Kobe Bryant scored 29 points, Wesley Johnson made key free throws down the stretch and the Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of Dwight Howard’s absence in a 98-92 victory over the Houston Rockets.
It was the second consecutive win for the Lakers following a 1-9 start.
Los Angeles used a 7-1 run, highlighted by Bryant’s three-point play and capped by four free throws from Johnson, to take a 94-92 lead with less than a minute left. Nick Young and Bryant added two free throws apiece to secure the victory.
Photo: AFP
Tarik Black, a rookie who was filling in for the injured Howard (strained right knee), missed a free throw and a jump shot down the stretch.
James Harden led the Rockets with 24 points.
BUCKS 122, NETS 118, 3OT
The Milwaukee Bucks overcame Brandon Knight’s shocking missed layup at the end of the first of three overtime periods to outlast the Nets in coach Jason Kidd’s return to Brooklyn.
Knight made the tying three-pointer in the second overtime and the clinching free throws with 5.6 seconds to go in the third, allowing the Bucks to escape with a victory.
Rookie Jabari Parker scored a season-high 23 points, O.J. Mayo added 21, and Knight and Giannis Antetokounmpo each had 18 for the Bucks, who won their third straight.
Brook Lopez scored a season-best 26 points for the Nets, who have dropped five in a row.
RAPTORS 96, GRIZZLIES 92
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points and Terrence Ross had 14 of his 16 in the fourth quarter as Toronto beat undermanned Memphis.
Kyle Lowry scored 18 and Lou Williams had 13 as the Eastern Conference leaders won for the seventh time in eight games.
Marc Gasol had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Zach Randolph added 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who came in with the NBA’s best record at 10-1, but had their four-game winning streak stopped.
Memphis had just 10 active players after Courtney Lee, Tony Allen, Kosta Koufos, Jon Leuer and Beno Udrih became ill and had to go to hospital due to dehydration.
SUNS 88, PISTONS 86
Eric Bledsoe scored 18 points, including the winning basket with 28.7 seconds to play, to lift Phoenix.
P.J. Tucker added 16 points for the Suns, who have won four of their last six.
Brandon Jennings scored 19 points to lead Detroit, losers of three straight and six of seven.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s three-pointer with about 40 seconds left put the Pistons ahead 86-85 before the Suns regained the lead on Bledsoe’s driving layup.
In other games, it was:
‧ Mavericks 105, Wizards 102
‧ Nuggets 107, Thunder 100
‧ Celtics 101, 76ers 90
‧ Clippers 114, Magic 90
‧ Pacers 88, Hornets 86
‧ Timberwolves 115, Knicks 99
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB