Jason Kidd recorded his 82nd career triple-double, and the New Jersey Nets erased an 18-point deficit against Chicago for the second time in a week, beating the Bulls 86-83 on Thursday.
Kidd had 23 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season. Vince Carter added 18 points for the Nets.
Andres Nocioni finished with 28 points for Chicago and Ben Gordon had 23 -- only three after halftime while being defended by Kidd.
PHOTO: EPA
Suns 109, Cavaliers 90
At Phoenix, Steve Nash had a season-high 21 assists, becoming the first player in nine years with two 20-assist games in a season and leading Phoenix past Cleveland to its eighth straight victory.
Nash, who had 20 assists against Sacramento on Dec. 5, joined Avery Johnson, now the Dallas coach, as the last two players to reach that total in the same season. Johnson did it in 1997-98. Nash's career high is 22, against New York on Jan. 2 last year.
LeBron James scored 34 points, including the first 14 of the fourth quarter, for the Cavaliers, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
Shawn Marion led the balanced Phoenix offense with 19 points, while Raja Bell had 18, Amare Stoudemire 17, Leandro Barbosa 16 and James Jones 13. Stoudemire also had 13 rebounds and Marion 11.
The Philadelphia 76ers continued their rebuilding effort by waiving veteran power forward Chris Webber, who reportedly received a buyout on Thursday of his huge contract.
The Philadelphia Daily News reported on Wednesday that Webber, 33, and the NBA team agreed on the terms of a buyout for the remainder of his contract. Webber is making US$20.7 million this season and US$22.3 million next season.
Webber reportedly received all but approximately US$5 million of the money owed him. He is a free agent and can sign with any team.
A five-time All-Star who has yet to win a championship, Webber likely will be looking to sign with a contender, a squad that can provide playing time, or both.
Webber has played in just three of 13 games since Dec. 13 as he has been sidelined with ankle and foot injuries. He is averaging a career-low 11 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 18 games.
Boston Celtics guard Tony Allen will miss the remainder of the season after tearing ligaments in his left knee, the club said on Thursday.
"We don't know recovery time yet, but at least six months and probably longer," coach Doc Rivers told reporters.
Allen tore his anterior cruciate ligament, medial meniscus and lateral meniscus, the club said, after awkwardly falling during a home loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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