Allen Iverson hit the tying jump shot with 7.2 seconds left in regulation and Corliss Williamson scored seven of his 15 points in overtime to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 108-100 victory on Wednesday night over the New Jersey Nets.
Marc Jackson added 19 points and Kyle Korver 15 for the Sixers, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Philadelphia scored the first seven points of overtime and held on for its first home win of the season.
PHOTO: AP
"It was balanced out because a lot of guys were aggressive," Iverson said.
Richard Jefferson scored 33 points for the Nets and Rodney Buford added 15, including 11 in the fourth quarter. But Jefferson and Alonzo Mourning missed four straight free throws in the last 20 seconds.
"We needed a win real bad," Korver said. "We kind of got embarrassed the last couple of games."
Seldom-used Josh Davis grab-bed the last, crucial rebound for Philadelphia, which called timeout. Iverson caught the inbounds pass and hit a fadeway from the left side, tying the score at 96.
Jefferson missed a jumper, sending the game into overtime.
Celtics 90, Trail Blazers 88
In Boston, Paul Pierce returned from taking a hit in the mouth in the final minute to make a 5m fallaway jump shot as time expired and give Boston a win over Portland.
Gary Dayton scored 15 points for Boston and became the 29th player in NBA history to reach 20,000. It was the first home win for coach Doc Rivers.
Pierce played with a mouth guard following seven hours of dental surgery on Monday after being hit with an elbow in Saturday's game in New York. He was down after getting hit in the mouth during a battle for a rebound with 34 seconds left against Portland, but came back for the final possession.
Pierce led the Celtics with 20 points and Ref LaFrentz had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Zach Randolph led the Trail Blazers with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Darius Miles had 21 points, 14 in the fourth quarter.
Clippers 102, Pacers 68
In Indianapolis, Elton Brand had 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Los Angeles handed depleted Indiana the worst home loss in franchise history.
The Clippers outscored the Pacers 31-7 in the second quarter, holding Indiana (4-1) to a franchise-low for points in a period. Bobby Simmons added 18 points for the Clippers.
Scot Pollard missed the game with a sore back, Jonathan Bender was out with a viral infection and Jermaine O'Neal missed the fourth quarter after aggravating his injured left foot. Indiana, led by Stephen Jackson with 17 points, dressed only nine players.
Wizards 106, Magic 96
In Washington, Larry Hughes and Antawn Jamison scored 26 points apiece for the Wizards.
Jarvis Hayes added 15 points for the Washington, which snapped a two-game losing streak and won at home for the first time this season.
Grant Hill led Orlando with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists. Steve Francis added 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Grizzlies 110, Lakers 87
In Memphis, Tennessee, Pau Gasol scored 22 points and Shane Battier added 18, and Memphis won for the first time in five games this season.
Kobe Bryant, guarded by a three-man rotation, had 20 points on 4-for-19 shooting for the Lakers. Bryant's misses included two airballs in the third quarter.
Jason Williams added 17 points for Memphis.
Gasol scored 20 points and had seven rebounds in the first half, when the Grizzlies shot 50 percent in taking a 63-44 lead.
Bucks 102, Bobcats 100
In Milwaukee, Desmond Mason scored 31 points, including three free throws in the final minute, and Michael Redd added 26 as Milwaukee edged Charlotte.
Keith Van Horn had 23 points for the Bucks, who trailed most of the night against the expansion Bobcats.
Charlotte had five players in double figures, led by Primoz Brezec, who tied his career high with 20 points. Jason Hart added 19, Eddie House 15, Gerald Wallace 12 and Jason Kapono 11 in the team's first road game.
Cavaliers 114, Suns 109, OT
In Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas drained three long jumpers, including a tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation, as Cleveland rallied to hand Phoenix its first loss this season.
LeBron James scored a season-high 38 points -- 17 during a one-man comeback in the fourth quarter -- for Cleveland, which trailed by 19 entering the final period. Lithuania's Ilgauskas finished with 24 points.
Drew Gooden had 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who outscored Phoenix 31-12 over the final 10:04 to force OT.
Shawn Marion scored 22 points, Amare Stoudemire 20 and Steve Nash had 15 points and 17 assists for the Suns.
Raptors 104, Jazz 95
In Salt Lake City, Chris Bosh scored 20 points, Rafer Alston hit a key 3-pointer down the stretch and Toronto handed Utah its first loss of the season.
The Raptors rallied from a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter, going on an 11-2 run and holding off the Jazz in the final two minutes after Alston's 3-pointer put Toronto up 98-91.
Vince Carter had 16 points and Alston added seven rebounds for Toronto.
Utah fell to 4-1 after failing to score 100 points and shoot better than 50 percent for the first time this season. Raja Bell led the Jazz with 20 points and Carlos Boozer added 19.
Spurs 91, Warriors 71
In San Antonio, Tim Duncan had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili added 22 points to lead San Antonio of over winless Golden State.
The Warriors (0-5) cut the lead to seven points after the third quarter, but Duncan and Ginobili combined for 11 points in the final period to seal the victory.
Mike Dunleavy and Jason Richardson had 13 points apiece for Golden State.
SuperSonics 108, Kings 78
In Seattle, Ray Allen scored 20 points and Rashard Lewis added 18, leading surprising Seattle over Sacramento for its fourth consecutive victory in the current season.
The Sonics, who won only 37 games last season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year, got 16 points and 13 rebounds from reserve power forward Danny Fortson. His inside presence has been a key to Seattle's quick start.
The struggling Kings (1-4) got 17 points from Brad Miller and 16 from Peja Stojakovic. Chris Web-ber was limited to 11 points on 2-for-13 shooting.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
RSS