Kemba Walker on Thursday scored 46 points in leading the Charlotte Hornets to a record-shattering 140-79 romp over visiting Memphis, one of the most lopsided routs in NBA history.
The 61-point victory margin was the largest in any NBA game since 1998 and marked only the sixth time in league history a team won by 60 or more points.
“It was fun. The crowd was into it. It was good to be a part of something like that,” Charlotte guard Jeremy Lamb said. “It feels really good.”
Photo: AP
Walker sank a club-record 10 three-pointers and made 10 free throws, becoming only the third player in any NBA contest with so many of each.
“I would have never imagined [making 10 three-pointers],” Walker said. “I never thought I’d be able to shoot the ball like that, especially in one individual game.”
Walker’s total came in only 28 minutes, the shortest span to reach 45 points since the NBA shot clock debuted in 1954.
“He could do that every night,” Hornets reserve forward Dwayne Bacon said. “He’s a great player. Just being around him, watching how he prepares, just playing, is just amazing. It was another great night for him.”
The Hornets, who led 75-42 at halftime and 112-57 entering the fourth quarter, won their most lopsided triumph and inflicted the worst loss ever upon the Grizzlies, who have lost 22 of their past 23 games.
The victory came with Charlotte center Dwight Howard sidelined for accumulated technical fouls.
He committed his 16th of the season on Wednesday when he scored 32 points and grabbed 30 rebounds in beating Brooklyn 111-105.
Eric Gordon scored 22 points, while NBA scoring leader James Harden had only 21 points — 10 below his average — on four-of-20 shooting, but the Houston Rockets still managed to beat visiting Detroit 100-96 in overtime for their seventh consecutive victory.
The Rockets matched a one-season record with their 58th triumph against 14 losses — moving 4.5 games ahead of defending champions Golden State for the NBA’s best record with 10 regular-season games remaining.
Anthony Davis scored 33 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to their third victory in as many nights, a 128-125 triumph over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers.
Joel Embiid scored 17 points, while Australia’s Ben Simmons had 11 rebounds and 10 assists plus six points in a 118-98 victory at Orlando, the 76ers’ fifth victory in a row, while Donovan Mitchell’s 26 points led Utah over hosts Dallas 119-112.
Sacramento beat visiting Atlanta 105-90 in a matchup played before only a few hundred spectators that began 20 minutes late after protesters blocked city streets and arena entrances in the California capital.
The crowds were protesting Sunday’s fatal police shooting of an unarmed man in his grandmother’s backyard.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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