Steve Nash had 15 points and a season-high 16 assists and the Dallas Mavericks came up with two big defensive plays in the final 18.8 seconds to post a 101-98 win over the undermanned New Jersey Nets.
Dirk Nowitzki blocked a shot underneath the basket by Nets center Jason Collins, seconds after hitting a fadeaway jumper that gave the Mavericks a 99-98 lead with 26.8 seconds left Sunday.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Nash, who had a big turnover in the final minute to keep the Nets' hopes afloat of an upset without Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, made the second defensive play with 5.4 seconds to go.
"It's important to make plays when they count," Nash said. "That's when the game is the most fun."
Nowitzki finished with 21 points and Antawn Jamison had 20 for the Mavericks, who hit 14 of 20 shots in the final quarter.
Richard Jefferson had 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for New Jersey, which put on a gutsy effort. Harris scored a season-high 21 points and Rodney Rogers had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"I thought our guys fought their tails off," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "They gave a heck of an effort. It wasn't the outcome we would have like but I thought we had a great chance to win it when you play like that."
Warriors 96, Clippers 85
In Los Angeles, Jason Richardson had 28 points and nine rebounds and the Golden State Warriors capitalized on an injury-ravaged Los Angeles lineup to beat the Clippers.
Erick Dampier had 16 points and 17 rebounds for the Warriors, whose fourth straight victory matched their longest winning streak of the season -- following a season-worst nine consecutive losses. Dampier leads Western Conference centers with 38 double-doubles.
Power forward Elton Brand finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers. Rookie center Chris Kaman, the only Clipper to appear in every game this season, played 12 scoreless minutes.
Heat 101, Wizards 81
In Washington, the Miami Heat ran their season-best winning streak to five, blowing the game open in the third quarter to beat the Washington Wizards.
Dwyane Wade scored 22 points led six Heat players in double figures as Miami broke a three-game road losing streak and held on to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Steve Blake scored a career-high 21 points for the Wizards, who failed yet again to get their first three-game winning streak of the season. Washington had won two straight after losing seven in a row.
Timberwolves 98, Nuggets 77
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and Sam Cassell and Wally Szczerbiak added 18 points each to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Denver Nuggets.
The Wolves moved two games in front of San Antonio for first place in the Midwest Division heading into a crucial matchup with the Spurs on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
Carmelo Anthony was shadowed for most of the game by defensive stopper Trenton Hassell and scored just 13 points, eight below his average.
Pistons 96, Cavaliers 76
In Cleveland, Chauncey Billups had 18 points and the Detroit Pistons smothered Cleveland in the first half, beating the Cavaliers to extend their winning streak to eight.
Detroit held the Cavaliers to a season-low 31 points in the first half. The Pistons led by as many as 28 in the third quarter and let their backups finish the game.
LeBron James shot poorly for his second straight game -- 5-for-17 for 15 points. Carlos Boozer led the Cavaliers with 21 points and 17 rebounds.
Raptors 121, Hornets 120, OT
In New Orleans, Vince Carter finished a 42-point, 12-rebound performance with a go-ahead 3-pointer and a pair of game-sealing free throws in the Toronto Raptors' overtime victory over the Hornets.
Carter also hit one of two 3s that Toronto needed as it erased a 107-99 deficit over the final 2:36 of regulation to force overtime.
Jamaal Magloire had 23 points -- 15 on free throws -- and 18 rebounds for New Orleans, which set an NBA season high for free throws attempted with 60. But New Orleans missed 14, including one by Magloire with 34 seconds left in overtime, leaving New Orleans up 117-116.
Jalen Rose scored 26 for Toronto, including a tying shot at the end of regulation. Baron Davis had 29 points for New Orleans, which has lost two straight.
Kings 100, Rockets 95
In Sacramento, Calfornia, Peja Stojakovic scored 29 points, and Chris Webber capped a terrible shooting game (4-for-18) with a key assist and a steal in the Kings' come-from-behind victory over the Houston Rockets.
Mike Bibby had 18 points and seven assists for the Kings (51-19), who nudged ahead of Indiana (50-19) for the NBA's best record despite trailing for most of the first 3 1/2 quarters. Sacramento closed with an 18-7 run in its sixth straight home victory.
Vlade Divac scored five of his 17 points in the final two minutes, including his first 3-pointer of the season with 41 seconds left.
Maurice Taylor scored 23 points and Steve Francis had 17 for the Rockets, who lost their 10th straight game in Sacramento and third straight overall. Yao Ming had 11 points and nine rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
SuperSonics 84, Magic 67
In Seattle, Ray Allen scored 22 points and Vitaly Potapenko added a season-high 21, leading the SuperSonics over the lowly Orlando Magic.
Rashard Lewis had 18 points and Vladimir Radmanovic 12 as the Sonics won their season-high fifth straight. Brent Barry went scoreless but had a season-high 12 assists, and Reggie Evans matched a season-high with 10 rebounds despite sitting out the fourth quarter.
Juwan Howard led the Magic with 20 points and nine rebounds, while reserve Drew Gooden scored 17, but Orlando went without a field goal for seven minutes in the second half.
It was the 17th straight road loss for the Magic against the Western Conference.
Lakers 104, Bucks 103, OT
In Los Angeles, Shaquille O'Neal had 31 points, an NBA season-high 26 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Kobe Bryant made the winning jumper with 25.1 seconds left in overtime to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over Milwaukee.
Keith Van Horn, who had a season-high 32 points and nine rebounds, missed on a driving shot with about five seconds left.
Bryant had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists; Gary Payton had 16 points and six assists and Karl Malone added 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS