Mike Dunleavy scored all of his 21 points in the second half and Joakim Noah flirted with another triple-double as the Chicago Bulls routed the Houston Rockets 111-87 on Thursday.
In other games around the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder avenged Sunday’s surprise loss to the Los Angeles Lakers with a 131-102 rematch victory and the Atlanta Hawks won their first back-to-back games in nearly six weeks with a 102-97 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Chicago’s Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score.
Photo: AFP
Kirk Hinrich added 19 points for the Bulls, going five for six on three-pointers, while Carlos Boozer scored 18 points, DJ Augustin 13 and Jimmy Butler 11.
Jeremy Lin scored 21 points and Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who have dropped two straight.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant scored 29 points apiece in Oklahoma City’s win over the Lakers.
Photo: EPA
Westbrook shot poorly against the Lakers on Sunday, but made nine of 17 shots and had nine assists in the rematch.
Serge Ibaka added 15 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks for the Thunder, who climbed within half a game of San Antonio for the top record in the NBA’s Western Conference.
Atlanta’s Jeff Teague had 22 points and Kyle Korver scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Hawks beat the Bucks. Both teams entered the contest having lost 14 of their previous 16 games.
The Hawks have plummeted to eighth in the Eastern Conference standings, leading the surging Knicks by three games for the final playoff spot.
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
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS