Ron Artest scored all of his 18 points in the second half as the Houston Rockets overcame the absence of giant Chinese center Yao Ming in a 95-84 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Monday night.
Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks each scored 14 points, and Scola had 12 rebounds to help the Rockets end New Orleans’ five-game winning streak at home.
Chris Paul had 29 points and 11 assists, while David West had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Hornets.
Yao sat out with flu-like symptoms and Dikembe Mutombo started in his place.
THUNDER 78, SPURS 76
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Thabo Sefolosha added 12 as the Thunder spoiled Gregg Popovich’s 1,000th game as San Antonio’s coach.
The Thunder didn’t lead until midway through the fourth quarter, but kept San Antonio to their season low in scoring and escaped when Tony Parker missed a three-pointer from the left side in the closing seconds.
Parker scored 28 points to lead San Antonio, and Tim Duncan had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Matt Bonner added 10 points.
NUGGETS 121, NETS 96
In Denver, Colorado, J.R. Smith and Nene scored 19 points each and Chauncey Billups had 14 points and 10 assists as the Nuggets extended their winning streak to three.
The Nets played without injured point guard Devin Harris and forward Sean Williams, who was arrested on Monday at a mobile phone store in Denver on accusations he got into an argument and threw a PC monitor.
BOBCATS 112, RAPTORS 86
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Gerald Wallace scored 25 points and the Bobcats began an important week for their playoff hopes by beating the Raptors to snap a three-game losing streak.
D.J. Augustin added 15 points for the Bobcats, who moved within one game of Milwaukee and Chicago in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Chris Bosh had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who committed 24 turnovers and lost for the eighth time in nine games.
TRAIL BLAZERS 103, GRIZZLIES 92
In Memphis, Tennessee, LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Brandon Roy finished with 20 points and nine assists to lead Portland.
Travis Outlaw added 18 points and Joel Przybilla had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
O.J. Mayo scored 21 points and handed out six assists to lead Memphis, who lost their 13th game in the last 15. Mike Conley had 20 points, and Rudy Gay scored 17 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from