Andre Iguodala scored 31 points and the Philadelphia 76ers spoiled the return of Kobe Bryant with their sixth straight victory, 108-92 over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Andre Miller scored 23 points, Kyle Korver had 18 and the Sixers scored 16 straight points in a 20-3 run to cap a perfect homestand (6-0) and win their seventh straight at home in front of their first sellout crowd of the season. The Sixers are making a late playoff push, one reason team president Billy King said before the game that coach Maurice Cheeks would return next season.
Bryant cooled in the second half after scoring 21 points in the first. He finished with 30 points after serving a one-game suspension for striking a player in the face.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Heat 105, Timberwolves 91
At Miami, Shaquille O'Neal made his first seven shots and scored a season-high 32 points, Jason Williams added 20 points and surging Miami beat Minnesota.
O'Neal finished 13-of-16 from the field and added nine rebounds. Williams shot 9-for-13 and Eddie Jones had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Heat.
Celtics 118, SuperSonics 103
At Boston, Al Jefferson had 31 points and 16 rebounds, Paul Pierce added 21 points, and Boston rallied to beat Seattle.
Rajon Rondo, starting in place of the injured Delonte West, scored 20 points and Gerald Green had 19 for the Celtics.
Hawks 106, Grizzlies 105
Josh Smith scored 20 points, including the go-ahead three-point play with 11.5 seconds left, as Atlanta handed lowly Memphis its sixth straight loss.
It was Atlanta's second consecutive win after losing six in a row. Memphis has lost nine of 10 and has the worst record in the NBA at 15-48, including the poorest mark on the road, falling to 4-28.
Rockets 112, Nets 91
At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 34 points and Yao Ming had 24 points and 13 rebounds in his first home game since returning from a leg injury, leading Houston over New Jersey.
McGrady topped 30 points for the 18th time this season and also had five assists and four rebounds. He led the Rockets to a 20-12 record during Yao's absence and carried them again on Friday, even with Yao resembling his old self.
Suns 104, Hornets 103
At Phoenix, Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Phoenix withstood a last-minute surge by New Orleans to hand the Hornets their fourth loss in a row.
The Suns improved to 9-1 since the All-Star break, but as has been the case lately, it was a struggle.
Pistons 95, Nuggets 82
At Denver, Chris Webber scored 20 points, Rasheed Wallace had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Detroit beat Denver to snap a two-game losing streak.
Chauncey Billups added 16 points and Richard Hamilton had 14 points.
Warriors 99, Clippers 89
At Oakland, California, Baron Davis had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Golden State gained valuable ground on Los Angeles in the playoff chase.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
The Philippines curling team has been rocking it in Harbin, claiming the tropical nation’s first Asian Winter Games medal yesterday with a victory in the men’s final against South Korea. The team of Marc Pfister, Alan Frei, Christian Haller, Enrico Pfister and alternate Benjo Delarmente took gold with a 5-3 win at Harbin Pingfang Curling Arena. The Philippines Olympic Committee was quick to celebrate with a post on Instagram to mark the historic gold. “This is the first-ever medal for the Philippines at the Asian Winter Games, and the highest achievement for a Southeast Asian athlete in the Games’ history! What an incredible
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien on Tuesday dumped compatriot and second seed Hsieh Su-wei out of the women’s doubles at the Qatar Open to set up another potential Taiwanese showdown, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock defeat in the second round. Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu, who earlier this year won the ASB Classic in Auckland and the Hobart International, defeated Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 10-5 in 1 hour, 29 minutes on Grandstand Court 3 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Wu and Jiang on Sunday advanced to the round-of-16 with a 7-6 (7/7),