Draymond Green became the second Warriors player to post three straight triple-doubles as Golden State rolled to their 35th straight regular-season home win by beating Charlotte 111-101.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson scored 30 points apiece, while Marreese Speights had a season-high 15 off the bench to help the Warriors sweep the season series from the Hornets.
However, the night belonged to Green, who had 13 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to join Tom Gola in 1959-1960 as the only Warriors players to have triple-doubles in three consecutive games. The last player in the NBA to do it was Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, who had a four-game streak last season.
Photo: AFP
Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb each scored 22 points for the Hornets. Charlotte have lost a season-high four straight.
SPURS 123, BUCKS 98
In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kawhi Leonard scored 10 of his 24 points in the decisive third quarter and San Antonio beat Milwaukee for their fifth straight victory.
Photo: AFP
The Spurs improved to 30-6 and joined defending champions Golden State as the only teams to reach 30 wins already this season.
Rookie swingman Jonathon Simmons scored a career-high 18 for the Spurs, who set a season high for points two days after posting 121 against Houston. LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Tim Duncan finished with 14 points and 10 boards for the Spurs, one game after going scoreless for the first time in his 19-year career.
San Antonio played without starting point guard Tony Parker due to right hip soreness, but still won its 27th game in the past 31.
76ERS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 99
In Philadelphia, Ish Smith had 21 points and 11 assists, while Richaun Holmes scored 17 to lead Philadelphia over Minnesota.
Still the worst team in the NBA at 4-33, the 76ers have won three of six games and have a new confidence since they hired Jerry Colangelo as chairman of basketball operations last month.
Colangelo’s first big move was acquiring Smith from New Orleans in a Dec. 24 trade that cost them nothing but second-round draft picks. Smith averaged 13.4 points and 7.6 assists since the deal and has made his teammates better.
Shabazz Muhammad led the Timberwolves with 20 points.
CAVALIERS 122, RAPTORS 100
In Cleveland, Ohio, Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 25 points, J.R. Smith had 24 on eight three-pointers as Cleveland defeated Toronto.
Irving, playing his sixth game since returning from a broken left kneecap, was 10 of 16 from the field. The three-time All-Star, injured in Game 1 of last season’s NBA Finals, added eight assists and six rebounds.
LeBron James, who did not play in the fourth quarter, had 20 points and seven assists in 31 minutes. All five Cavaliers starters finished in double figures.
Tristan Thompson added 14 points with 11 rebounds, and Kevin Love scored 14 as Cleveland improved to 15-1 at home.
The Raptors were led by Kyle Lowry’s 23 points.
CELTICS 103, NETS 94
In New York, Jae Crowder scored a career-high 25 points with a strong start and a clutch finish as Boston beat Brooklyn to split a home-and-home series.
Crowder had 14 points in the first quarter, then was largely quiet until hitting a three-pointer and adding a three-point play after Brooklyn got close in the final minutes. He surpassed his previous best of 24 points by making a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining.
Isaiah Thomas added 19 points for the Celtics, who rebounded from consecutive losses at home. Evan Turner, starting for injured Avery Bradley, had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Thaddeus Young had 23 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for the Nets, who have lost seven straight at home. Joe Johnson scored 21 and Brook Lopez, the Eastern Conference player of the week, finished with 19.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Pistons 115, Magic 89
‧ Heat 103, Pacers 100, OT
‧ Thunder 116, Kings 104
‧ Rockets 93, Jazz 91
‧ Grizzlies 91, Trail Blazers 78
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