Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 23 as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 97-81 on Wednesday night to clinch their 19th straight playoff berth.
San Antonio (51-9) won their 29th straight home game to open the season in their first game following a month-long road trip brought on by the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
San Antonio join Golden State as the only teams to clinch spots in the post-season.
Photo: Soobum Im-USA TODAY
Leonard and Aldridge excelled against a Detroit team thinned by injuries to forwards Anthony Tolliver and Stanley Johnson. Aldridge added 10 rebounds, while Leonard had six rebounds and five assists for San Antonio, who have won six straight.
Detroit center Andre Drummond had nine points and 14 rebounds, ending his career-high and the league’s season-high of consecutive double-doubles at 13 straight.
CLIPPERS 103, THUNDER 98
The Oklahoma City Thunder took the court hours after the death of part-owner Aubrey McClendon and squandered a 22-point lead to lose to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Chris Paul had 21 points and 13 assists for Los Angeles, while DeAndre Jordan had 20 points and 18 rebounds. The Clippers ended the game with a stunning 26-5 run after trailing by 16 points with 7 minutes, 30 seconds left. The Thunder had only one field goal during that stretch, a 17-foot jumper by Durant. It was the largest comeback win of the season for the Clippers.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points, while Russell Westbrook had 24 points and 12 assists for Oklahoma City.
NUGGETS 117, LAKERS 107
D.J. Augustin scored 22 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead six Denver players in double figures as the Nuggets beat Los Angeles in Kobe Bryant’s final game at the Pepsi Center.
Emmanuel Mudiay added 22 points and the Nuggets used a 10-0 run midway through the final quarter to gain some separation.
Bryant finished with five points and did not play in the second half because of a sore right shoulder. Fans kept chanting: “We want Kobe” as he sat on the bench with a wrap on his shoulder.
The Nuggets honored Bryant with a video tribute during a timeout in the first quarter.
ROCKETS 100, PELICANS 95
James Harden had 39 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to help Houston overcome miserable shooting in a victory over New Orleans.
The Rockets went three of 34 on three-point attempts and committed 21 turnovers, but were able to rally past New Orleans thanks to an off night from Pelicans star Anthony Davis.
With their horrendous shooting performance, Houston became the first team in NBA history to make fewer than four three-pointers on 30 or more attempts.
However, on the 34th attempt, Houston point guard Patrick Beverley delivered the most important shot of the game, a three-pointer from the corner that gave the Rockets a lead with less than a minute remaining.
RAPTORS 104, JAZZ 94
Kyle Lowry scored 32 points and DeMar DeRozan added 31 to help Toronto beat Utah for a club-record 11th straight home victory.
Lowry added five assists and four rebounds. Toronto (40-19) led the entire second half on the way to their fifth win in six games.
The Jazz (28-32) were led by Gordon Hayward, who scored 26 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Derrick Favors added 15 points and seven rebounds for Utah, who have lost four straight and seven of 11.
There were 11 lead changes and nine ties in the first half before the Raptors took control.
MAGIC 102, BULLS 89
Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points and rookie Mario Hezonja added a career-high 21 as Orlando beat Chicago.
Victor Oladipo scored 17 points, while Aaron Gordon had 13 points and 15 rebounds as Orlando coasted to an easy win. Elfrid Payton had nine points and 12 assists.
Derrick Rose led Chicago with 16 points, all in the first half. Pau Gasol had 12 points and Doug McDermott was the only other Bulls player in double figures with 11.
In other games, it was:
‧ Wizards 104, Timberwolves 98
‧ Celtics 116, Trail Blazers 93
‧ Grizzlies 104, Kings 98
‧ Pacers 104, Bucks 99
‧ Hornets 119, 76ers 99
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
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