Brendan Haywood atoned for two missed free throws by converting a three-point play off the Wizards' 27th offensive rebound with 7.1 seconds remaining Friday, giving Washington a 106-104 victory over the New York Knicks.'
"Missing those free throws really hurt. ... You have to keep your mind clear, because you never know how it's going to come back," Haywood said. ``Tonight it just came back on me, and I was able to make the play.''
PHOTO: AP
Haywood's first points of the second half came after he missed a pair from the line with 55 seconds remaining. The Knicks had two final chances, but Nazr Mohammed missed a tough shot in traffic and Kurt Thomas failed to put in the rebound as time expired.
"I got a good look at it and missed the shot," Mohammed said. "Besides an open layup, you can't ask for a better shot. I got a wide open shot within a foot in the paint."
Antawn Jamison had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who have won eight of 10. Haywood, an unstoppable force in the first half before disappearing for much of the second, had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Gilbert Arenas had 20 points and seven assists.
Nuggets 101, Raptors 87
In Toronto, Carmelo Anthony had 28 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Nene had a season-high 21 points to lead Denver past Toronto.
Kenyon Martin added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have won four straight.
With regular starting center Marcus Camby sidelined by a bruised tailbone, Nene went 9-for-10 from the field in a season-high 40 minutes. Denver shot 54 percent compared to 38 for Toronto.
Rafer Alston had 25 points for the Raptors, who have lost six straight.
Heat 92, Grizzlies 84
In Miami, Dwyane Wade narrowly missed a triple-double and Shaquille O'Neal scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as Miami downed Memphis.
O'Neal made four of his five shot attempts and added two assists in the final 12 minutes, a stark difference from the middle two quarters when the Grizzlies held him scoreless and he missed the only three shots he tried.
Wade had 26 points, nine assists and nine rebounds -- coming up just short in a bid for what would have been the fifth triple-double in Heat history and just the second in the last 10 seasons. He and O'Neal combined for 19 of Miami's 23 fourth-quarter points.
Nets 94, Hornets 91, OT
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Jason Kidd hit a go-ahead basket early in overtime, as the Nets denied former coach Byron Scott a win in his return to New Jersey.
The Nets rallied from a seven-point deficit with 2:10 to play in the fourth quarter and sent the Hornets to their season-high ninth straight loss and 17th in 18 games.
Richard Jefferson scored 24 points and Eric Williams added 19 for the Nets, who had 30 turnovers. Kidd, playing in his third game since returning from knee surgery, had eight points and eight assists in a season-high 28 minutes.
Hawks 88, Pistons 72
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, rookie Josh Smith replaced Kenny Anderson at point guard and had career highs of 12 points and four blocks in his first NBA start as Atlanta beat Detroit.
The Hawks, who led by as many as 29, won for just the second time in 12 games and held Detroit to a franchise record for fewest points in a home game.
Tony Delk and Predrag Drobjnak had 16 points each for Atlanta, which had five players in double figures. Detroit's Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 24.
The Hawks replaced Anderson in the starting lineup with the 6-foot-9 Smith, and Boris Diaw was Atlanta's shortest starter at 6-foot-8. The big lineup paid immediate dividends, as Smith blocked three shots in the first quarter and the Hawks shot 66.7 percent on their way to a 32-20 lead.
Timberwolves 113, Kings 105
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett scored a season-high 35 points with 18 rebounds and nine assists to lead Minnesota over Sacramento.
Playing before their largest crowd of the season, the Wolves trailed for most of the first three quarters before using a 18-3 burst in the fourth to turn a four-point deficit into a 109-98 lead with 2:57 remaining.
Eddie Griffin added 18 points for Minnesota, and Sam Cassell scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half. Chris Webber had 25 points for the Kings.
76ers 93, Bulls 88
In Chicago, Allen Iverson had 23 points and 10 assists, and Samuel Dalembert had 13 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots in his first start of the season for Philadelphia, which ended an eight-game road losing streak with a win over Chicago.
The Bulls scored 10 unanswered points to get within 91-88 on Luol Deng's two free throws. Kirk Hinrich was called for a charge after making a driving layup with 1:00 left that would have cut the 76ers' lead to one point.
Bucks 95, Pacers 86
In Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 21 points and Mike James added 16 as Milwaukee handed Indiana its sixth straight loss.
The victory, Milwaukee's second over Indiana in four days, helped the Bucks (6-11) avoid their worst starting record in a decade, a 5-12 mark to begin the 1994-1995 season.
Milwaukee, which had lost nine of its previous 11 games, also got 13 points from Maurice Williams and 12 from Desmond Mason.
Indiana was led by Reggie Miller's 17 points, 10.5 below his average, and Austin Croshere had 14 off the bench.
Suns 115, Bobcats 106
In Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire came close to the first triple-double of his career with 36 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, and Phoenix edged New Orleans.
The victory was the Suns' fourth in a row, 13th in their last 14 games and gave them a 17-3 record -- tying Seattle for the best in the NBA -- on the one-year anniversary of Mike D'Antoni taking over as head coach.
Shawn Marion and Quentin Richardson each added 20 points for Phoenix, which exceeded its NBA-high average of 108.6 points per game. Joe Johnson scored 12 points and Steven Hunter 10, with Steve Nash contributing nine points and 14 assists.
The expansion Bobcats were led by guard Brevin Knight's season-high 17 points.
Magic 113, Warriors 109
In Oakland, California, Steve Francis scored a season-high 36 points and also finished with eight rebounds and eight assists in Orlando's fifth win in six games.
Francis shot 11-for-26 and made all 14 of his free throws, carrying the load as Grant Hill sat out with a badly bruised right shin.
Tony Battie had 16 points and matched his career high with 15 rebounds, Cuttino Mobley added 15 points and Hedo Turkoglu scored 14 off the bench. Jason Richardson finished with 27 points, Mike Dunleavy scored 22 points and Speedy Claxton had 19 points and five assists for the Warriors.
Jazz 92, Trail Blazers 87
In Salt Lake City, Matt Harpring scored 17 points, including six in overtime, as Utah beat Portland to snap a six-game losing skid and avoided its first seven-game skid since 1981-1982.
Attempting to tie the game in the final minute of overtime, Zach Randolph missed in the lane and Mehmet Okur stripped Shareef Abdur-Rahim after he grabbed the offensive rebound. Carlos Arroyo made one free throw and Harpring hit two to clinch the win in the last 18 seconds.
Carlos Boozer scored 17, Okur had 14 and Kirk Snyder recorded a career-high 13 points for the Jazz, who had lost three in a row at home and 10 of 12 overall.
Rookie guard Yuta Tabuse of Japan was activated by the Phoenix Suns, who placed center Jake Voskuhl on the injured list on Friday.
Yuta Tabuse, the first native Japanese player in the NBA, was placed on the injured list with a right quadriceps strain on Nov. 8 after appearing in two games.
Voskuhl underwent emergency appendectomy surgery on Friday.
Joey Graham scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 5 Oklahoma State to an 86-73 win over Alabama-Birmingham at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
John Lucas added 18 points, 14 in the second half, and a season-high eight assists for the Cowboys (7-0), who have yet to win by less than double-figures this season. Daniel Bobik added 14 points, and Stephen Graham, JamesOn Curry and Ivan McFarlin each had 10 points as OSU has won 21 straight at home.
"UAB is a very good team," said Lucas, who keyed a second-half run. "They came out with a lot of intensity. It was the kind of game we needed."
Donell Taylor had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, (4-1), who were handed their first setback of the season.
The first half was closely contested until the final five minutes. With UAB holding a 22-20 lead, Oklahoma State went on a 19-7 run to end the half and take a 39-29 cushion.
Graham started the run with a three-point play and Daniel Bobik drained a three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to cap the half's scoring.
In the second, after the Blazers drew within 46-40, the Cowboys went on a 14-0 run to take control. Lucas drained a pair of threes during the run and ended it with a three-point play at the 15-minute mark for a 60-40 lead.
Things got chippy on a loose ball play shortly after Oklahoma State extended to the 20-point lead. Officials had to break up a scuffle between players that didn't amount to much more than pushing and shoving.
The Cowboys, who are fresh off a Jimmy V Classic win over Syracuse, finished the game shooting 52 percent from the field, going 56 percent in the second half.
No. 17 Iowa 70, Iowa State 63
In Iowa City, Iowa, Adam Haluska scored 20 points while Greg Brunner added 11 along with 13 rebounds as 17th-ranked Iowa earned a hard-fought 70-63 victory over rival Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Pierre Pierce compiled 15 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Hawkeyes (8-1), who recorded their fifth straight win despite shooting just 37 percent from the floor.
The Cyclones (4-2) never led at any point, but hung tough, mainly due to a huge effort by Jared Homan. The senior center delivered a career-high 25 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
Will Blalock added 15 points for Iowa State, while Curtis Stinson finished with 14 before fouling out with 7:46 to play.
East Tennessee St. 65,
Tennessee Tech 54
In Johnson City, Tennessee, Travis Strong recorded 14 points to lead four East Tennessee State players in double-figures as the Buccaneers posted a 65-54 win over Tennessee Tech at the Memorial Center.
Strong connected on 4-of-6 attempts from three-point range to help ETSU (3-5) snap a three-game slide. Tim Smith had 13 points and dished out seven assists for the defending Southern Conference champs.
Willie Jenkins poured in 24 points for the Golden Eagles (3-4), who shot just 32 percent from the floor and had a two-game win streak snapped.
The Bucs led 28-24 at halftime before slowly pulling away after the break. East Tennessee State extended its advantage to 10 points, 53-43, with under five minutes remaining and held Tennessee Tech off the rest of the way.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS