Kevin Garnett scored 10 points with seven rebounds during 26 easy minutes in his return to the Boston court as the Celtics held the Charlotte Bobcats to a team-low score in a 92-59 victory in their NBA home opener on Wednesday.
Ray Allen scored 18 points and was the only Boston starter to play in the fourth quarter as the Celtics followed their opening-day victory over Cleveland with a blowout of the Bobcats. Paul Pierce scored 15, Rajon Rondo scored 10 with 11 assists and Rasheed Wallace came off the bench with three 3-pointers.
Shelden Williams had 12 points and nine rebounds as a reserve.
Gerald Wallace had 10 points and 12 rebounds — the only Bobcat to reach double digits in scoring.
MAGIC 120, 76ERS 106
At Orlando, Florida, Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Vince Carter scored 15 points and new-look Orlando rolled to a victory over Philadelphia.
Ryan Anderson added 16 points, and Jason Williams had 15 points to highlight a deep Magic bench. Orlando went ahead by 23 points at halftime.
HAWKS 120, PACERS 109
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25 points, Al Horford had 24 and Atlanta finally played some defense in an offensive shootout, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a season-opening victory over Indiana.
Danny Granger led Indiana with 31 points but only one other starter was in double figures.
RAPTORS 101, CAVALIERS 91
At Toronto, Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points, Chris Bosh had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Toronto overcame LeBron James’ 25th career triple-double to beat Cleveland.
James had 23 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but Cleveland opened its season with consecutive losses for the first time since 2004.
Mo Williams scored 16 points and Shaquille O’Neal had 12 for Cleveland.
Hedo Turkoglu scored 12 points in his Raptors debut, and Jose Calderon had 11 assists.
HEAT 115, KNICKS 93
At Miami, Dwyane Wade began the defense of his NBA scoring title with 26 points, Jermaine O’Neal finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Heat opened their season with an easy win over New York.
Also on Wednesday, it was:
• Thunder 102, Kings 89
• Spurs 113, Hornets 96
• Timberwolves 95, Nets 93
• Pistons 96, Grizzlies 74
• Rockets 108, Warriors 107
• Suns 109, Clippers 107
• Nuggets 114, Jazz 105
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
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