Zach Randolph had 26 points and 15 rebounds against his former team as the Memphis Grizzlies overcame the first-quarter ejection of shooting guard Tony Allen to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 106-102 on Monday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series.
Marc Gasol had 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to help put the Grizzlies (6-5) over .500 for the first time this season. Mike Conley scored eight of his 15 points during a four-minute span in the fourth quarter.
Blake Griffin had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers. Chris Paul had 18 points and 11 assists for his 11th straight double-double, the most by any player from the start of a season since Magic Johnson in 1990-1991.
Allen was charged with a flagrant-two foul with 1 minute, 51 seconds left in the opening quarter after he lifted his left leg in a vain attempt to impede Paul’s drive to the basket and kicked him in the face. Allen walked over to Paul at the foul line to apologize, while referees Bill Kennedy, Mark Ayotte and John Goble watched the replay at the official scorer’s table to determine the severity of the foul.
TRAIL BLAZERS 108, NETS 98
In New York, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points, while Wesley Matthews added 24 as Portland earned their seventh straight victory.
Damian Lillard finished with 19 points and nine assists as the Trail Blazers withstood the Nets’ blistering start to win seven in a row in the same season for the first time since a 13-game run in December 2007.
Portland (9-2) is just a half-game behind San Antonio and Indiana for the NBA’s best record. The Blazers will try to complete a perfect 4-0 road trip today at Milwaukee.
Shaun Livingston scored 23 points for the Nets, who stormed out to their best first quarter of the season and then seemed to run out of fuel against the younger Trail Blazers. Kevin Garnett made all six shots in the 40-point first period, then went two-for-13 from there to finish with a season-high 16 points.
BULLS 86, BOBCATS 81
In Chicago, Luol Deng scored 21 points as the Bulls overcame a rough shooting night to record their fifth straight win.
Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 17 rebounds for Chicago, who are on their longest winning streak since taking eight in a row from Feb. 20 to March 7 last year. Jimmy Butler had 14 points and Derrick Rose finished with 12.
Deng’s three-pointer with 27.1 seconds remaining gave the Bulls an 85-81 lead. Gerald Henderson then missed for the Bobcats and Rose had a free throw to help Chicago wrap it up.
Rose, who hit a career-high six three-pointers in the Bulls’ 110-94 win on Saturday over Indiana, went four-for-13 from the field. The Bulls shot 27 of 75 (36 percent) overall.
Jeffery Taylor led Charlotte with a career-high 20 points, while Henderson had 16.
THUNDER 115, NUGGETS 113
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 38 points, while Russell Westbrook had 30 points and 12 rebounds as Oklahoma City rallied for the win.
Westbrook also had seven assists in a terrific all-around game that helped Oklahoma City erase a 14-point deficit in the second half. Reggie Jackson added 14 points.
With the score tied at 105, Serge Ibaka pulled down an offensive rebound and found Durant for a three-pointer that put Oklahoma City (7-3) ahead to stay. Jeremy Lamb and Derek Fisher each hit a pair of free throws in the final 14 seconds to help the Thunder hold on.
Ty Lawson led Denver (4-6) with 29 points and eight assists. J.J. Hickson had 18 points and 19 rebounds.
MAVERICKS 97, 76ERS 94
In Dallas, Monta Ellis scored 24 points, including 13 in the third quarter, when Dallas took their first lead.
Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion had 20 points apiece for the Mavericks, who began a stretch of seven of nine games in Dallas. Nowitzki had 10 rebounds, while Marion chipped in seven.
Ellis had 19 points in the second half and added a game-high 10 assists and two of Dallas’ 11 blocked shots.
Two nights after a 35-point loss in New Orleans, the Sixers held the Mavericks scoreless for the first five minutes and led by 10 in the first half.
Even after losing their lead for good late in the third quarter, Philadelphia stayed close behind Evan Turner, Tony Wroten and some late three-pointers from James Anderson.
Turner had 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Wroten had 19 points and five steals.
WARRIORS 98, JAZZ 87
In Salt Lake City, Stephen Curry scored 22 points for Golden State, while Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes had 17 apiece in the Warriors’ victory.
Curry had eight assists and made four three-pointers before leaving in the fourth quarter after Utah’s Marvin Williams landed on his head in a scramble for a loose ball. After a couple of minutes to gain his bearings, Curry got up and left the court under his own power with a towel draped over his head.
Curry is expected to be ready for today’s home game against Memphis.
The Warriors made 12 of 22 attempts from three-point range and led by as many as 28 points.
Gordon Hayward scored 18 points and Williams had 16, but the Jazz (1-11) dropped their third straight after earning their lone win of the season.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care