Tim Duncan set the San Antonio Spurs’ NBA franchise scoring record on Friday, eclipsing the mark held by Spurs icon David Robinson.
Duncan needed 13 points to eclipse the mark of 20,790 set by Spurs icon David Robinson over 14 NBA seasons.
He finished with 19 points — for 20,797 — and 14 rebounds in San Antonio’s 94-82 victory over the Utah Jazz.
The Spurs’ ninth straight victory gave them the first 10-1 season start in the club’s history.
Duncan’s achievement took some of the spotlight off teammate Tony Parker, who was playing his first road game since his actress wife Eva Longoria filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
France’s Parker heard scattered boos when he scored and cheers of his misses, along with a few calls of “Eva!” when he touched the ball.
He was able to ignore the distraction and score 24 points, including four straight late in the fourth quarter as the Spurs made sure Utah’s bid to rally fell short.
Duncan, who played his first five seasons alongside Robinson, said he now had bragging rights over his old teammate.
In fact, George Gervin scored 23,602 points in a Spurs uniform, but three of his seasons were in the Spurs’ former American Basketball Association incarnation and not counted in the statistics of the now-NBA club.
No one connected with the Spurs cared to quibble over Duncan’s achievement.
“He has done a fine job for a lot of years,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “He has been the driving force behind our championships. The fact that he’s reaching this plateau isn’t a surprise to any of us, but it’s certainly an accomplishment.”
THUNDER 89, CELTICS 84
In Boston, Oklahoma City -squandered most of a 10-point lead before holding on to beat Boston.
Russell Westbrook scored 31 points despite missing all seven shots he took in the fourth quarter. Westbrook went 11 for 13 from the line, hitting a pair of free throws in the closing seconds after Boston cut the deficit to 85-84.
The Thunder were without NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant, who had a sore ankle.
Kevin Garnett scored 16 points but a season-low two rebounds for the Celtics, who had won three straight.
LAKERS 112, TIMBERWOLVES 95
In Minneapolis, Kobe Bryant had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Los Angeles over Minnesota.
Matt Barnes scored 24 on 7-of-7 shooting for the Lakers.
Minnesota’s Kevin Love, the NBA’s leading rebounder, had just seven rebounds and was scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting.
Darko Milicic had career highs with 23 points, 16 rebounds and six blocks for the Timberwolves.
HORNETS 108, CAVALIERS 101
In New Orleans, New Orleans held Cleveland to 35 percent shooting and survived a late flurry.
Cleveland, which trailed by double digits for the first 20 minutes of the second half, pulled within 104-101 with 21 seconds left. New Orleans’ Marco Belinelli hit two foul shots two seconds later, and Trevor Ariza stole the ball from Ramon Sessions to seal the victory.
David West scored a season-high 34 points and Chris Paul contributed 15 points, 10 assists and six steals for the Hornets.
Antawn Jamison led the Cavaliers with 20 points off the bench.
BULLS 88, MAVERICKS 83
In Dallas, Chicago came from 12 points down in the third quarter to overrun Dallas.
Derrick Rose scored 22 points and Taj Gibson added 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds before fouling out with under a minute to play, helping the Bulls win in Dallas for the first time in six attempts.
Rose sustained a cut on his nose in the final minute of the third quarter when he was fouled by Nowitzki, but remained in the game after getting treatment.
Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 36 points for the Mavericks, but only two players reached double figures.
HEAT 95, BOBCATS 87
In Miami, the hosts wasted another huge lead but hung on to defeat Charlotte.
LeBron James scored 32 points while Chris Bosh added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who led by as many as 21 in the second quarter, but found themselves down 82-80 with 4:56 remaining.
James hit a short jumper from the lane to put Miami up again and Bosh made four straight free throws to give the Heat a 90-85 edge with 1:07 left and the home team clung on.
In other NBA action it was:
‧ Knicks 125, Warriors 119
‧ Wizards 89, Grizzlies 86
‧ 76ers 90, Bucks 79
‧ Kings 86, Nets 81
‧ Raptors 106, Rockets 96
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
Hans Niemann declares he would become a “stone cold killer” in a Netflix documentary released on Tuesday about his feud with five-time classical world champion Magnus Carlsen, a pledge that injects new edge into the lingering fallout from the cheating scandal that shook elite chess. “I’m gonna be a stone cold killer the rest of my life,” the US’ Niemann says in the film. “I’m going to become the best player in the world, and no one is going to believe that now, but this clip will play over and over again in 10 years — just wait.” “I just
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
Top seeded Jessica Pegula on Friday once again fought back from a set down to reach the WTA Charleston Open semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win against Russia’s Diana Shnaider. Defending champion Pegula has lost the first set in all three of her matches at the tournament so far, but again dug deep to maintain her hopes of retaining the title. The world No. 5 from the US took 2 hours, 10 minutes to defeat 19th-ranked Shnaider, relying on a formidable service game that included eight aces. Shnaider battled well in the first two sets and broke early for a 2-0 lead
RSS