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.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and