WASHINGTON and LOS ANGELES
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Friday scored 33 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their 14th consecutive NBA victory, a 117-107 home win over the New York Knicks.
The Thunder matched the longest win streak in franchise history from the 1995-1996 season, when they were the Seattle SuperSonics, and snapped New York’s nine-game win streak, the Knicks’ longest since 2013.
Photo: Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images
It was only the fourth time in the NBA’s 79-year history that teams on win streaks of nine or more games faced each other.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit 12-of-26 from the floor and seven-of-seven from the free throw line, while Jalen Williams added 20 points and Aaron Wiggins had 19 off the bench as Thunder reserves outscored the Knicks bench 35-5.
“They made big plays all night,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of his bench. “We’re a roster of 15 men, 15 professionals, 15 really skilled basketball players. Guys were ready for their moment.”
Photo: Isaiah J. Downing / Imagn Images
Frenchman Victor Wembanyama was a winner in his 100th NBA game, making two key plays in the last seconds of the San Antonio Spurs 113-110 triumph against the Denver Nuggets.
On the eve of his 21st birthday, the 2.21m star assisted on Chris Paul’s go-ahead jumper with 54 seconds remaining and stole a Nikola Jokic pass with four seconds to play to set up Devin Vassell’s dunk for the final points.
NBA-best Cleveland improved to 30-4 with a 134-122 victory over the Dallas Mavericks, the Cavaliers stretching their win streak to nine games powered by Evan Mobley’s 34 points and 10 rebounds.
LeBron James broke Michael Jordan’s NBA record for 30-point games during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 119-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
With a turnaround jumper with 5 minutes, 58 seconds to play for the last of his 30 points, James reached at least 30 points in the regular season for the 563rd time in his career, surpassing the mark established by Jordan in 2003.
Jordan set his record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons, while James surpassed it in his 1,523rd appearance over 22 seasons.
“It’s very humbling,” James said. “Anytime I’m mentioned with any of the greats, and arguably the greatest ever to play the game, super-cool. It’s someone I idolized in my childhood, and I wear 23 because of him. So to know that I can sit here and be in the room or in the conversation or whatever it is, you mention MJ, it’s like super-duper dope for me, being a kid where I’m from.”
James turned 40 last week. He is among the few remaining active players who personally witnessed Jordan in his 1990s prime with the Chicago Bulls.
Elsewhere on Friday, it was:
‧ Kings 138, Grizzlies 133
‧ Pelicans 132, Wizards 120
‧ Pistons 98, Hornets 94
‧ Raptors 97, Magic 106
‧ Rockets 86, Celtics 109
Juventus on Sunday stopped Inter from replacing SSC Napoli at the top of Serie A by beating their fierce rivals 1-0 and moving into the UEFA Champions League positions. Francisco Conceicao made sure that Napoli would stay two points ahead of reigning champions Inter by classily tucking home the winning goal 16 minutes before the end of an entertaining contest in Turin. Portugal attacker Conceicao netted his fourth goal of the season in all competitions after brilliant work from Randal Kolo Muani to give Juve a third straight league win. Juve are in fourth place on 46 points, ahead on goal-difference from SS
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
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
‘SETTING THE TONE’: Donovan Mitchell said that their determination to dominate had nothing to do with past results, but was about a potential post-season clash The Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday boosted their NBA-best record with a 142-105 romp past the New York Knicks, tightening their grip on the Eastern Conference lead with an all-around dominant display. Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points to lead six Cavs players to score in double figures, connecting on five of seven three-pointers as Cleveland drilled 19 from beyond the arc. “I think the biggest thing was just try to set the tone early,” Mitchell said, adding that the determination to dominate had nothing to do with the Knicks’ first-round playoff win over the Cavs two seasons ago and everything to do with
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