The Toronto Raptors opened up a two-game lead for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after they beat the Los Angeles Clippers 114-92 on Wednesday.
Chris Bosh scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Andrea Bargnani added 21 and eight rebounds as the Raptors (37-37) used a big second half to put some breathing room between themselves and the ninth-placed Chicago Bulls.
Toronto trailed 75-74 with two minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the third quarter before outscoring the Clippers 40-17 over the remainder of the game.
“We knew we had to make adjustments and come out and play the second half correctly,” Bosh told reporters. “There wasn’t much said, we just addressed the problems.”
Sonny Weems boosted the Raptors with 15 of his 17 points coming in the second half.
Weems, a second-year player who was inserted into the starting lineup four games ago, made all eight of his field goal attempts and added five rebounds.
Chris Kaman had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Los Angeles, while forward Drew Gooden recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
Los Angeles, who lost their third successive game and fell to 27-48 on the season, were again without point guard Baron Davis who is having trouble with back spasms.
“I thought the first half we played hard and we made a little run there,” Kaman said. “We’ve got to give them credit. They deserved to win, they’re fighting for that last playoff spot and they wanted it more than we did.”
CAVALIERS 101, BUCKS 98
At Cleveland, Mo Williams made four free throws in the final 12.8 seconds as the Cleveland Cavaliers held on for a 101-98 win over the vastly improved Milwaukee Bucks, who showed they might be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
LeBron James scored 23 points and Williams 21 for the Cavs, who have won 10 of their past 11 and are closing in on the league’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
John Salmons scored 28 points and Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who attempted just nine free throws — none in the fourth quarter — to 45 for Cleveland.
HAWKS 109, LAKERS 92
At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 25 points and Jamal Crawford got plenty of help off the Atlanta bench in a win over Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant scored 28 points but only eight in the second half as Los Angeles lost back-to-back games for just the fourth time this season. The Lakers won twice on a five-game road trip and missed a chance to possibly clinch the Pacific Division title before heading back home.
SUNS 116, NETS 105
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Steve Nash had 24 points and 14 assists, and Jason Richardson scored 23 points as Phoenix ran its winning streak to nine games.
Amare Stoudemire had 15 points and three reserves were in double figures for the Suns, who followed a sluggish first half by hitting all six 3-point attempts in a 38-point third quarter that turned around the game.
Terrence Williams scored 21 points and Brook Lopez had 19 for New Jersey. Courtney Lee and Kris Humphries each added 17.
THUNDER 109, CELTICS 104
At Boston, Kevin Durant scored 37 points, and Jeff Green hit two 3-pointers in the last two minutes as Oklahoma City edged Boston.
Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 10 assists in the Thunder’s 46th victory of the season.
Boston was led by Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace with 18 points each.
In other NBA play, it was:
• Wizards 96, Hornets 91
• Timberwolves 108, Kings 99
• Bobcats 103, 76ers 84
• Heat 98, Pistons 81
• Mavericks 106, Grizzlies 102, OT
• Spurs 119, Rockets 102
• Jazz 128, Warriors 104
• Trail Blazers 118, Knicks 90
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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