On a night when milestones were set, the surging Utah Jazz hit a high note, though it wasn't easy against the lowly Toronto Raptors.
Carlos Boozer celebrated his 25th birthday with a season-high 35 points, and energetic rookie Paul Millsap added a career-best 20, rallying the Jazz past the Raptors 101-96 on Monday night en route to their 10th win in 11 games for the best start in team history.
"We had to fight hard for this win," said Boozer, who made 14-of-16 field goals and grabbed nine rebounds. "It's a big testament to our character how we fought back."
The victory also earned Jerry Sloan his 900th coaching victory with Utah.
"It was great to get that win for him," said Jazz guard Deron Williams, who had 12 points. "I know he probably appreciated it even though he won't tell you. We're happy to get it for him and happy to be 10-1. It's a great start."
Williams was right, because Sloan preferred to talk about his club's start, instead of his personal accomplishment.
"This doesn't mean anything," said Sloan, whose 994-victory total is fifth all-time in the NBA. "These guys have worked hard. They can be as good as they want to be, if they play as a team."
Turkey's Mehmet Okur chipped in with 17 points and 13 rebounds for Utah, which improved to 5-0 at home.
Chris Bosh had 17 points and 16 rebounds, while TJ Ford scored 16 for Toronto (2-8), which fell to 0-5 on the road. Italy's Andrea Bargnani, the top pick in last summer's draft, chipped in with a career-best 15 points as did Fred Jones.
The Jazz played listless through the first three quarters before Millsap provided the spark.
"That's what he brings to the table," Williams said. "He's a hustle guy and he's shown that all year. He plays solid defense and he goes in and plays hard. Now we're starting to go to him because he's become a scoring option."
Trailing 83-76 with just under 10 minutes remaining, Millsap scored nine points, while Okur and Derek Fisher buried 3-pointers in a 17-3 surge, giving the Jazz an 93-86 advantage with 4:49 remaining.
After Toronto pulled to within 95-93, Boozer, who hit Utah's final three field goals, opening up a 99-93 advantage. Spain's Jorge Garbajosa, who finished with 10 points, drained a 3-pointer to slice the lead in half.
With a chance to tie, Garbajosa, Ford and Jones missed 3-pointers. Okur converted two free throws at the other end to seal the win.
Dallas 93, Charlotte 85
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Dirk Nowitzki collected 24 points and 14 rebounds for Dallas, which has rebounded from an 0-4 start.
In other games, it was: ; Houston Rockets 97, New York Knicks 90; Phoenix Suns 113, Golden State Warriors 110; San Antonio Spurs 107, Portland Trail Blazers 98; Memphis Grizzlies 95, Orlando Magic 85; Seattle SuperSonics 99, New Jersey Nets 87.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS