Joe Johnson broke out of a slump with 23 points against his former team as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks 91-86 on Monday for their third straight victory.
Elsewhere in the NBA, the Minnesota Timberwolves ended the Philadelphia 76ers’ four-game winning streak with a 126-95 victory and the Los Angeles Clippers, playing without the injured Chris Paul, routed the Orlando Magic 101-81.
Bosnian star Mirza Teletovic scored 16 points and Alan Anderson added 14 points starting in place of the injured Deron Williams as the Nets moved to 2-0 on a four-game homestand that finishes with visits from Golden State today and Miami on Friday.
Photo: AFP
Despite yet another injury to a key player, the Nets look ready to test themselves against those powerful teams after matching their three consecutive victories last year between Dec. 7 and Dec. 12.
Paul Millsap scored 16 points for the Hawks, who lost their third in a row to equal their worst stretch of the season.
The teams meet again on Jan. 16 in London in what is considered a home game for the Hawks.
Minnesota’s Kevin Love scored 16 of his 26 points in a dominant third quarter and Nikola Pekovic had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves.
Kevin Martin scored 18 points and Corey Brewer had 15 to help the Timberwolves move back to .500 (17-17).
Thaddeus Young scored 20 points for the Sixers, who had won the final four games of a six-game road trip.
Meanwhile, the Clippers enjoyed one of their best defensive efforts of the season after surrendering 70 first-half points in each of their previous two games against Dallas and San Antonio.
Darren Collison scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half and had seven assists in his second start at point guard since Paul separated his right shoulder in Friday’s win at Dallas last week.
He is expected to be sidelined for at least six weeks.
Blake Griffin had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and DeAndre Jordan added 17 rebounds and 14 points.
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