Kevin Durant scored 23 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched an NBA playoff spot with a 121-116 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
Jeff Green added 22 points, and Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison added 17 each to help the Thunder end a nine-game road losing streak against the Mavericks dating to when the team was based in Seattle. The Thunder are the NBA’s most improved team this season, more than doubling their 23 victories in 2008-2009.
Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 13 rebounds for Dallas, and Jason Kidd added 24 points in a matchup of possible playoff opponents.
Bucks 107, Suns 98
At Milwaukee, Brandon Jennings scored 23 points as Milwaukee beat Phoenix to end the Suns’ winning streak at 10 games.
Now the Bucks must wait to see if they’ll have to face life without Andrew Bogut after the standout center sustained an elbow injury.
Bogut, Milwaukee’s leading scorer and rebounder, was taken to the hospital for tests after hurting his right elbow during a dunk in the second quarter. Bogut hung on the rim then crashed to the floor, awkwardly twisting his arm.
Amare Stoudemire had 22 points for the Suns, and Leandro Barbosa added 21.
Hawks 91, Pistons 85
At Atlanta, Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, and Al Horford added 20 points and 14 rebounds as Atlanta beat Detroit for their 10th straight home victory.
The Hawks also handed Detroit their 11th straight loss, the Pistons’ worst run since dropping 13 in a row from December 15 of last year to January 11 this year.
Josh Smith finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds to help the Hawks improve to 13-6 overall since Feb. 28. Rodney Stuckey had 22 points for the Pistons.
Nuggets 98, Clippers 90
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points as Denver overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Los Angeles.
Nene added 18 points, and Chauncey Billups and Johan Petro had 14 points apiece in helping Denver win their second in a row since a 1-5 stretch. Denver improved to 50-27, the Nuggets’ third consecutive 50-win season.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Nuggets pulled into a tie with Utah for first place in the Northwest Division, along with tying the Jazz, Dallas and Phoenix for the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
Eric Gordon had 23 points for the Clippers.
Bulls 96, Bobcats 88
At Chicago, Derrick Rose scored 26 points and Kirk Hinrich added 24 as Chicago beat Charlotte to boost their playoff hopes.
They remained 1.5 games behind eighth-place Toronto in the Eastern Conference and pulled within three of Charlotte. Boris Diaw scored 18 points for the Bobcats.
Nets 115, Hornets 87
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, rookie Terrence Williams had 14 points and a career-high 14 assists to lead New Jersey to their biggest win of the season.
Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points, and Kris Humphries added 10 points and a season-high-tying 12 rebounds for New Jersey (11-65).
David West had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for New Orleans.
In other games it was:
• Heat 97, Timberwolves 84
• Raptors 128, Sixers 123, OT
• Trail Blazers 98, Kings 87
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
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
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
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
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