Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Russell Westbrook added 29 to help the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 111-92 on Saturday.
Oklahoma City won their seventh straight, but the game was not the late-season showdown that was anticipated when the schedule first came out after the Spurs rested Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.
“Another opportunity for us to keep growing and building our habits,” Durant said. “It wasn’t on us that they didn’t play their starters. We just had to continue to play our game and do what we do.”
Photo: AP
Assured of a spot in the playoffs, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said his team played hard, but did not have the talent available to keep up.
“We hung in there really well and did a good job,” Popovich said. “You learn from everything. Win or lose, it doesn’t matter.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from Thursday’s loss in Brooklyn to beat the New York Knicks 107-93.
LeBron James had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season and the 42nd of his career. He also moved within three points of Dominique Wilkins for 12th place on the NBA’s scoring list.
DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and Patrick Patterson 16 as the Toronto Raptors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-91 to tie a franchise record with their 49th victory of the season as they prepare for the playoffs.
“We’ve got to understand the second half of the season is where it counts, where it matters, where we understand who we are and what we’ve got to do to win,” DeRozan said.
Paul Millsap had 23 points and nine rebounds as the Atlanta Hawks ended the Detroit Pistons’ five-game victory streak, winning 112-95 The Hawks have won 13 of their last 16 and moved a game ahead of Miami atop the Southeast Division.
Isaiah Thomas scored 28 points against his former team as the Boston Celtics held off the Phoenix Suns 102-99 despite almost blowing a 21-point lead.
Orlando journeyman center Dewayne Dedmon scored a career-high 18 points as the Magic dealt the Chicago Bulls a blow to their fading playoff hopes, winning 111-89 to end a six-game losing streak.
The Bulls (36-36), fighting to climb back into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, dropped their third straight game.
Brook Lopez scored 23 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers 120-110.
Gordon Hayward scored 16 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Utah Jazz finished a five-game road trip with a 93-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Nicolas Batum scored 23 of his 25 points in the first half as the Charlotte Hornets used a three-point barrage to rout the Milwaukee Bucks 115-91.
C.J. McCollum converted a three-point play with 7.6 seconds left to break a tie and lift the Portland Trail Blazers past the Philadelphia 76ers 108-105, avoiding another embarrassing loss to the NBA’s worst team.
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju and Kao Cheng-jui were defeated by their Chinese counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the men’s doubles final at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Singapore Smash. Lin and Kao received their silver medals after being defeated by third-seeded duo Lin Shidong and Wang Chuqin of China 2-11, 4-11, 11-13. The Taiwan pair were left playing catch-up early in the match after the Chinese duo proved unstoppable in the first and second game. Although Lin and Kao picked up their pace in the third game and at one point took a 10-8 lead, they were crucially unable to take
Australia yesterday won two of four races on the first day of the SailGP Sydney event on Sydney Harbour to finish the day atop the points table ahead of Britain and a French team who made an outstanding return after missing the first two events of the season. Australia also had a third and a second placing, finishing the day with 37 points, ahead of Britain with 32 points and France with 27. Britain won the second race of the day and Switzerland, who won the first race, were in fourth place overall. Australia’s prowess in the start box was again the