Former Houston swingman Bonzi Wells helped New Orleans hand the Rockets their second straight loss after a 22-game winning streak, scoring 20 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter in the Hornets' 90-69 victory on Wednesday night.
David West, returning from a right ankle sprain that sidelined him for two games, had 23 points and 11 rebounds to help New Orleans (46-21) pull a half-game ahead of the Rockets for the Southwest Division lead and even with the Los Angeles Lakers atop the Western Conference.
Tracy McGrady scored 15 against New Orleans, well below his nearly 22-point-per-game average.
PHOTO: EPA
Chris Paul had 21 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who extended their home winning streak to eight while ending the Rockets' 12-game winning streak on the road.
Luis Scola had 14 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with three minutes left. Shane Battier also scored 14, while Dikembe Mutombo and Rafer Alston each scored 10. Tyson Chandler grabbed 15 rebounds for New Orleans, which overcame a 14-point first-half deficit.
Suns 110, SuperSonics 98
At Seattle, Steve Nash scored 23 points, Amare Stoudemire dominated inside with 26 points and Phoenix overcame a season-high 27 turnovers to win its season-best sixth straight.
Jeff Green led Seattle with 19 points, and Kevin Durant and Luke Ridnour both scored 16.
Cavaliers 89, Pistons 73
At Cleveland, LeBron James scored 30 points, moving closer to becoming Cleveland's top career scorer, and the Cavaliers beat Detroit in the Pistons' first visit to Cleveland since losing Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference finals.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 20 points and Wally Szczerbiak 10 for the Cavaliers, the defending Eastern Conference champions.
Rasheed Wallace scored 16 points and Richard Hamilton 14 for the Pistons, who were held to 63 fewer points than they scored in a 136-120 win over Denver on Tuesday.
Warriors 116, Clippers 100
At Los Angeles, Stephen Jackson scored 29 points, Monta Ellis added 28 and Golden State tightened its grip on a playoff spot.
Golden State's ninth victory in 12 games, coupled with Denver's two-point loss at Philadelphia, increased the Warriors' lead over the Nuggets to 2{ games in the race for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth. Rookie Al Thornton had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers.
In other games it was:
* Raptors 96, Heat 54
* 76ers 115, Nuggets 113
* Nets 125, Hawks 117
* Wizards 87, Magic 86
* Pacers 102, Bobcats 95
* Timberwolves 98, Grizzlies 94
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
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