Kobe Bryant scored 19 points before sitting out the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 107-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA on Tuesday.
The Lakers led from start to finish for the ninth time this season and closed within one game of idle Cleveland for the best record in the NBA.
Lamar Odom scored 18 points before fouling out and Pau Gasol had 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles. All of the Lakers starters spent the final eight minutes on the bench, getting some needed rest two games into a seven-game road trip.
PHOTO: AP
Kevin Durant scored 24 points to lead Oklahoma City, which had all five starters reach double figures.
BULLS 99, PISTONS 91
At Chicago, Kirk Hinrich scored 24 points filling in for the injured Derrick Rose as Chicago pulled within a game of the seventh-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference.
PHOTO: EPA
Tyrus Thomas had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Joakim Noah scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Bulls earned their fifth win in six games.
Tayshaun Prince and Will Bynum scored 20 each for the Pistons, who clearly miss injured stars Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace and Richard Hamilton. Bynum also had nine assists while Antonio McDyess scored 16 for Detroit, which lost five of six.
SPURS 107, WARRIORS 106
At San Antonio, Tony Parker scored 30 points as San Antonio edged Golden State.
Roger Mason scored 24 and sank the go-ahead jumper with 23.8 seconds left as the Spurs dodged a rare three-game skid after last-minute losses against Boston and Houston last week.
Monta Ellis had two chances to win it for Golden State but missed a jumper with 5.9 seconds left, then watched his running 3-pointer as time expired clank off the front of the rim.
Ellis led the Warriors with 27 points and Stephen Jackson had 18.
JAZZ 99, ROCKETS 86
At Salt Lake City, Ronnie Brewer scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half as Utah ended Houston’s four-game winning streak.
The Jazz pulled within one-half game of Denver for the Northwest Division lead and knocked the Rockets back to second in the Southwest.
Deron Williams had 19 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, who blocked a season-high 12 shots to help compensate for a poor night on the boards, getting outrebounded 52-42.
Aaron Brooks scored 20 points and Chinese star Yao Ming added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets.
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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