Kyrie Irving matched his season high with 38 points and LeBron James added 32 to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to their seventh straight victory on Tuesday, 103-95 over the Detroit Pistons.
The Cavs avenged a 23-point home loss to Detroit late last month. That game was part of a seven-game winning streak for the Pistons, but now Detroit are struggling to overcome the loss of Brandon Jennings, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon on Saturday and is to miss the rest of the season.
James fell to the floor near the basket during the final seconds of the third quarter and got up grimacing, apparently concerned about at least one of his wrists. He went to the bench, but only briefly. His two-handed breakaway dunk early in the fourth put Cleveland up 80-68.
Photo: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY
BUCKS 109, HEAT 102
Brandon Knight had 17 points and six assists as the Milwaukee Bucks put seven players in double figures on the way to beating the Miami Heat.
Khris Middleton also scored 17 for the Bucks, who got 15 from Jerryd Bayless, 14 from O.J. Mayo, 13 from Giannis Antetokounmpo, 12 from John Henson and 11 from Chris Dudley.
With fighters Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao watching courtside, Milwaukee beat Miami for the third time in as many meetings this season.
They moved three games clear of the Heat in the race for the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks’ bench players outscored Miami’s 44-13.
Chris Bosh had 26 points for Miami. The Heat lost Dwyane Wade in the third quarter with what the team said was a strained right hamstring.
RAPTORS 104, PACERS 91
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points and Kyle Lowry added 19 to lead Toronto to a win over Indiana.
The Atlantic Division-leading Raptors (30-15) overcame a sluggish first quarter to pick up their third straight win. The victory also gave Toronto a franchise record for most wins before the All-Star break.
Rodney Stuckey scored 22 points, while Solomon Hill finished with 15 to lead Indiana (16-31), who have lost eight of their past nine games.
Toronto took control in the second quarter with a 20-0 run, which turned a 32-21 deficit into a 41-32 lead. Indiana spent the rest of the game playing catch-up.
In other results on Tuesday, it was:
‧ Mavericks 90, Grizzlies 109
‧ Lakers 92, Wizards 98
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two