Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points, O.J. Mayo had two big fourth-quarter baskets and a career-high 12 assists, and Dallas bounced back from a blowout loss in Houston to down the Rockets 112-108 on Wednesday.
Mayo scored five straight points to put Dallas ahead 107-104, and the Mavericks won despite 28 points from James Harden, who scored the last seven for the Rockets.
Harden missed a three-pointer and a layup with the Rockets trying to tie in the final seconds, three days after their 33-point win in Houston.
Chandler Parsons had 23 points for Houston, while Jeremy Lin scored 12, but sat the entire fourth quarter in favor of backup Patrick Beverley.
Meanwhile, LeBron James scored 26 points, including a go-ahead layup with 3.2 seconds left, as the Miami Heat scrambled late to beat the Orlando Magic 97-96 and extend their club-record winning streak to 16 games.
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points and Chris Bosh added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who conceded a 20-point, second-half lead and then rallied from a five-point deficit in the final minutes.
Nic Vucevic had 25 points and 21 rebounds for the Magic, who got 16 points each from Jameer Nelson and Tobias Harris, 13 from Arron Afflalo and 12 from Maurice Harkless.
In New Orleans, Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 42 points during a 20-0 run in the last 6:22 of the fourth quarter, helping the Los Angeles Lakers overcome a 25-point deficit to fend off the New Orleans Hornets 108-102.
Dwight Howard had 20 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for Los Angeles. Bryant also had 12 assists.
Boston’s Kevin Garnett found Jeff Green all alone under the basket for a layup with 0.5 seconds remaining to finish off a fourth-quarter comeback from 14 points down that gave the Celtics an 83-81 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Garnett led the Celtics with 18 points and 10 rebounds and dragged Boston back after they trailed most of the final three quarters. Green had 11 points off the bench.
Paul George scored 16 points for the Pacers, who had all five starters in double figures.
Tim Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds in San Antonio’s 101-83 home win over the Chicago Bulls in a matchup of teams missing their starting All-Star point guards.
Manu Ginobili added 18 points and nine assists, Tiago Splitter had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard scored 14 points for San Antonio.
Patty Mills provided a needed punch off the Spurs’ bench, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the second half.
Kyrie Irving scored 20 points and made all the big plays down the stretch, rallying the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 104-101 victory over the Utah Jazz, while Deron Williams had 20 points and eight assists and Joe Johnson added 22 points in the Brooklyn Nets’ much-needed 99-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Atlanta’s Jeff Teague scored 27 points and Anthony Tolliver added a season-high 21 as the Hawks bounced back from a sluggish start to snap a three-game losing streak with a 107-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The New York Knicks shrugged off Carmelo Anthony to pull away in the fourth quarter and beat the Detroit Pistons 87-77, while Ricky Rubio had 15 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and six steals to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to an 87-82 victory over the Washington Wizards.
In other games, the Memphis Grizzlies downed the Portland Trail Blazers 91-85, the Toronto Raptors beat the Phoenix Suns 98-71, the Los Angeles Clippers overcame the Milwaukee Bucks 117-101 and the Golden State Warriors edged the Sacramento Kings 87-83.
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
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
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
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