Klay Thompson notched up his 5,000th point and knocked down two late three-pointers in a 1 minute, 9 second span to lead the Golden State Warriors past the Detroit Pistons 105-98 for their fifth straight win.
Thompson finished with 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting in the Warriors’ 51st victory — matching their total from last season — and their eighth straight against Detroit.
Andre Drummond had a career-high 27 rebounds — 17 offensive — to go with 22 points in the Pistons’ eighth straight loss.
Thompson’s two 3s came during a decisive 18-2 run, including one with 5:37 left to put Golden State ahead by 10 as Detroit could not fight back.
NUGGETS 115, HAWKS 102
Danilo Gallinari scored 23 points and Will Barton added 16 as Denver beat Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta for their eighth straight home win over the Hawks.
By the end of the third quarter, Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer had seen enough and inserted his bench players, who went on a 24-1 run midway through the fourth quarter to make the score respectable after trailing by 32 with 7:32 remaining.
The Hawks have not won in the Mile High City since Dec. 6, 2006.
Kyle Korver scored 18 points to lead Atlanta, hitting five three-pointers.
HEAT 104, NETS 98
Dwyane Wade had 28 points and nine assists, while Chris Andersen equaled a career high with 18 points and set a season high with 14 rebounds as Miami finished off a season sweep of Brooklyn.
Goran Dragic added 17 points in his return to the Miami lineup.
The Heat went 7-0 against New York’s two teams this season — 4-0 against the Nets and 3-0 against the Knicks — and moved back into the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, helped by Sacramento beating Charlotte earlier on Wednesday night.
The Heat were without center Hassan Whiteside, serving a one-game suspension for elbowing Boston’s Kelly Olynyk on Monday night.
Deron Williams and Jarrett Jack each scored 18 points for the Nets. Brook Lopez finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
CELTICS 95, GRIZZLIES 92
Marcus Smart converted a go-ahead, three-point play with 52 seconds left, while Avery Bradley added a vital jump shot with 8 seconds remaining as Boston ended a five-game losing streak against Memphis.
Bradley scored 17 points to help the Celtics win their second in a row as they chase a playoff spot.
Smart put Boston ahead 91-90 with the last of 14 lead changes in the game, which ended when Mike Conley missed a deep three-pointer for Memphis just before the buzzer.
Conley led Memphis with 20 points after missing time in the second half with a leg injury.
Tony Allen added 16 points, while Zach Randolph had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
BULLS 104, 76ERS 95, OT
Aaron Brooks scored seven of his season-high 31 points in overtime to help short-handed Chicago beat Philadelphia.
Pau Gasol had 27 points and 16 rebounds, while Nikola Mirotic finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls. They snapped a three-game skid without four regulars and three of their top five scorers.
The Bulls dressed only 10 players and were without Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah.
Rose had knee surgery on Feb. 27, but said on Monday that he hopes to return this season, targeting four to six weeks for a comeback from yet another knee injury. Butler (elbow) missed his sixth straight game, while Gibson (ankle) sat out his seventh in a row. Noah (knee) was a late scratch.
Ish Smith led Philadelphia with a career-high 23 points.
TRAIL BLAZERS 105, ROCKETS 100
LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 14 rebounds as Portland held off Houston.
The Trail Blazers limited James Harden to 18 points and tied the Rockets for third place in the Western Conference.
Harden was averaging just over 27 points to rank second in the league.
Corey Brewer scored 23 points for Houston, including 17 in the fourth quarter.
Robin Lopez finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Blazers, who have won a Western Conference-best 27 games at home this season.
SUNS 106, TIMBERWOLVES 97
Markieff Morris scored 24 points and Eric Bledsoe had 18 points and nine assists as Phoenix beat Minnesota.
Rookie T.J. Warren added a career-high 17 points, while Marcus Thornton hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 points.
Warren’s dunk with 3:20 left punctuated the win. He was fouled on the basket and made the free throw to give the Suns a 12-point lead.
Kevin Martin scored 16 points for Minnesota.
KINGS 113, HORNETS 106
Ben McLemore scored 27 points and Rudy Gay added 26 as Sacramento beat Charlotte to end a four-game losing streak.
DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Kings.
Charlotte’s Kemba Walker scored six points in 16 minutes off the bench after missing 18 games following knee surgery, but the Hornets lost center Al Jefferson to a strained right calf late in the third quarter.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led Charlotte with 23 points.
BUCKS 97, MAGIC 91
Khris Middleton scored a season-high 30 points for the second time in three games to lead Milwaukee past the Orlando Magic.
Middleton, who also scored 30 points on Saturday night against Washington, was 12 of 17 from the floor.
Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando.
The Bucks have won 10 of their past 12 home games, while the Magic have lost nine a row on the road.
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