DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points and Kyle Lowry added 19 as the Toronto Raptors ended the San Antonio Spurs’ four-game winning streak with a 97-94 victory on Wednesday.
Luis Scola had 16 points as Toronto never trailed in handing San Antonio just their third loss in the past 18 games.
Manu Ginobili had 17 points off the bench for the Spurs, who also got 13 points from LaMarcus Aldridge.
Photo: AFP
Danny Green hit a three-pointer following a timeout to make it a three-point game with 2 minutes, seconds 47 to play, but Bismack Biyombo threw down a dunk to restore the Raptors’ five-point edge.
Kawhi Leonard’s follow shot later narrowed the advantage to three, but Toronto were able to run out the clock.
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Matt Barnes tossed in a desperation three-pointer from just inside midcourt with 1.1 seconds left to lift the Memphis Grizzlies over the Detroit Pistons 93-92.
Marcus Morris missed a contested shot with seven seconds left that could have clinched the game for the Pistons, while Andre Drummond’s tip bounced off the rim.
The Grizzlies grabbed the ball and fired an outlet pass to Barnes. He let go a running, two-handed shot as he crossed halfcourt that went in, silencing the Palace crowd as players on the Memphis bench celebrated.
Zach Randolph led Memphis with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while Marc Gasol had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Boston’s Isaiah Thomas scored nine of his 20 points in the final three minutes to lead the Celtics past the Chicago Bulls 105-100.
Kelly Olynyk added 15 points, while Jae Crowder and Evan Turner each had 13 and David Lee scored 12 for the Celtics, who had eight players in double figures and won for the fourth time in five games.
They host undefeated Golden State today.
The Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Wizards 109-103 after James Harden had 42 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Harden scored 23 in the second half, a day after he finished with a season-low 10 points in a loss at Brooklyn.
Corey Brewer added 15 points and Patrick Beverly had 14 to help Houston to their fourth win in five games.
John Wall had 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds for Washington.
Kemba Walker and Marvin Williams scored 18 points each to lead the Charlotte Hornets past the Miami Heat 99-81 for their third straight victory, while Kevin Martin scored 37 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Los Angeles Lakers 123-122 in overtime.
In other games, J.J. Redick scored a season-high 31 points as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-95, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Dallas Mavericks 98-95, the Utah Jazz downed the New York Knicks 106-85 and the Phoenix Suns were 107-104 winners over the Orlando Magic.
Marloon Herrera was crying — happy tears. With Cuba trailing in the fifth inning of its Little League World Series (LLWS) opener on Thursday, Herrera lined a two-run double to give his team the lead. When the Czech Republic, representing Europe-Africa, made a pitching change, he ran over to give his third base coach a hug. Cuba went on to win 4-1. It was the first game at this year’s tournament for both sides, but it was also the beginning of Cuba’s second appearance in the series ever — and it was emotional. “You breathe baseball in Cuba,” manager Everaldo Machado said on
Taiwan on Friday beat Australia 11-0 at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Taiwan are represented at the tournament by Taoyuan’s Gueishan Elementary School, who won the Asia-Pacific regional tournament to earn the trip to the US. Australia are represented by the Hills Red team from Sydney. Taiwan advanced to a game tomorrow against Santa Clara, representing Cuba, who won 4-1 against the Czech Republic’s Brno, the Europe-Africa regional qualifiers. Australian starter Sayre Howick had a tough time controlling his pitches at Volunteer Stadium, one of which allowed Taiwan to open their account. They scored six in the inning and
World Boxing, an international amateur boxing organization formed last year after a breakdown in relations between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Boxing Association (IBA), has announced the admission of Taiwan, along with four other nations, into its growing list of members. In a statement released on its Web site on Friday, the Swiss- based organization said that in addition to Taiwan, admitted as Chinese Taipei, Bhutan, Ecuador, Fiji and Pakistan have also become members. The new members all have well-rounded national and international boxing programs as well as transparency in the leadership and management of their national boxing programs,
COOLED DOWN: Du Plessis apologized after the fight for comments about his Nigerian-born opponent, after Adesanya said he planned to take the belt back to Africa South African Dricus du Plessis yesterday took a flurry of body hits across four rounds before defeating Israel Adesanya by submission to retain his middleweight championship at UFC 305. After scoring some early takedowns, Du Plessis (22-2) had to withstand a flurry of body strikes from Adesanya through the middle rounds, which appeared to be taking a toll on the 30-year-old South African as the fight progressed. However, a left hook followed by three rights helped bring Adesanya down, giving Du Plessis the opening he wanted as he swiftly got the choke hold that forced the Nigerian-born New Zealander to tap out