Kyle Lowry scored 19 points, while Terrence Ross had 17 as the Toronto Raptors erased an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Orlando 104-100 on Tuesday and claim their ninth straight victory over the Magic.
DeMar DeRozan had 16 points and Lou Williams scored eight of his 14 in the fourth as the Eastern Conference leaders won their fifth straight game overall and improved to 7-1.
Ross grabbed the rebound on a potential tying jump shot by Tobias Harris with two seconds left. Toronto have won their first five home games for the first time since the 2003-2004 season.
Photo: AFP
Evan Fournier scored 24, while Harris had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando, who lost their second straight.
MAVERICKS 106, KINGS 98
In Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki became the highest-scoring NBA player born outside of the US, helping the Mavericks rally from 24 points down to beat the Kings.
Monta Ellis scored 10 of his 16 points in the third quarter, including a fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer after the Mavericks had taken their first lead in their 21st straight regular-season win at home against Sacramento.
Nowitzki passed Hakeem Olajuwon for ninth place on the all-time scoring list. The 2.14m-tall German finished with 23 for 26,953 career points, seven more than the Nigeria-born former star of the Houston Rockets.
Rudy Gay scored 26 to lead the Kings.
GRIZZLIES 107, LAKERS 102
In Memphis, Tennessee, Mike Conley scored 23 points and the Grizzlies finally got a strong effort from their struggling bench to beat the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers (1-6) with 28 points, but shot 10 of 26 from the field to surpass Boston Celtics great John Havlicek for most missed field shots in an NBA career.
Reserve guard Wayne Ellington was not with the Lakers after his father was killed on Sunday.
Backup guard Beno Udrih had 16 points for Memphis. Courtney Lee scored 15 as six Grizzlies finished in double figures, including Zach Randolph with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Memphis have won 17 straight regular-season home games since a February loss to Dallas.
BUCKS 85, THUNDER 78
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, O.J. Mayo scored 19 points, while Brandon Knight added 16 as the Bucks held off a late Oklahoma City rally to beat the Thunder.
Reggie Jackson had 29 points, nine above his season average, for Oklahoma City. Serge Ibaka added 14 as the Thunder fell to 0-5 on the road.
The Bucks led by five after three quarters and extended their lead to as much as 11 in the fourth. Oklahoma City cut the lead to four on two free-throws by Ibaka with 31 seconds left, but got no closer.
TRAIL BLAZERS 102, HORNETS 100
In Portland, Oregon, Damian Lillard had 29 points and the Trail Blazers trailed by as many as 23 points in the first half before rallying in the fourth quarter to beat the Hornets.
Charlotte’s Gary Neal made a layup at the final buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime, but the referees reversed the call after a review. LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won four of their past five games and improved to 5-1 at the Moda Center.
Al Jefferson scored 22 points, while Lance Stephenson had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets.
SPURS 113, WARRIORS 100
In Oakland, California, Tony Parker had 28 points and seven assists, while Kawhi Leonard scored 19 as the Spurs beat the Warriors.
The defending NBA champions played their aging Big Three — Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan — on consecutive nights to pull off California’s most difficult back-to-back. The Spurs rallied past the Clippers 89-85 on Monday, before cooling off one of the league’s hottest teams in Oakland.
Klay Thompson scored 29 points, while Harrison Barnes had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Warriors, who have lost two straight after a 5-0 start under new coach Steve Kerr.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and