Jeremy Lin scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter as Charlotte overcame a 23-point deficit to snap San Antonio’s six-game winning streak, winning 91-88.
Lin was 11 of 18 from the field and hit all four of his three-point attempts, including three in the fourth quarter.
Courtney Lee had 17 points, Nicolas Batum added 15 and Cody Zeller grabbed 14 rebounds for the Hornets, who bounced back from a disappointing loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Photo: AFP
Tony Parker had 19 points for the Spurs, while LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
CAVALIERS 124, NUGGETS 91
In Cleveland, Ohio, LeBron James scored 33 points and had his 41st career triple-double as Cleveland clinched their second straight Central Division title with a comfortable victory over Denver.
Photo: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY
James added 11 rebounds and 11 assists before checking out with 6 minutes, 2 seconds left to a thunderous ovation. He scored 17 in the first quarter, helping the Cavs build a 19-point lead and erase the memory of an embarrassing loss on Saturday in Miami.
The Nuggets fought back and briefly led before the Cavs regrouped and scored 68 after halftime to notch their 50th win.
J.R. Smith added 15 points and Channing Frye 14 for Cleveland, who played without starter Kevin Love (illness).
Will Barton scored 27 for the Nuggets, who concluded a 1-4 road trip. Denver’s Kenneth Faried missed his third straight game with a sore lower back.
PISTONS 92, BUCKS 91
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Andre Drummond’s tip-in with 2 seconds remaining lifted Detroit over Milwaukee.
The Pistons, who are in a tight race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, came out inexplicably flat and trailed by 17 points in the first half. They were down 13 in the third quarter before chipping away at Milwaukee’s lead in the fourth.
Drummond was outplayed badly early on by Greg Monroe, but when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope missed from the perimeter in the final seconds, Drummond was able to tip the ball in. The Bucks were not able to get a clean shot off after that.
Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 27 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 21.
WARRIORS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 104
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Draymond Green had 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists to help Golden State narrowly avoid their first two-game skid in nearly a year with a victory over Minnesota.
Klay Thompson scored 17 points and hit all five of his three-pointers, and the Warriors (63-7) overcame a second straight poor shooting night from Stephen Curry. The reigning Most Valuable Player missed 11 of his 17 shots, including seven of his nine three-pointers, but still had 19 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Ricky Rubio added 20 points, 11 assists and four rebounds for the Timberwolves (22-48), who gave the defending champs all they could handle.
BULLS 109, KINGS 102
In Chicago, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson had 18 points each, Doug McDermott added 16 and Pau Gasol had 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 109-102 comeback victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
Rose was nine for 15 from the field and hit a couple of 15-foot jumpers during Chicago’s decisive 10-0 run in the fourth quarter to rally from a five-point deficit.
Gasol recorded his 39th double-double of the season in his first game back after missing four games with a swollen right knee.
DeMarcus Cousins had 19 points and 18 rebounds, Darren Collison had 19 points and Rudy Gay had 18 for Sacramento.
In other results, it was:
‧ Wizards 112, Hawks 102
‧ Pacers 91, 76ers 75
‧ Grizzlies 103, Suns 97
‧ Celtics 107, Magic 96
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
CHANCE TO QUALIFY: Both teams now have three points from two games, and Taiwan sit ahead of Vietnam and behind Japan, who last night beat India 11-0 Taiwan yesterday defeated Vietnam 1-0 to move into second place in Group C at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup with one match remaining. Su Yu-hsuan scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute after Taiwan midfielder Saki Matsunaga’s shot hit the crossbar, leaving Su to nod the rebound into an empty net for the team which won the last of their three Asian Cup titles in 1981. It was a deserved victory for Taiwan, 2-0 losers to Japan on Wednesday, who created several chances to extend their lead. Vietnam, the 2022 quarter-finalist, beat India in their opener, but struggled to
RSS