LaMarcus Aldridge scored 27 points and Greg Oden had a career-high 13 rebounds to help the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons 96-85 on Sunday.
Brandon Roy scored 19 points and Oden finished with 10 for Portland, which has won four straight. The Pistons fell to just 6-6 since Allen Iverson joined the team.
PHOTO: AP
Richard Hamilton had 18 for Detroit, which is 0-4 on Sundays and 10-2 during the rest of the week.
LAKERS 112, RAPTORS 99
At Los Angeles, Pau Gasol had 24 points and nine rebounds and Kobe Bryant had 23 points and seven assists before sitting out the fourth quarter as Los Angeles beat Toronto to improve its league-best record to 14-1.
Bryant came 15 points shy of reaching the 22,000-point mark faster than any other player. Had he done it, he would have beaten Wilt Chamberlain to that total by one day, the Elias Sports Bureau said. Bryant was the fastest to 12,000 and every level up to 20,000. The two-time scoring champion and 10-time All-Star was the second-fastest to 21,000.
Anthony Parker led Toronto with 19 points and five teammates also scored in double figures. Jermaine O’Neal missed his third straight because of a sprained left ankle.
NETS 117, SUNS 109
Devin Harris scored a career-high 47 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter, as New Jersey rallied to end its 14-game losing streak at Phoenix.
The Nets had not won at US Airways Center since their first visit in 1993, but they used a late run to overcome the Suns.
With Harris becoming the second player in two games to score more than 40 against the Suns — Miami’s Dwyane Wade had 43 on Friday night — the Nets scored their second road victory in two nights, after beating Utah on Saturday.
NUGGETS 104, ROCKETS 94
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony’s double-figure scoring streak ended after he left with an injury, but Chauncey Billups scored 28 points, including 11 in a 19-7 third-quarter run Denver used to break away from Houston.
The Nuggets lost their leader when Anthony took a seat in the second quarter after aggravating a sore right elbow that’s been bothering him for two weeks.
Anthony scored just two points, halting his NBA-best streak of consecutive games in double figures at 221.
Yao Ming scored 18 points for Houston, which played its third straight game without the injured Tracy McGrady.
BULLS 103, 76ERS 92
At Philadelphia, Ben Gordon scored 21 points and Drew Gooden had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Chicago rallied from an early deficit to beat the hosts.
Derrick Rose, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, contributed 18 points and 10 assists. Reserve Larry Hughes had 16 points for the Bulls (8-9) in the final stop on a seven-game, 12-day road trip that began on Nov. 18 in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
All three of Chicago’s road wins came on the trip.
NBA standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W | L | PCT | GB | |
Boston | 16 | 2 | 0.889 | - |
New Jersey | 9 | 7 | 0.563 | 6 |
Toronto | 8 | 8 | 0.5 | 7 |
NY Knicks | 8 | 8 | 0.5 | 7 |
Philadelphia | 7 | 10 | 0.412 | 8.5 |
Central Division | ||||
Cleveland | 14 | 3 | 0.824 | - |
Detroit | 10 | 6 | 0.625 | 3.5 |
Chicago | 8 | 9 | 0.471 | 6 |
Indiana | 6 | 10 | 0.375 | 7.5 |
Milwaukee | 7 | 12 | 0.368 | 8 |
Southeast Division | ||||
Orlando | 13 | 4 | 0.765 | - |
Atlanta | 10 | 6 | 0.625 | 2.5 |
Miami | 8 | 9 | 0.471 | 5 |
Charlotte | 5 | 11 | 0.313 | 7.5 |
Washington | 2 | 12 | 0.143 | 9 .5 |
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
W | L | PCT | GB | |
Denver | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | - |
Portland | 12 | 6 | 0.667 | - |
Utah | 11 | 7 | 0.611 | 1 |
Minnesota | 4 | 11 | 0.267 | 6.5 |
Oklahoma | 2 | 16 | 0.111 | 10 |
Pacific Division | ||||
LA Lakers | 14 | 1 | 0.933 | - |
Phoenix | 11 | 7 | 0.611 | 4.5 |
Golden State | 5 | 12 | 0.294 | 10 |
Sacramento | 5 | 14 | 0.263 | 11 |
LA Clippers | 3 | 13 | 0.188 | 11.5 |
Southwest Division | ||||
Houston | 11 | 7 | 0.611 | - |
New Orleans | 9 | 6 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
San Antonio | 9 | 7 | 0.563 | 1 |
Dallas | 8 | 8 | 0.5 | 2 |
Memphis | 4 | 13 | 0.235 | 6.5 |
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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