LaMarcus Aldridge on Tuesday night scored 21 points and Patty Mills added 18 off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors 108-106 for their fifth straight victory.
Without Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol, the Spurs completed a season sweep of the Raptors following a 110-82 home victory earlier this month.
Kyle Lowry had 30 points and reserve Terrence Ross added 21 for the Raptors, who have lost four in a row for the first time since March 4-10, 2015.
Photo: The Canadian Press via AP
76ERS 121, CLIPPERS 110
In Philadelphia, Nerlens Noel scored 19 points and Richaun Holmes had 18 as Philadelphia beat Los Angeles.
Philadelphia played without injured center Joel Embiid and still beat Blake Griffin and the 30-win Clippers for their biggest victory of the season.
The Sixers rallied from 19 points down and proved yet again they are now a team trying to win games instead of tank seasons.
Griffin scored 12 points on three-of-11 shooting in his first game since Dec. 18 last year.
WIZARDS 123, CELTICS 108
In Washington, Bradley Beal scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as Washington extended their home winning streak to 14 games with a victory over Boston.
John Wall added 27 points and Markieff Morris had 19 points and 11 rebounds as the Wizards never trailed while scoring their most points this season.
It came in a game they openly labeled a grudge match, even arriving at the Verizon Center in funeral-themed black clothing.
Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points and had 13 assists, but shot one of seven in the fourth quarter in Boston’s third straight loss.
BULLS 100, MAGIC 92
In Orlando, Florida, Dwyane Wade scored 21 points and Jimmy Butler added 20 as Chicago beat Orlando for their second straight victory.
Facing an Orlando team that was missing three of their four top guards, Wade and Butler took full advantage with drives to the basket and pull-up jumpers as the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter.
The turnover-prone Magic simply could not keep pace with the Bulls, who are going through point guard issues of their own with the surprising benching of Michael Carter-Williams.
Nikola Vucevic had 20 points for the Magic, who have dropped two straight and 11 of 14 past games.
In other results, it was:
‧ Timberwolves 112, Suns 111
‧ Nuggets 103, Jazz 93
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care