Dwight Howard scored 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, while Jameer Nelson scored 28 points to lead the Orlando Magic past the Los Angeles Lakers 109-103 on Friday in a showdown of NBA pace-setters.
Nelson scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including 10 of the team’s last 13 points to overcome the heroics of Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant, who had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists for his 15th career “triple double.”
But Bryant connected on only 3-of-12 shots in the fourth quarter, missing his last six attempts from the field, including a potential game-tying 3-point shot with the Lakers down 106-103.
PHOTO: AP
The Magic won their sixth game in a row and improved to 32-8, second only to Cleveland (31-7) in the NBA, while the Lakers slid to 31-8, still the best mark in the Western Conference and third-best in the NBA.
Orlando has risen to a title contender behind center Howard, who helped the Magic sweep the Lakers for the season for the first time in team history. Orlando, a league-best 15-5 on the road, also swept San Antonio this season.
With 15 of 19 lead changes coming in the fourth quarter alone, Nelson hit the key basket, connecting on a 3-pointer from the left side to give Orlando a 104-103 with 35 seconds remaining.
Spaniard Pau Gasol, who scored 13 points, had given the Lakers a 103-101 lead with a layup with 54 seconds to play.
Rashard Lewis added 16 points for Orlando, which went 12-of-28 from 3-point range in the first game after setting an NBA record 23 3-pointers at Sacramento.
Laker reserve Lamar Odom had 17 points and nine rebounds.
CAVALIERS 92, HORNETS 78
In Cleveland, Ohio, LeBron James scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, powering the Cleveland Cavaliers past New Orleans in an NBA showcase matchup.
Despite a nagging cold, James led all scorers and added game-highs of 14 rebounds and seven assists as well to boost the Cavaliers’ home record this season to 20-0, only the sixth such home start in the last 32 NBA seasons.
“LeBron was a monster on the boards,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. “It was a good win against a very good team.”
James went 6-for-10 from the field in the last quarter as Cleveland improved to 31-7, best in the Eastern Conference and the best start in team history.
“King James” passed off the credit to his teammates as easily as he tossed them the ball when necessary.
“We’re just a hard-working team,” James said. “Being as close as we are off the court really helps that. That makes the game a lot easier when you’re really close with your teammates.”
The 24-year-old playmaker, last season’s NBA scoring champion and a top candidate for Most Valuable Player honors this season, bounced back from an eight-turnover, 8-of-28 shooting effort in an over-time loss on Thursday at Chicago.
Sasha Pavlovic scored 19 points and Mo Williams added 17 for the Cavaliers, who will be without guard Delonte West for about six weeks after he was found to have a broken right wrist suffered in Thursday’s loss.
That will hamper the Cavaliers as they leave for a West Coast road swing that includes another showcase game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the best of the Western Conference in what could be an NBA Finals preview.
JAZZ 101, GRIZZLIES 91
In Memphis, the Grizzlies lost to Utah, but delivered a blow to the Portland Trail Blazers right in the NBA salary cap by playing reserve Darius Miles for 14 minutes.
The game was Miles’ second appearance with Memphis since he signed with the Grizzlies a week ago, giving him 10 games on the season and reaching a threshold that causes a major problem for the Trail Blazers.
Miles was waived last season by Portland when a doctor deemed his right knee injury as career-ending, a major setback after the team signed him to as six-year deal worth US$48 million in 2004.
The Trail Blazers were allowed to remove his contract from their salary cap totals as a result of the medical ruling, which turned out to be premature.
But Miles, who had not played in an NBA regular-season game since 2006, signed with Memphis on Dec. 13. He sat out the first 10 games of the season after an NBA drug policy violation and finally played on Jan. 4. After being released and re-signed by Memphis, Miles played on Friday and as a result, the Trail Blazers will have trouble reaching NBA salary limits, hurting them in the free agent market and forcing them to pay a penalty for exceeding the limit.
The Blazers will take an US$18 million hit on their salary cap over the next two years as a result.
76ERS 109, SPURS 87
In Philadelphia, the hosts notched a sixth straight win by cruising past San Antonio.
Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 27 points and Andre Iguodala added 21 for the 76ers, who surprisingly pulled away late against the Southwest Division-leading Spurs.
WARRIORS 119, HAWKS 114
In Oakland, California, Jamal Crawford scored 29 points, including the go-ahead basket in the final three minutes, to help Golden State overcome Atlanta.
The Hawks lost for the fifth time in six games.
TIMBERWOLVES 105, SUNS 103
In Phoenix, Minnesota rallied from an 11-point third quarter deficit to edge Phoenix and notch a sixth win in seven games.
Al Jefferson had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves.
PACERS 111, RAPTORS 104
In Indianapolis, Mike Dunleavy made all three free throws with less than a minute left to preserve Indiana’s win over fast-finishing Toronto.
Trailing by 24 points after three quarters, Toronto made an improbable rally by limiting the Pacers to just 6-of-21 shooting over the final 12 minutes and chipping away at the lead. The Raptors got as close as 100-99 before Indiana responded.
Danny Granger scored 23 points to lead the Pacers, who haven’t held an opponent under 100 points for nearly a month.
In Friday’s other games it was:
• Bucks 129, Kings 122
• Thunder 89, Pistons 79
• Wizards 96, Knicks 89
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
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
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
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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