NBA: Thunder clap back with historic rally to beat Lakers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points to help the host Oklahoma City Thunder rally from 26 down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-115 on Wednesday.

The comeback matched the largest in Thunder history and helped the team claim its first win of the season despite several late miscues.

Up three in the final minute, Oklahoma City had a timeout remaining but didn't use it, and Gilgeous-Alexander couldn't get the ball across halfcourt in time, giving the ball back to Los Angeles with 16.8 seconds remaining.

Malik Monk then missed a 3-pointer, the Thunder gave the ball up once again and Carmelo Anthony missed another.

Russell Westbrook, making his first appearance for the Lakers in the city where he spent his first 11 NBA seasons, was ejected in the closing seconds after being called for his second technical foul of the game. Westbrook was upset after Darius Bazley's steal and dunk in the last five seconds.

The Lakers were without LeBron James for the second consecutive game due to right ankle soreness.

Early on, it looked like that wouldn't matter as Anthony Davis helped Los Angeles jump out to a big lead and then Westbrook put together his first triple-double of the season.

But the Thunder worked the deficit down, taking the lead for the first time when Gilgeous-Alexander banked a 3-pointer home at the buzzer to end the third quarter. Oklahoma City never relinquished the lead.

Bazley added 20 points and Josh Giddey tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder had six players score in double figures.

Davis led the Lakers with 30 points while Westbrook had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. Westbrook also committed 10 turnovers.

The Lakers led by as many as 23 points in the first quarter, thanks to a pair of 11-0 runs early. Davis scored eight of the Lakers' first 14 points and 12 in the first quarter to help Los Angeles lead 41-19.

The Lakers led by as many as 26 in the second quarter before the Thunder started slowly chipping away at the lead. Oklahoma City put up a season-high 37 points in the quarter, having more success attacking the basket.

After their rough start in the paint early, the Thunder turned things around down low to finish with 54 points inside.

-reuters

NBA: Lakers get by Grizzlies to avoid 0-3 start

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points off the bench to help lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 121-118 win against the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday evening.

Anthony Davis had 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, LeBron James finished with 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Russell Westbrook had 13 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who avoided starting 0-3 for the second time in four years.

Ja Morant had 40 points and 10 assists, Desmond Bane scored 17 points and Steven Adams contributed 14 points and 16 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were trying to start 3-0.

Morant had a chance to tie the score with 1.9 seconds left after getting fouled on a desperation 3-point attempt. He made the first two free throws, but missed the third.

Anthony grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He sank both free throws to seal the win. Anthony, who went 6-for-8 from 3-point range, passed Moses Malone for ninth all-time in NBA scoring.

Anthony made a high-arcing 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 97-94 lead with 9:03 left in the game. He was left alone on the next possession and made a wide-open 3-pointer to make it 100-94 with 8:22 remaining.

Morant and James traded 3s before Malik Monk made a 3 for a 106-97 lead with 7:03 to go.

The Lakers had a chance to extend the lead back to double figures, but Monk missed a driving layup with 6:26 left and Melton capped a 5-0 run with a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to 106-102 with 5:37 left.

Both teams held double-digit leads in the first half before the game stayed tight in the third quarter. The Grizzlies eventually took a 90-87 lead into the fourth.

The Lakers fell behind by 10 points five minutes into the game, but found their touch with help from Anthony, who replaced starting center DeAndre Jordan and scored the final five points in a 7-0 run to close the opening quarter and give the Lakers a 29-24 lead.

Anthony then sank a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter to extend the Lakers' run to 10-0 and give them a 32-24 lead.

-reuters

Pacquiao receives signed game ball from Carmelo Anthony

MANILA, Philippines – Pacman meets the Meloman, and more.

Manny Pacquiao, eight-division world champion and basketball fanatic, received a signed game ball from New York Knicks main man Carmelo Anthony.

According to Boxing Scene, Pacquiao received the game ball from Anthony in Knicks locker room of the Madison Square Garden after the Knicks hosted the Portland Trailblazers Thursday morning (Manila time) at the basketball Mecca.

Pacquiao is in the Big Apple in a two-day swing to promote his second fight against Timothy Bradley.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Knicks beat Sixers 102-92 for 4th win in a row

PHILADELPHIA —Amare Stoudemire scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 to lead the New York Knicks to a 102-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

J.R. Smith returned from a one-game benching for unsportsmanlike conduct and contributed 11 points for the Knicks (14-22), who have won four straight. Anthony added nine rebounds and seven assists. Stoudemire went 8 for 10 from the field.

Spencer Hawes and James Anderson each had 17 points to lead the Sixers (12-25). Thaddeus Young chipped in 15 points for Philadelphia, , losers of four in a row.

After outscoring the Sixers 32-12 in the second quarter to take a 52-40 halftime lead, the Knicks came out strong after the break. They scored the first four points to open their biggest lead to that point – 10:56 left in the third quarter.

The Sixers never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.

After dropping 13 of 16 to start the season, the Knicks have turned things around. Defense has been a big reason for their success of late. New York has given up just 87.3 points per game and limited opponents to 29.3 percent 3-point shooting during the winning streak that includes Thursday’s 102-92 home victory over defending champion Miami.

The Sixers, meanwhile, entered ranked last in the league in scoring defense (111.2 points per game) and have been even worse lately, allowing 113.3 points during their losing skid that followed a four-game road winning streak.

New York got a big boost from Smith in the second quarter that began with the Knicks down 28-20.

Knicks coach Mike Woodson benched Smith for the entire first quarter before inserting him at the start of the second. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year was benched on Thursday and was fined $50,000 by the league for unsportsmanlike conduct after untying or attempting to untie the shoelaces of opponents in two straight games.

Smith nearly eclipsed his season average of 11.3 points per game entering Saturday in the second quarter alone, scoring 11 points by making all four of his field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, to go with four assists and two rebounds.

The shoelace incident was the latest in a series of transgressions this season for Smith, who was fined $25,000 in November for sending a threatening Tweet to the Pistons’ Brandon Jennings. That followed a five-game suspension without pay to start the season due to a violation of the league’s anti-drug policy in the offseason.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Knicks beat Heat for third straight win

NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points, Andrea Bargnani had 19, and the New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat 102-92 on Thursday night for their season-high third straight victory.

Raymond Felton had 13 points and 14 assists for the Knicks, who seized control with a 16-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarters and beat the Heat for the fourth time in five meetings over the last two seasons.

New York was second to Miami in the Eastern Conference last season when it won the series 3-1, but there was little reason to suggest the Knicks were ready to compete with the NBA champions this season. New York is only 13-22, though it has won four of five in 2014.

With Tyson Chandler out sick and J.R. Smith stuck on the bench as an apparent punishment, Amare Stoudemire contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

LeBron James scored 32 points for the Heat, who played without injured starters Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier and didn’t get much from Chris Bosh, who was held to six points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Dwyane Wade scored 23 points but missed all six free throws after sitting out the morning shootaround as Miami had its three-game winning streak snapped.

Smith didn’t play after the reigning Sixth Man of the Year’s latest trouble, a $50,000 fine when he attempted to untie an opponent’s sneaker for the second straight game, after he’d been warned by the NBA not to do it again. Knicks coach Mike Woodson criticized Smith’s behavior during a radio interview Wednesday but said before the game he wouldn’t discuss Smith any longer.

But the benching did the speaking for him. Smith often stood far away from the huddle during timeouts, but his teammates sure didn’t miss him on the court.

Though the roster is different and the results are way worse, Woodson said before the game he believed the things that worked so well against the Heat last season could still do so, and for this night he was right as New York shot 54 percent from the field.

The Knicks surged into the lead late in the third. Bargnani answered back quickly after James blew by him for a dunk, converting a three-point play to tie it and ignite a 9-0 spurt that helped New York lead 75-71 entering the final 12 minutes.

New York ran off seven in a row to open the fourth, making it 82-71 on Stoudemire’s basket, and there was never really a run for the Heat, who couldn’t get closer than five from there.

The Heat were opening a six-game road trip, but the start of it couldn’t be more convenient. They are just a few miles away Friday to visit the Nets in a game in which both players from both teams will wear nicknames on their jerseys.

But the best they can do is salvage a New York split, even after shooting 54 percent in this one.

Miami scored the final seven points of the first quarter, capping it when James broke free to catch a lob and dunk an inbounds pass from behind the basket, to take a 27-21 lead.

The Knicks scored 11 in a row early in the second, but Rashard Lewis made two 3-pointers from the corner in the final 1:11 to help the Heat grab a 48-43 halftime edge.

source: sports.inquirer.net