kings 101
‧ Mavericks 108, Nuggets, 105
‧ Thunder 106, Trail Blazers 90
‧ Raptors 97, Bulls 88
‧ Clippers 96, Hornets 93
‧ 76ers 97, Wizards 86
‧ Pistons 113, Bobcats 93
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set