Mike Bibby had 19 points and 11 assists, Kenny Thomas added 19 points, and Sacramento beat the Detroit Pistons 100-85 Sunday in the Kings' first home game since Chris Webber's departure.
Peja Stojakovic and Darius Songaila scored 14 points apiece in an impressive homecoming victory for the Kings' revamped roster. Sacramento embarked on a six-game road trip the day Webber was traded to Philadelphia nearly two weeks ago along with two reserves for Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner.
Rasheed Wallace had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who finished a six-game road trip with consecutive losses to Phoenix, Seattle and Sacramento. The defending NBA champions missed 13 of 24 free throws and struggled for open shots against Sacramento's tenacious defense.
PHOTO: AP
Rockets 90, Mavericks 69
In Houston, Tracy McGrady had 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rockets past the injury-depleted Mavericks.
McGrady scored 27 of his points after getting six stitches on his chin following a collision in the first quarter.
The Mavericks, who were playing without the injured Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley for just the second time this season, set a season-low for total points.
Jason Terry led Dallas with 20 points. Keith Van Horn, who started for Nowitzki, added 12.
Yao Ming had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Houston.
Timberwolves 99, Celtics 97
In Boston, Latrell Sprewell made a runner with 0.9 seconds remaining to give Kevin McHale a victory in his first game on the sidelines in Boston.
Kevin Garnett had 21 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Wolves, who handed the Celtics their first loss since the return of Antoine Walker. Wally Szczerbiak added 20 points.
Walker had 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting for Boston and had a chance to give the Celtics the lead with 1:43 left, but missed the first of two foul shots. He made the second to tie the game at 97.
Knicks 115, Warriors 99
In New York, Stephon Marbury had 26 points and a season-high 16 assists, and the Knicks used a 21-1 run in the fourth quarter to defeat the Warriors.
Tim Thomas scored 25 points, Michael Sweetney opened 9-for-9 and finished with 19 points, and Maurice Taylor shot 7-for-8 and scored 15. The Knicks shot a season-high 61.8 percent.
Jason Richardson scored 24 points and Troy Murphy added 23 for the Warriors.
Heat 102, Cavaliers 82
In Cleveland, Shaquille O'Neal spent much of his 33rd birthday in foul trouble but Eddie Jones scored 19 points, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem added 18 apiece and the Heat won their fifth straight.
O'Neal finished with 13 points, five rebounds and six assists in his third game back after missing four games with a sprained left knee.
LeBron James scored 23 points for the Cavaliers.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
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Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
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