Corey Brewer sank three free throws with 2.1 seconds left as the Denver Nuggets stretched their franchise-best winning streak to 14 games with a 101-100 thriller over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
Anthony Randolph blocked Damien Wilkins’ desperation jumper at the buzzer to secure Denver’s 16th straight win at the Pepsi Center — and their most unlikely.
Brewer finished with 29 points.
Wilkins had 24 points, while Jrue Holliday had 18 points and 15 assists for the Sixers.
TRAIL BLAZERS 99, BULLS 89
In Chicago, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points, Damian Lillard added 24 and Portland completed a season sweep of Chicago.
Portland improved to 10-25 on the road to take the season series with the Bulls for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. The Blazers beat Chicago 102-94 on Nov. 18 last year in their other meeting this season.
Joakim Noah had 18 points, while Carlos Boozer added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago, who shot 44 percent.
J.J. Hickson grabbed 21 rebounds for Portland, who held a 45-41 rebounding advantage.
KINGS 101, TIMBERWOLVES 98
In Sacramento, California, Isaiah Thomas had 24 points and six assists, while Tyreke Evans scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter as Sacramento earned their third straight home win by holding off slumping Minnesota.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
TOP OF THE TABLE: Evann Guessand put the visitors ahead early in the game and Flavius Daniliuc equalized before Youri Tielemans got the winner in the second half Aston Villa on Thursday extended their winning streak to eight games in all competitions with a 2-1 victory against Basel in the UEFA Europa League to secure at least a playoff spot. Villa were tied with Olympique Lyonnais, who beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-1, and Midtjylland, 1-0 winners over Genk, atop the standings of the second-tier European competition on 15 points with five wins from six games. They have bounced back from a poor start to the season and are third in the Premier League, including a 2-1 victory over leaders Arsenal on Saturday. At St Jakob-Park in Basel, summer signing Evann Guessand
Italian Luca de Aliprandini described Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom at Val d’Isere as the hardest race of his life, coming two days after his Swiss partner Michelle Gisin suffered a heavy fall in training which required neck surgery. De Aliprandini finished 26th in the men’s event won by Loic Meillard, but the result paled into insignificance with two-time Olympic ski champion Gisin in hospital with injuries to her wrist, knee and cervical spine (neck). “It was Michelle’s wish that I race here. I couldn’t say no to her, but it was the toughest race of my entire life,” an emotional De
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