Portland pulled away in the second half to beat Dallas 94-75 on Thursday, as the Trail Blazers extended their lead in the NBA Northwest Division.
The Blazers widened their advantage over Oklahoma City, who lost a close contest against Chicago in the day’s other game.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was Portland’s fifth straight win, but it was costly: Starting guard Wesley Matthews had to be helped off the court with a left foot injury early in the third quarter.
Matthews did not return and the extent of the injury was uncertain.
Nicolas Batum added 15 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for Portland.
The Trail Blazers had four players scoring double figures, despite coming off back-to-back games.
Monta Ellis and Amare Stoudemire each had 12 points for the Mavericks, who saw the return of veteran center Tyson Chandler after a three-game absence.
BULLS 108, THUNDER 105
In Chicago, Illinois, E’Twaun Moore sank a go-ahead three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining as the Bulls rallied to beat Oklahoma City 108-105, ending Russell Westbrook’s triple-double streak at four games.
Westbrook had 43 points on 14-of-32 shooting and added seven assists and eight rebounds. On Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, he had career highs with 49 points and 16 rebounds and added 10 assists in an overtime win over Philadelphia.
Westbrook scored 19 points in the third quarter to help the Thunder take a 79-72 lead into the fourth. The Bulls pulled within one on Nikola Mirotic’s two free throws with 2 minutes, 16 seconds remaining. Westbrook then split two with 1:07 to play, and Enes Kanter rebounded the miss and scored to give Oklahoma City a 103-99 lead.
Mirotic made a three-pointer, and Westbrook hit a jumper with 37.1 seconds left. Mirotic made two free throws with 28.9 to go, pulling Chicago within one. Westbrook then had an air-ball with the shot-clock expiring, and Moore followed with his three-pointer.
Mirotic finished with 26 points, Pau Gasol had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Dunleavy also had 21 points, and Moore added 19. Joakim Noah had 12 rebounds, putting him over 5,000 for his career.
Serge Ibaka had 25 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two