Toronto ended Memphis’ long run of road wins with a 120-105 victory on Wednesday that bolstered the Raptors’ lead in the NBA’s Atlantic Division to two games.
The Raptors opened a mini-break on Boston after the Celtics lost at home against Detroit.
Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers had a gritty win in Chicago, while Portland had a convincing win against Indiana.
Photo: AP
Toronto’s Kyle Lowry had 29 points and DeMar DeRozan scored 24 for the Raptors, who have won six of their past seven meetings with the Grizzlies.
Andrew Harrison had 21 points for the injury-riddled Grizzlies, who were missing six regulars and could not continue their six-game road winning streak. Among those absent is star Mike Conley, who on Tuesday was ruled out for at least six weeks with fractured vertebrae in his lower back.
Detroit’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 25 points and Tobias Harris had 21 to lead a balanced scoring effort that carried the Pistons over Boston 121-114.
Photo: AP
Isaiah Thomas paced the Celtics with 27 points.
The Pistons lost eight of their first nine road games this season, but have now won away from home on consecutive nights.
Los Angeles’ Julius Randle made a strong move against Nikola Mirotic for a tiebreaking layup with 45.1 seconds remaining as the Lakers held off Chicago for a 96-90 victory.
Randle had 13 points and matched a career high with 20 rebounds, while Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points apiece for the Lakers.
Randle’s drive and layup gave Los Angeles a 92-90 lead. After Jimmy Butler missed on the other side for Chicago, Williams went 1 for 2 at the line with 20 seconds to go.
Portland’s Damian Lillard had 28 points and 10 assists to help the Trail Blazers beat Indiana 131-109 and get the better of former coach Nate McMillan.
Maurice Harkless added 23 points for the Blazers, who led by as many as 28 in their fifth consecutive victory over the Pacers.
Jeff Teague’s 25 points led Indiana, who began a five-game road trip in the absence of Paul George, who was again missing with a lingering ankle injury.
Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook scored 14 of his 35 points in overtime and posted his fourth consecutive triple-double to help the Thunder defeat Washington 126-115.
Westbrook added 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double this season and the 46th of his career. The Thunder have won all four games during his triple-double streak and he heads into this month averaging a triple-double through 20 games this season.
Former Thunder coach Scott Brooks returned as Washington’s coach and the crowd greeted him warmly.
Bradley Beal scored 31 points for the Wizards.
San Antonio’s Patty Mills scored 15 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to steer the Spurs to a 94-87 win against struggling state rival Dallas.
Phoenix’s Brandon Knight scored 23 points off the bench as the Suns reserves combined for 54 to allow them to hold off slumping Atlanta and win 109-107.
New York’s Kristaps Porzingis had 29 points in a thrilling duel with Karl-Anthony Towns, helping the Knicks win 106-104 against Minnesota.
Miami’s Hassan Whiteside had another big game with 25 points and 16 rebounds, leading the Heat over Denver 106-98.
A scheduled game between Sacramento and Philadelphia was postponed by the NBA because of condensation on the court at the Wells Fargo Center caused by the ice hockey surface beneath it.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered on Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs. Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who on Monday claimed their first National League East title in 13 years. Coupled with the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NL Division Series. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946
Olympic bronze medalist Lee Meng-yuan has become the first Taiwanese athlete to top the International Shooting Sport Federation’s (ISSF) men’s skeet world rankings, while top Taiwanese shooters won golds in each of yesterday’s finals in Taoyuan. Lee’s 6,610 points put him ahead of fellow men’s skeet medalists from the Paris Olympics Americans Vincent Hancock and Conner Prince. Lee on Monday said that he was surprised by the result, although he had expected his ranking to rise after the Games, which was also the first time a Taiwanese athlete had competed in men’s skeet. Despite topping the rankings, Lee said he believed Hancock, who