The Utah Jazz missed a chance to notch a tenth straight NBA win on Thursday, beatn 96-81 by a Los Angeles Lakers side missing Kobe Bryant.
Pau Gasol had 22 points and 19 rebounds as Los Angeles won its third straight without Bryant, who is sidelined with an ankle injury.
The Lakers got 25 points and 11 rebounds from Lamar Odom. Gasol added five blocks as he and Odom shut down the lane and forced the Jazz outside.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Lakers broke open the game with a 12-0 run at the end of the first quarter and held a double-figure lead from early in the second period through the end.
Deron Williams had 11 points and 10 assists for Utah.
TRAIL BLAZERS 108, SUNS 101
In Phoenix, Portland held off a late surge by Phoenix, ending the Suns’ winning trot at five games.
LaMarcus Aldridge led five Portland players in double figures with 22 points.
MAGIC 107, BULLS 87
In Chicago, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 14 rebounds as Orlando downed Chicago.
The Magic led 41-17 through the first quarter and didn’t have to contend with All-Star point guard Derrick Rose after he left with a bruised hip following a hard foul by Howard in the opening minutes.
HORNETS 93, CELTICS 85
In New Orleans, Darren Collison scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter to help New Orleans hold on against Boston.
Peja Stojakovic scored 20 for the Hornets.
HEAT 94, HAWKS 76
In Atlanta, Miami took advantage of Atlanta’s thin bench to pull away with a 10-0 run in the final period.
Jermaine O’Neal scored 19 points and Dwyane Wade had 18 for the Heat.
RAPTORS 104, 76ERS 93
In Toronto, the hosts extended their home winning streak to eight straight, beating Philadelphia.
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Jose Calderon converted a go-ahead four-point play for the Raptors.
In other NBA action it was:
• Bobcats 93, Timberwolves 92
• Kings 103, Pistons 97
• Warriors 132, Clippers 102
• Bucks 97, Nets 77
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
RSS