James Harden scored 30 points on Monday as he carried Houston to a 113-99 victory over the slumping Brooklyn Nets on a night when Dwight Howard did little after fighting with Kevin Garnett.
Garnett was ejected in the first quarter for head-butting Howard and throwing the ball at him, while Howard received a technical foul for seeming to punch or slap Garnett in the neck.
Howard had an otherwise quiet night, with eight points and five rebounds, but the Rockets did not need much in the middle as they dominated the outside with 16 three-pointers in 40 attempts.
Mason Plumlee scored a career-high 24 points for the Nets, who lost their sixth straight.
Houston have won four in a row — all by double digits — and blew away a Nets team that held their previous eight opponents to less than 100 points, the longest streak in the NBA this season.
CELTICS 108, PELICANS 100
In Boston, Jared Sullinger had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, as rookie Marcus Smart nailed a key three-pointer in the closing minute to seal their win against the Pelicans.
The victory was the Celtics’ third in their past 12 games. Jae Crowder scored 22 points, Marcus Thornton had 13 and Brandon Bass finished with 12.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 34 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Eric Gordon scored 21 points, while Tyreke Evans had 19 points and eight boards.
Clinging to a 101-100 lead, Avery Bradley’s shot was blocked by Davis in the lane, before Smart nailed a three-pointer from the left corner, falling into the seats as the shot swished through the basket with 39.7 seconds left.
MAGIC 121, BULLS 114
In Chicago, Illinois, Nikola Vucevic had 33 points and 11 rebounds as Orlando ended a six-game losing streak with a victory over Chicago.
The Magic shot a season-high 59 percent from the field in their first win in Chicago since an 83-82 victory on Dec. 16, 2013. Orlando had lost three in a row and 12 of 15 against the Bulls since the start of the 2010-2011 season.
Victor Oladipo also scored 33 points for the Magic, while rookie Elfrid Payton added 10 points and seven assists.
Vucevic was 16-for-24 from the field in his NBA-best 23rd double-double of the season.
Pau Gasol paced Chicago with 28 points and 14 rebounds, while Derrick Rose had 18 points and seven assists. Jimmy Butler finished with 17 points.
PISTONS 114, RAPTORS 111
In Toronto, Brandon Jennings had 34 points and 10 assists to help Detroit beat the Raptors and seal their ninth time in 10 games.
Greg Monroe had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Pistons ended a four-game losing streak against Toronto. Jodie Meeks scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Jonas Jerebko had eight of his 10 in the final period.
Jonas Valanciunas had a career-best 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who lost their fifth game in six. Kyle Lowry had 10 points and 12 assists, as Greivis Vasquez scored 16 and Lou Williams had 15.
Andre Drummond also had a double-double in Detroit’s sixth consecutive road win, finishing with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
Italian defender Marco Curto has been banned for 10 matches for racially abusing South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan while playing for Como 1907 against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly in July. Curto, who is on loan from Como to Serie B club Cesena, would serve half of the punishment immediately with the other half suspended for two years. “The player Marco Curto was found responsible for discriminatory behavior and sanctioned with a 10-match suspension,” a FIFA spokesperson said. “The player is ordered to render community services and undergo training and education with an organization approved by FIFA.” Wolves said the club would
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