Tony Parker scored 30 points and Manu Ginobili added 24 to help the San Antonio Spurs overcome a lethargic performance and beat the Orlando Magic 121-112 on Saturday night.
Kawhi Leonard added 17 points, Tiago Splitter scored 14, Danny Green netted 12 and Tim Duncan had 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Spurs (46-16) extended their winning streak to six games.
Tobias Harris scored 23 points, Nikola Vucevic added 19 and had 13 rebounds, while Arron Afflalo had 17 points for Orlando (19-45), who were swept in the season series.
Coming off an emotional high after roaring to a 111-87 victory over Miami two nights earlier in an NBA Finals rematch, San Antonio appeared listless against the Southeast Division’s last-placed team.
A Magic side led by former Spurs player and assistant Jacque Vaughn gave the Spurs a tense evening before they closed it out late.
Ginobili lured E’Twaun Moore into hitting his right triceps as he rose for an off-balance, fallaway, 14-foot jumper.
The Argentine guard made the free throw to complete the three-point play and give San Antonio a 114-104 lead with 2 minutes, 34 seconds remaining.
Leonard followed with a breakaway dunk off a turnover and Parker nailed a three-pointer to put the Spurs up 119-104 with just less than 2 minutes left.
In Milwaukee, Bradley Beal scored 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Washington Wizards avoid blowing a 28-point lead and beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-107.
Washington opened a 71-43 lead in the second quarter, but the Bucks cut the deficit to 104-101 on a pair of free throws by Ersan Ilyasova with 2:13 to go.
Beal scored on a driving layup and hit a baseline three-pointer to give the Wizards a 109-101 lead with two minutes left on their way to winning their eighth in nine.
In the Staples Center, Blake Griffin had 27 points and eight rebounds, while Chris Paul added 19 points — including a lead-taking layup in the last minute — in the Clippers’ narrow 109-108 victory over the Atlanta Hawks that was their season-high seventh straight win.
The Pacific Division-leading Clippers got 13 points and 12 rebounds from DeAndre Jordan, in addition to 17 points from Matt Barnes on the eve of his 34th birthday..
DeMarre Carroll scored 19 points in Atlanta’s 14th loss in 15 games and sixth in a row.
In other NBA action, Carmelo Anthony shook off a horrid shooting start to score 26 and lead the New York Knicks to their third straight victory in a 107-97 defeat of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Elsewhere on Saturday, the Utah Jazz beat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-92 and the Memphis Grizzlies easily overcame the Charlotte Bobcats 111-89.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
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