The Boston Celtics knocked the Orlando Magic from the top perch in the overall NBA standings with a 90-80 win on Thursday, leaving Magic coach Stan Van Gundy to blame himself.
“I’m pretty big on holding players accountable,” Van Gundy said. “On this one, it’s me. I’ve got to find a way for us to get some ball movement and freedom of movement where we can get some shots. So I’m frustrated in myself.”
It’s a common reaction among coaches after recent games against the defending champion Celtics, who moved level with Cleveland on win percentage atop the Eastern Conference, and just behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the West.
Boston’s Paul Pierce had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Glen Davis added a season-high 16 points and Boston disrupted everything Orlando wanted offensively, holding the Magic to a season-low in points.
Orlando’s Dwight Howard, who on Thursday became the first player in league history to receive 3 million votes in a season for the All-Star game, was held to a relatively ordinary 11 points and 11 rebounds. He fouled out with 2:30 left, and Orlando’s run of seven straight wins was snapped.
Lakers 117, Wizards 97
In Los Angeles, the home team maintained its outright lead in the league percentage standings with a comfortable win over struggling Washington.
Andrew Bynum had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Spaniard Pau Gasol added 18 points for the Lakers.
On the third anniversary of his franchise-record 81-point game, Kobe Bryant had 11 points, five assists and four rebounds in 28 minutes for Los Angeles.
Earlier in the day, Bryant was selected to start in the All-Star game for the 11th consecutive season.
Los Angeles’ 34-8 start is their best since 1971-1972, and coach Phil Jackson had the luxury of resting many of his starters over the course of successive games against lowly Washington and the LA Clippers.
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
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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