Klay Thompson scored a career-high 41 points in his first game since signing a contract extension, teaming with backcourt star Stephen Curry to lead the Golden State Warriors past the winless Los Angeles Lakers 127-104 on Saturday.
Thompson, who inked a four-year maximum extension worth about US$70 million on Friday, shot 14 for 18 from the floor. Curry added 31 points and 10 assists, and the Warriors withstood Kobe Bryant’s big plays to thrill a blue-shirt wearing sellout crowd of 19,596 in the team’s home opener.
Bryant scored 19 of his 28 points in the third quarter and nearly brought the depleted Lakers back. Instead, Los Angeles collapsed in the final quarter to lose their fourth game in five nights.
Photo: EPA
The Lakers are 0-4 for the first time since the 1957-1958 season, when the franchise was located in Minneapolis.
MAVERICKS 109, PELICANS 104
In New Orleans, Chandler Parsons scored 20 points as Dallas beat New Orleans.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 despite foul trouble, making a 12-foot fade over Anthony Davis that gave Dallas a 109-103 lead with 49 seconds left.
Monta Ellis also scored 17 for Dallas. Parsons’ performance was highlighted by a momentum-swinging three-pointer from well behind the arc that gave Dallas a 101-96 lead in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Davis had 31 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks for New Orleans.
HAWKS 102, PACERS 92
In Atlanta, Jeff Teague scored 25 points and Al Horford in the Hawks’ home opener against the Pacers.
Indiana closed to 95-92 when Donald Sloan was fouled in the corner by Horford and knocked down all three free throws with 1 minute, 13 seconds left. However, Teague answered with a jumper, Sloan missed and Teague made a pair of free throws with 26.6 seconds left to clinch the victory.
Teague scored 11 of Atlanta’s first 22 points and came up big at the end.
RAPTORS 108, MAGIC 95
In Orlando, Florida, DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points and Kyle Lowry added 21 as the Raptors beat the Magic for the eighth straight time.
The Raptors held the Magic to 35.8 percent shooting in the final quarter and put all five starters in double figures to win their second in a row.
Evan Fournier scored 18 points for the Magic, who have lost three straight. Rookie point guard Elfrid Payton had 16 points and nine assists.
HEAT 114, 76ERS 96
In Philadelphia, Chris Bosh had 30 points and eight rebounds for the Heat, who won their second straight.
Mario Chalmers scored 18 points, and Dwyane Wade had nine points and 10 assists.
Tony Wroten had 21 points and 10 assists for the Sixers, and Brandon Davies scored 18 points for the winless Sixers.
Expected to challenge the 82-game mark for worst record in NBA history, the Sixers are 0-3 and could add to that winless streak with three more home games in the next week.
WIZARDS 108, BUCKS 97
In Washington, Paul Pierce was ejected before halftime in his first home game with the Wizards, and Otto Porter picked up the slack with a career-high 21 points.
Starting the third quarter in place of Pierce, second-year forward Porter — essentially a nonfactor as a No. 3 overall draft pick as a rookie — scored 19 points in the second half and finished seven-for-11 from the field and six-for-seven from the free-throw line.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Grizzlies 71, Hornets 69
‧ Nets 102, Pistons 90
‧ Rockers 104, Celtics 90
‧ Thunder 102, Nuggets 91
‧ Bulls 106, Timberwolves 105
‧ Jazz 118, Suns 91
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was