Chris Paul scored 25 points, DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 20 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers cruised to a 119-98 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA on Friday.
J.J. Redick added 19 points for the Clippers, who won their sixth consecutive game to help their chances for home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Rookie Nerlens Noel had a career-high 30 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia. The 76ers, in rebuilding mode, have the third-worst record in the NBA and own six picks — including two in the first-round — in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Los Angeles had all five starters in double-figures in an offensive performance that showed why the Clippers are contenders in the talented West. Matt Barnes scored 15 points and Blake Griffin tallied 10, but they and the rest of the starters just watched in the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles led by 19 points in the first half, but entered the third quarter up just eight, 62-54. However, the Clippers scored the first eight points of the second half to double the lead, and extended the advantage to 92-66 on Jordan’s alley-oop dunk with 1 minute and 58 seconds to go.
Philadelphia missed their last 10 shots of the third quarter and the Clippers led by as many as 32 in the fourth.
The Toronto Raptors clinched their second straight Atlantic Division title, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 94-83 behind 18 points from Lou Williams and 19 from Jonas Valanciunas.
James Johnson had 17 points, Amir Johnson 11 and Terrence Ross 10 as the Raptors bounced back from two losses and beat the Lakers for the first time since on Dec. 8, 2013.
Jeremy Lin scored 18 points and Jordan Clarkson had 14 for the Lakers, who lost for the 11th time in 14 games.
Stephen Curry had 38 points and 10 assists and the Golden State Warriors won their 60th game, matching a franchise record, 107-84 over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Klay Thompson finished with 28 points and Draymond Green added 10 as the Warriors (60-13) won their eighth straight, solidifying their hold on the top spot in the Western Conference.
Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez each scored 20 points, and the Brooklyn Nets ended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ four-game winning streak with a 106-98 victory.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points for the Nets, who held LeBron James to two baskets in the second half and won for the sixth time in eight games as they chase a playoff berth.
James finished with 24 points and nine assists for Cleveland, while Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 26 points, and Kevin Love had 18 points and seven rebounds as they lost for just the second time in 10 games.
DeMarre Carroll scored 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 99-86 victory over the Miami Heat.
The Hawks wrapped up the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage in the conference playoffs when Brooklyn beat Cleveland 106-98.
Paul Millsap had 21 points and Al Horford had 15 for Atlanta, who never trailed.
In other games on Friday, the Detroit Pistons had a 111-97 win over the Orlando Magic, the Washington Wizards edged the Charlotte Hornets 110-107 in overtime, the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Sacramento Kings 102-88 and the Houston Rockets clinched a playoff spot with a 120-110 victory 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