Shorn of its franchise-record winning streak, a drained Boston Celtics team gave up a 14-point lead to lose to the struggling Golden State Warriors 99-89 on Friday.
A day after their 19-game streak was ended by the Los Angeles Lakers, the Celtics lost to more modest California opposition.
Stephen Jackson scored eight straight points during the fourth-quarter to finish with 28 as the Warriors stormed over the top of the defending champions.
PHOTO: AP
It was Boston’s first back-to-back losses this season.
HORNETS 88, ROCKETS 79
In New Orleans, Chris Paul had 26 points and 10 assists to lead New Orleans to a start-to-finish win over Houston. David West added 23 points for New Orleans while Yao Ming was Houston’s best with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
JAZZ 97, MAVERICKS 88
In Salt Lake City, an undermanned Utah was still too strong for Dallas.
Rookie Kosta Koufos scored a career-high 18 points and Deron Williams added 17 points and 13 assists for the Jazz who won despite missing Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur — their top three scorers and rebounders.
A weary Mavericks team saw their three-game winning streak ended.
NUGGETS 105, 76ERS 101
In Denver, Kenyon Martin sank the go-ahead dunk with nine seconds left to lift Denver over Philadelphia.
The 76ers got called for traveling on the next possession and the Nuggets added three points from the free-throw line to seal Philly’s third straight loss.
HEAT 90, BULLS 77
In Miami, Dwyane Wade scored 28 points to lead Miami over Chicago.
Daequan Cook hit a trio of threes in the fourth quarter as Miami pulled away to win a fourth straight. The Heat has now already eclipsed last season’s meager win total.
BOBCATS 95, NETS 87
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Raymond Felton scored 22 points to top Charlotte’s win over New Jersey.
Emeka Okafor added 21 for the new-look Bobcats, who held on after seeing a 15-point third-quarter lead dwindle to two points in the waning minutes.
GRIZZLIES 108, PACERS 105
In Memphis, Tennessee, O.J. Mayo hit two key free throws with a second left as Memphis overcame an early 17-point deficit to beat Indiana. Memphis took the lead with seven unanswered points late in the game and then held on.
PISTONS 90, THUNDER 88
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Allen Iverson’s off-balance running shot with 0.2 seconds left gave Detroit victory over Oklahoma City.
After Iverson’s shot, the Thunder’s Jeff Green nearly tipped in a halfcourt alley-oop, but the ball bounced twice off the rim before falling harmlessly away.
RAPTORS 107, KINGS 101
In Sacramento, California, Toronto ended a 10-game losing streak in Sacramento.
Jermaine O’Neal scored 36 points in his highest-scoring game in two seasons as the Raptors won at the Kings for the first time since 1997.
TIMBERWOLVES 120, KNICKS 107
In New York, Minnesota snapped a 13-game losing streak and won for the first time under replacement coach Kevin McHale.
The Timberwolves got a season-best 23 points from Rashad McCants and rode some sizzling 3-point shooting to win for the first time in December. They had dropped their first eight games under McHale.
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
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
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