Anthony Davis had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to move the New Orleans Pelicans one step closer to a playoff berth with a 100-88 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
Tyreke Evans added 22 points and five assists and Eric Gordon scored 22 for the Pelicans (44-37). They need only one more win — or an Oklahoma City loss — to clinch a playoff spot in the rugged Western Conference. They have the same record as Oklahoma City, but hold the tiebreaker heading into the season finale today against San Antonio.
Zach LaVine had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Timberwolves. After the New York Knicks beat Atlanta on Monday, the Wolves now have the worst record in the NBA.
THUNDER 101, BLAZERS 90
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook scored 36 points as the Thunder beat the Trail Blazers to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Westbrook picked up his 16th technical at Indiana on Sunday, which would have been an automatic one-game suspension. It was rescinded on Monday, allowing him to play in a critical game for the Thunder.
Enes Kanter added 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who would have been eliminated from the Western Conference playoff race with a loss.
Meyers Leonard scored a career-high 24 points for Portland. The Trail Blazers, who already were locked into the No. 4 playoff spot in the West, were without injured starters LaMarcus Aldridge (left foot sprain) and Arron Afflalo (right shoulder strain).
WARRIORS 111, GRIZZLIES 107
In Oakland, California, Klay Thompson scored 26 of his 42 points in a sensational second quarter as the Warriors beat the undermanned Grizzlies.
Thompson finished 15 of 21 from the floor, including eight of 10 from three-point range, to help the top-seeded Warriors tune up for the NBA playoffs with another impressive performance.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Clippers 110, Nuggets 103
‧ Bulls 113, Nets 86
‧ Cavaliers 109, Pistons 97
‧ Bucks 107, 76ers 97
‧ Rockets 100, Hornets 90
‧ Knicks 112, Hawks 108
‧ Heat 100, Magic 93
‧ Jazz 109, Mavericks 92
‧ Kings 102, Lakers 92
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