Kawhi Leonard on Friday recorded his first career triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers handed the Miami Heat a rare home loss with a 122-117 victory.
Leonard, who scored 17 points in the critical third quarter, was named an NBA All-Star starter for the fourth time on Thursday. He now has seven straight 30-point-plus games.
Clippers guard Landry Shamet had 22 points as Los Angeles went from six points down to 15 up in the game-changing third quarter.
Photo: AP
The Clippers had trailed by 15 at one point in the first period.
Jimmy Butler had a team high 20 points for the Heat, who entered the game with the NBA’s best home record at 20-1.
He also tallied eight rebounds and seven assists before going out with a right-ankle injury in the fourth quarter.
The Heat’s only home losses this season have come against Los Angeles teams — they lost to the Lakers on Dec. 13 last year.
In New Orleans, Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 113-106, nullifying a second straight strong performance by No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson.
Williamson had 15 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes two nights after scoring 22 points in his long-awaited NBA debut.
He shot seven of nine from the field against the Nuggets.
“There’s nothing wrong with what we’re doing,” said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry on Williamson’s limited playing time. “I hear every night that I’m the dumbest coach in the world. ‘Why would I take the guy out in the last five minutes?’ I’ll live with that knowing we’re doing the right thing.”
The Pelicans dropped to 0-2 since the NBA’s future star was activated for the first time this season on Wednesday.
“I am out here doing everything I can to help my team win,” Williamson said. “I am not going to sugarcoat nothing. They outrebounded us.”
Jokic, Michael Porter and Torrey Craig all finished with double-doubles in the win in front of a crowd of 16,300 at the Smoothie King Center.
Porter had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Craig had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who had a 56-45 rebounding advantage.
Jerami Grant added 14 points and Will Barton had 13, while Monte Morris and Malik Beasley scored 10 each.
J.J. Redick led the Pelicans with 18 points, Josh Hart added 15, Brandon Ingram 13, Jrue Holiday 12 and E’Twaun Moore 10.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was ejected from the game in the third quarter for arguing a foul call against Grant.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Russell Westbrook delivered a season-high 45 points to power the Houston Rockets to a 131-124 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Westbrook scored 27 second-half points and dominated down the stretch to help the Rockets fend off the Timberwolves, who attempted to rally behind Karl-Anthony Towns’ 30 points.
Andrew Wiggins finished with 28 points as Minnesota lost their eighth straight game.
Houston’s James Harden missed all six of his three-point attempts and scored a season low 12 points.
Elsewhere, the Celtics crushed the Magic 109-98, the Grizzlies mauled the Pistons 125-112, the Raptors downed the Knicks 118-112, the Kings overcame the Bulls 98-91, the Thunder thrashed the Hawks 140-111, the Suns eclipsed the Spurs 103-99 and the Pacers outfought the Warriors 129-118.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two