Kobe Bryant scored six of his 26 points in the second overtime as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half for a 114-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Metta World Peace scored 12 points before getting ejected late in the second quarter for a vicious elbow to the back of James Harden’s head while celebrating a dunk. Harden, who had 14 points, briefly returned to Oklahoma City’s bench, but did not play again.
Pau Gasol had 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who made an impressive comeback in their regular-season home finale against off-target Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined to miss 42 of their 56 shots.
Photo: EPA
KNICKS 113, HAWKS 112
In Atlanta, Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points as New York outlasted Atlanta in a game between two playoff-bound teams still battling for postseason seeding.
The Hawks took their final lead at 112-111 on Joe Johnson’s 3-pointer with 1:50 left. Anthony countered with a jumper 10 seconds later for the final margin.
Amare Stoudemire blocked a dunk attempt by Atlanta’s Marvin Williams moments before the buzzer. Stoudemire started at center in place of Tyson Chandler, who was resting a sore knee.
Williams, who led Atlanta with a season-high 29 points, wanted a foul call on Anthony or Stoudemire, both of whom appeared to make contact.
CLIPPERS 107, HORNETS 98
In Los Angeles, Chris Paul had 33 points and 13 assists, and Randy Foye hit three of his six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers rallied for a victory over New Orleans to move within a half-game of the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.
Foye scored 24 points, and Blake Griffin had 21 points and 15 rebounds in the Clippers’ 40th victory — their most since the 2006-07 team won that many. Paul made 17 of 19 free throws, while Griffin hit 7 of 9.
Eric Gordon scored 17 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 14 against their former team. They were part of the trade that sent Paul to the Clippers before the season.
KINGS 114, BOBCATS 88
In Charlotte, North Carolina, DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points and 10 rebounds as Sacramento handed Charlotte their 20th straight loss.
The Kings had lost nine of their previous 10 games, but this one was never in doubt as they scored 78 points in the paint and led by as many as 35 in the fourth quarter.
Tyreke Evans was dominant while slicing his way through a non-existent Bobcats defense, hitting 10 of 11 shots from the field and finishing with 22 points.
Kemba Walker had 13 points and 11 assists for the Bobcats. If the Bobcats (7-56) lose their final three games, they will finish with the worst winning percentage in league history.
In other NBA action, it was:
‧ Heat 97, Rockets 88
‧ Warriors 93, Timberwolves 88
‧ Pistons 76, Raptors 73
‧ Spurs 114, Cavaliers 98
‧ Nuggets 101, Magic 74
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
RSS