Dwight Howard had 24 points and 17 rebounds, while James Harden scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter in Houston’s comeback 107-98 win over New Orleans.
Chandler Parsons added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Terrence Jones had 17 points and eight rebounds to help the Rockets win their third straight game and snap New Orleans’ winning streak at two.
Jeremy Lin scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, and the Rockets made three of five three-point attempts in the quarter after going three-of-21 from long range in the first three periods.
Houston were 25-of-32 from the free throw line, while the Pelicans went six-of-eight.
Ryan Anderson had 22 points and 12 rebounds for New Orleans. Anthony Davis added 18 points and 16 rebounds.
RAPTORS 115, KNICKS 100
In Toronto, Kyle Lowry had a season-best 32 points and 11 assists, while Terrence Ross made a career-high seven three-pointers as Toronto beat short-handed New York for the second straight night.
Lowry came within two rebounds of a triple-double and Ross had 23 points as Toronto won for the fourth time in five games.
PACERS 105, NETS 91
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Paul George scored 24 points and Lance Stephenson added 23 to lead the Indiana Pacers to a victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.
George Hill finished with 21 points for the Pacers, who put five players in double figures and pulled away with a third-quarter burst.
Roy Hibbert scored 11 and David West 10 for Indiana, who lead the Eastern Conference at 23-6. Stephenson also had nine rebounds and seven assists.
Paul Pierce scored 18 points for the Nets.
CELTICS 103, CAVALIERS 100
In Boston, Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford each scored 19 points to help Boston hold off Cleveland.
Brandon Bass added 15 points and a game-saving block in the closing seconds for the Celtics, who led by 19 entering the final quarter and held a 10-point edge with four-and-a-half minutes to play.
Before the game, the Cavaliers suspended center Andrew Bynum indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team and banned him from all team-related activities. Bynum, who signed a two-year, US$24 million contract with the Cavaliers in July, did not travel with the club to Boston and it’s likely he has played his final game for Cleveland.
Avery Bradley added 18 points and eight rebounds for Boston, who snapped a three-game skid. Bass also had eight boards.
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points for the Cavaliers, who lost their fourth straight.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Wizards 106 Pistons 82
‧ Hawks 118, Bobcats 116, OT
‧ Mavericks 105, Bulls 83
‧ Grizzlies 120, Nuggets 99
‧ Timberwolves 117, Bucks 95
‧ Suns 115, 76ers 101
‧ Heat 108, Trail Blazers 107
‧ Clippers 98, Jazz 90
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later