Lamar Odom made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in overtime to give the Los Angeles Lakers a 110-109 victory over Boston on Thursday and snap the Celtics’ 12-game NBA winning streak.
In a contest between last year’s NBA finals combatants and likely title contenders for this season, Kobe Bryant scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and Pau Gasol had 24 and 14 for the Lakers.
It is the second time this season that Los Angeles has stopped a Boston winning streak, after its win on Christmas Day stopped a 19-game run by the Celtics.
PHOTO: AP
Paul Pierce scored 21 points for Boston and All-Star Ray Allen had 22, but he missed a desperation, off-balance shot at the buzzer while Boston fans screamed for a foul call.
Bryant, who scored 61 and 36 points in his previous two games, hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, the last with 1:30 left in regulation to make it 101-100 — the Lakers’ first lead of the half. But after Pierce made one of two free throws with 30 seconds left, Bryant’s attempted game winner banged off the rim.
After a timeout with 7.7 seconds left, Pierce dribbled the clock down before Bryant poked the ball away. Eddie House got it and put up a sideways, one-handed 3-point attempt at the buzzer that wasn’t close.
Bryant missed his last five shots of the game.
Gasol made one of two free throws to give the Lakers a 108-107 lead with 1:11 left in overtime, then Boston’s Glen Davis made a jumper — his only basket of the game after six misses. Bryant then Davis both missed before Davis fouled Odom for the winning free throws.
Pierce and Allen had half-chances in the dying seconds for Boston but could not find the winner.
JAZZ 115, MAVERICKS 87
In Salt Lake City, Utah, Deron Williams shook off a deep thigh bruise and scored 34 points and handed out 12 assists to lead Utah to a rout of Dallas.
Kyle Korver scored a season-high 20 points in his first start of the season, Ronnie Brewer scored 17 and Mehmet Okur added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.
Josh Howard led Dallas with 18 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 — needing 20 attempts to get there — but the Mavericks saw their four-game winning streak end. It was Dallas’ first loss since coach Rick Carlisle put Jason Kidd in charge of calling plays.
76ERS 99, PACERS 94
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Samuel Dalembert had 18 points and 20 rebounds, and Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala also had double-doubles to lead Philadelphia over Indiana.
The Sixers won only hours after they learned power forward Elton Brand needed season-ending surgery on his right shoulder. The Sixers improved to 11-8 this season without Brand, an encouraging sign their playoff push will continue without their US$80 million man.
Miller had 13 points and 12 assists, while Iguodala had 20 points and 11 assists.
Indiana dropped its third straight.
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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