Amar’e Stoudemire scored 24 of his 30 points in the second half and Wilson Chandler made the tiebreaking three-pointer with 30 seconds left as the New York Knicks beat the Denver Nuggets 129-125 on Sunday for their first eight-game winning streak in 16 years.
Stoudemire set a franchise record with his eighth straight 30-point game.
Winning for the 13th time in 14 games, the Knicks have won eight straight for the first time since Dec. 27, 1994 to Jan. 13, 1995. At 16-9, they are off to their best start after 25 games since they were 18-7 in the 1996-1997 season.
Chandler scored 27 points and Raymond Felton had 19 points and a season-high 17 assists. Rookie Landry Fields scored 18 points and Danilo Gallinari had 16 for the Knicks.
Carmelo Anthony had 31 points and 13 rebounds in his return to the Nuggets’ lineup after missing two games with an inflamed right knee. Nene added 26 points.
Lakers 99, Nets 92
In Newark, Kobe Bryant scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half and had two big assists in a late 8-0 run that led Los Angeles to its eighth straight win over New Jersey.
Lamar Odom had five of his 22 points in the late spurt and Pau Gasol had the other three in capping a 15-point, 11-rebound effort for the Lakers.
Brook Lopez had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who have lost seven straight and 9 of 11. Devin Harris added 16 points and 10 assists.
Spurs 95, Trail Blazers 78
In San Antonio, George Hill scored 22 points as San Antonio won its fifth straight to become the NBA’s first 20-game winner this season.
Manu Ginobili added 18 points and Tim Duncan had eight points and 13 rebounds in his 1,000th NBA game.
Wesley Matthews scored 17 points, while Brandon Roy was hassled into a 4-for-16 shooting performance and had only nine as Portland snapped a four-game win streak.
76ers 88, Hornets 70
In Philadelphia, Andre Iguodala and Lou Williams sparked a 17-2 run spanning the first and second quarters that catapulted Philadelphia to its fifth win in seven games.
Williams finished with 17 points, Elton Brand had 15 points and 13 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season and Iguodala had 16 points and 10 assists.
Chris Paul scored 25 points and David West was held to just nine on 2-for-10 shooting for New Orleans, which lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
Magic 94, Clippers 85
In Los Angeles, Dwight Howard scored 22 points to help Orlando beat the Los Angeles Clippers and end a four-game losing streak.
Jameer Nelson added 17 points, Vince Carter 13, and Brandon Bass had 13 points and a career high-tying 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Blake Griffin had 27 points and 16 rebounds for his 18th double-double and Eric Gordon scored 28 points for the Clippers, who lost for the eighth time in a row to Orlando.
Thunder 106, Cavaliers 77
In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant scored 25 points and Jeff Green and James Harden added 19 apiece as Oklahoma City sent Cleveland to its eighth straight loss.
The Cavaliers fought back from a 22-point, first-half deficit to briefly get within nine. However, Oklahoma City closed the third quarter on a 19-1 run and stretched its lead to 30 in the fourth.
Anthony Parker led Cleveland with 12 points and Daniel Gibson scored 11 and Anderson Varejao had a season-high 16 rebounds.
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