Kevin Durant scored 18 points and first-round pick Russell Westbrook sparked a comeback as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 88-85 on Sunday for their first victory in their new home.
But officials had to huddle after the final buzzer to see if there was a foul before the clock hit zero. Cheerleaders rushed onto the floor, and the crowd gave one final cheer after the game was ruled over.
Westbrook, who earlier sparked a 13-0 run that pulled the Thunder out of a third-quarter deficit, hit the go-ahead basket with a driving layup that made it 86-85 with 2:19 to play and Oklahoma City stopped Minnesota on its next six possessions to hang on for the win.
PHOTO: AP
BUCKS 94, KNICKS 86
At New York, Richard Jefferson and Ramon Sessions each scored 18 points, and Milwaukee used a strong defensive effort to shake off Michael Redd’s injury and beat New York.
Redd added 16 points, making all three 3-point attempts, before leaving with a sprained right ankle with Milwaukee leading by 16 late in the third quarter. Charlie Villanueva also scored 16, while Andrew Bogut had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Quentin Richardson had 28 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks, who have shot under 40 percent in their past two games, making Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system look awful.
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‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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