Manu Ginobili scored 22 points, while Tony Parker had 20 as the league-leading San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls 104-96 on Tuesday.
Kawhi Leonard added 16 for San Antonio, who won their seventh straight and 10th in their past 11. The Spurs (47-16) maintained their hold on the NBA’s best record, staying ahead of Oklahoma City and Indiana, who both started play on Tuesday a half-game behind the Spurs.
San Antonio jumped out to a big lead early, taking a 61-33 advantage into halftime, including 18 from Parker. That helped them improve to 24-6 on the road — the NBA’s best mark away from home.
D.J. Augustin led the Bulls with 24 points and Jimmy Butler had 23.
THUNDER 106, ROCKETS 98
In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Kevin Durant scored 42 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Houston Rockets.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and got the best of nemesis Patrick Beverley. During last year’s playoffs, Beverley dived for the ball and ran into Westbrook’s right knee as a timeout was being called, causing the injury that ended Westbrook’s season and cost him about half of this season. It was their first meeting since the incident.
Serge Ibaka had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Thunder, who had lost two straight.
Former Thunder guard James Harden scored 28 points.
PISTONS 99, KINGS 89
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Josh Smith scored 24 points, while Rodney Stuckey added 23 to lift the Detroit Pistons over the Sacramento Kings.
Andre Drummond added 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, outscoring DeMarcus Cousins in a matchup of two of the NBA’s top young big men. Cousins had 13 points and 14 rebounds, but shot five-of-15 from the field.
Detroit trailed 54-52 at halftime, but outscored the Kings 20-11 in the third quarter.
Rudy Gay scored 20 points, while Isaiah Thomas added 19 points and eight assists for Sacramento.
The Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak and pulled to within three games of Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
PACERS 94, CELTICS 83
In Indianapolis, Indiana, David West scored 24 points and Andrew Bynum grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds in his Pacers debut, helping suddenly struggling Indiana pull away late for a win over Boston.
Indiana (47-17) ended their longest losing streak of the season at four. Paul George added 12 points as the Pacers extended their Eastern Conference lead to 1.5 games over two-time defending champions Miami in the East.
Boston (22-42) were led by Jared Sullinger with 17 points and Kris Humphries with 15 as its two-game winning streak ended.
Bynum played just 15 minutes, but his first basket gave Indiana a 16-14 lead and the Pacers never trailed again.
TIMBERWOLVES 112, BUCKS 101
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Kevin Love had 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and J.J. Barea broke out of a horrid shooting slump to score 19 points to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Milwaukee Bucks.
After going five-for-25 in his previous three games, Barea hit seven of 10 shots to help wake the sluggish Wolves up and Kevin Martin scored 26 points to help them finish a four-game homestand at 2-2.
Brandon Knight scored 21 points for the Bucks (13-51), who led at halftime and were looking for their first set of back-to-back victories this season. However, after scoring 61 points in the first half and leading by 11 points in the second quarter, the Bucks were outscored 19-4 to start the fourth quarter.
GRIZZLIES 109, TRAIL BLAZERS 99
In Memphis, Tennessee, Marc Gasol scored 19 points, and Zach Randolph added 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies solidified their hold on the final Western Conference playoff spot with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Mike Conley added 17 points and Courtney Lee finished with 16, including helping the Grizzlies extend their lead in the third quarter.
Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 32 points.
WARRIORS 108, MAVERICKS 85
In Oakland, California, Jordan Crawford scored 19 points, and Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 10 rebounds as the surging Golden State Warriors routed the Dallas Mavericks for their fifth straight win.
Klay Thompson added 14 points to help the Warriors go ahead by 24 points early in the fourth quarter and create more space behind them in the crowded Western Conference standings.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
RSS