Kobe Bryant had 31 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his 20th career triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers ended a four-game losing streak with a 129-122 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Seven players scored in double figures for the Lakers, including all five starters. Nick Young added 20 points off the bench, Carlos Boozer scored 18, while Jordan Hill had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry had 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Toronto, before fouling out with 2.8 seconds left in overtime.
Photo: AFP
Terrence Ross had 20 points and Lou Williams added 19 off the bench for the Raptors, whose 13-3 record entering the game was the best start in franchise history.
Danny Green scored 18 points for San Antonio and coach Gregg Popovich returned from a two-game absence to lead the Spurs over the Boston Celtics 111-89 for their seventh straight victory.
Popovich returned for the opener of a four-game trip after missing two games following an undisclosed minor medical procedure.
Leading 80-77 with 10 minutes left, the Spurs went on a 14-2 run to take a 94-79 lead with 6 minutes, 11 seconds left on a layup by point guard Cory Joseph.
After Jeff Green made a free throw for Boston, cutting the lead to 94-80, Aron Baynes beat the 24-second clock with a three-pointer, then made a layup for a 99-80 lead with 4:36 to go.
Boris Diaw had 15 points and Tim Duncan added 14 for the Spurs.
Chicago’s Jimmy Butler had 26 points, while Pau Gasol had 25 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Bulls past the Brooklyn Nets 102-84.
Rookie Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 13 points and reserve Jarret Jack added 12.
Derrick Rose had 14 points, while reserve Nikola Mirotic chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls.
The Golden State Warriors downed the Detroit Pistons 104-93 for their ninth straight victory after Draymond Green scored 20 points, while Stephen Curry added 16 points and 10 assists.
Zach Randolph had 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Marc Gasol added 18 points and six rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Sacramento Kings 97-85.
In other games, Dwyane Wade returned from a seven-game absence to score 27 points as the Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 86-79, the Orlando Magic defeated the Phoenix Suns 93-90 and the Portland Trail Blazers were 107-93 winners over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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