The Oklahoma City Thunder regained top spot in the Western Conference in some style on Monday after blasting the Milwaukee Bucks 109-89.
The Thunder had sat atop the West for most of the season, but an 11-game winning streak by surging San Antonio put the Spurs percentage points in front heading into the night.
The teams flipped positions after Oklahoma City took care of their business in Milwaukee and the Spurs later lost to the Utah Jazz after deciding to rest key veterans Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Oklahoma City (42-15) cruised behind 26 points from Russell Westbrook and 19 from Kevin Durant as they raced out to a 35-18 first-quarter lead which they never looked like relinquishing.
“That’s what you’re supposed to do,” Westbrook told reporters. “If you want to be able to win championships in this league, you’ve got to be able to come out every night, regardless if it’s home or on the road, to impose your will on teams.”
The Bucks (28-29) are trying to close in on the last playoff spot in the East, but they fell 1.5 games behind eighth place after a frustrating night where they earned five technical fouls, including two for forward Larry Sanders, who was ejected.
The game featured some tense moments, including a first-half confrontation between Mike Dunleavy and the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka, who grabbed Dunleavy’s arm as the two went face-to-face and were both assessed technicals.
However, Milwaukee could not turn their passion into production and they were outmatched in every department.
Ersan Ilyasova led the way with 18 points, but the home team got little out of trade acquisition Monta Ellis, who made just three of 12 shots for nine points.
The Thunder defense had a lot to do with that as Thabo Sefolosha recorded seven steals and Ibaka added five blocks to help their team to a second straight win after a three-game skid.
“[Ibaka] protects the basket so well,” Durant said. “It makes it easier for our defense. Sometimes when we get broken down on the wing, Serge is there to help us out.”
LAKERS 93, HORNETS 91
In New Orleans, Pau Gasol had 25 points and nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers overcame Kobe Bryant’s absence to beat the New Orleans Hornets.
Bryant missed his second straight game with a sore left shin, but Ramon Sessions helped pick up the slack with 17 points, including a three-pointer that put the Lakers ahead by six with 26 seconds left. Andrew Bynum added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who snapped a two-game skid.
Carl Landry had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Marco Belinelli scored 20 points for New Orleans, who led by as much as eight points in the fourth quarter, before the Lakers stormed back.
Greivis Vasquez added 18 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, hitting a career-high five three-pointers on six attempts. Chris Kaman had 16 points and five blocked shots.
GRIZZLIES 94, CLIPPERS 85
In Memphis, Tennessee, Marc Gasol scored 18 points and Rudy Gay had 16 as the Grizzlies held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo added 13 each for Memphis, who won for the eighth time in 10 games and moved a half game behind the Clippers for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Marreese Speights finished with 12 points, while Zach Randolph added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies finished with a 48-36 rebounding edge, but committed 20 turnovers.
Chris Paul led Los Angeles with 21 points and six assists, while Blake Griffin had 19 points on nine-of-14 shooting from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Eric Bledsoe and Randy Foye scored 11 points each.
PACERS 103, RAPTORS 98
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Danny Granger and George Hill scored 18 points each as Indiana took an early lead and held off Toronto.
Paul George had 15 points and Leandro Barbosa added 14 to help the Pacers — third in the Eastern Conference — win for the fourth time in their past five games.
Hill also had seven rebounds and four assists while making his first start of the season in place of Darren Collison, who sat out with a groin injury sustained in Indiana’s loss to Boston on Saturday.
Linas Kleiza scored 18 points — all in the fourth quarter — as the Raptors tried to rally from a 15-point deficit at the start of the period.
Alan Anderson had 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter and Amir Johnson finished with 16 for Toronto. Ed Davis added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
WIZARDS 113, BOBCATS 85
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Jordan Crawford scored 20 points and Washington got 67 points from their reserves in a matchup of the NBA’s two worst teams.
James Singleton had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Cartier Martin chipped in with 19 points as the Wizards (13-44) swept the three-game season series from the Bobcats. John Wall scored just two points, but had 12 assists.
Corey Maggette scored 23 points for the Bobcats (7-48).
Monday’s other results:
‧ Magic 119, Pistons 89
‧ Suns 114, Timberwolves 90
‧ Nuggets 123, Warriors 84
‧ Jazz 91, Spurs 84
‧ Rockets 94, Trail Blazers 89
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere
RSS