Richard Jefferson scored 25 points, including two game-winning free throws with 24 seconds left, as the New Jersey Nets rallied past the winless Washington Wizards 87-85 in the NBA on Thursday.
The Nets' fourth victory in five games wasn't secured until Antoine Wright forced Gilbert Arenas to his right and the Washington guard had to take an off-balance shot that was deflected by Vince Carter.
Carter had 24 points, including 12-of-14 from the line, to help New Jersey rally from a 20-point first-half deficit.
PHOTO: EPA
Bostjan Nachbar had 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, when the Nets shot 65 percent.
Antawn Jamison had 24 points and nine rebounds for Washington, while Caron Butler and Arenas both had 21 points.
The 0-4 start is the first for Washington since 1992-1993.
Bulls 97, Pistons 93
At Chicago, Tyrus Thomas had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Chicago got its first victory after opening the season with four losses.
Rasheed Wallace had 36 points for Detroit in the first meeting between the teams since Detroit won the Eastern Conference semifinals in six games last spring.
Luol Deng added 17 points and Ben Gordon had 16 for the Bulls, while Kirk Hinrich had 14 assists.
Richard Hamilton scored 18 points for the Pistons, who lost after winning their first three games. Chicago's Joe Smith made one of two from the line to make it 96-93 and the Pistons had a chance to tie.
Hamilton's 3-pointer was short and the Bulls rebounded with 2.9 seconds left. Thomas' free throw sealed the victory.
Mavericks 120, Warriors 115
Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks at Golden State.
Nowitzki scored eight points in the fourth quarter, Jerry Stackhouse hit a 3-pointer with 37 seconds left and the Mavericks got a bit of hollow revenge from their historic playoff defeat with a 120-115 victory over the winless Warriors.
Josh Howard had 24 points for the Mavericks, who snapped a five-game regular-season losing streak against the Warriors.
They held off another sublime performance from Baron Davis, who scored 15 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as a six-man Golden State rotation repeatedly threatened to embarrass Dallas again.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th