NEW YORK: Paul Pierce scored 23 points, and the Boston Celtics beat the New York Knicks 102-96 on Monday night in a heated first meeting of the season between the Atlantic Division rivals.
Kevin Garnett added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who even without the suspended Rajon Rondo won their third straight and finally are playing like the team that has ruled the division for the last half-decade.
The Knicks want that title now, but Carmelo Anthony and his teammates were reminded how tough the Celtics can make it.
Anthony had 20 points but shot 6 of 26 while battling his temper, Garnett and foul trouble. J.R. Smith led the Knicks with 24 points.
BULLS 118, CAVALIERS 92: At Chicago, Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls to a rout of the Cavaliers.
It was the third straight game that Boozer has eclipsed 20 points. This time he did it against the team that drafted him in 2002.
Joakim Noah added 11 points and 11 rebounds while Luol Deng had 19 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who beat the Cavaliers for an 11th straight time.
Chicago (19-13), which posted a season-high in points, moved to 11-1 when Boozer and Noah have double-doubles.
Dion Waiters led Cleveland (8-28) with 18 points. C.J. Miles and Kyrie Irving had 15 points apiece.
WIZARDS 101, THUNDER 99: At Washington, Bradley Beal made a jumper with 0.3 seconds left after using a pump fake to get open, and the short-handed Wizards beat the Thunder.
Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City (26-8) with 29 points.
The Wizards (5-28), playing without their top two scorers, had lost 13 of their previous 14, but they also beat the Miami Heat earlier in the season. Beal and Martell Webster led the Washington with 22 points each.
Kevin Seraphin added 19 points, and Emeka Okafor had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Thunder missed 16 straight shots from midway through the third quarter to midway through the fourth quarter.
HORNETS 95, SPURS 88: At New Orleans, Eric Gordon scored six straight points in a fourth quarter spurt and had 24 overall to lead the Hornets to a victory over San Antonio.
Anthony Davis added 17 points, Greivis Vasquez 14 and Ryan Anderson 13 for the Hornets, who have won two consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 2-3.
Manu Ginobili scored 21 points to lead the Spurs, who had won eight of their previous nine, dating to a 99-94 victory over the Hornets in San Antonio on Dec. 21.
Tony Parker had 16 points, Tim Duncan 13 and Kawhi Leonard 10 for San Antonio. Duncan was 5 of 14, at one point missing five consecutive shots in the third quarter.
The Spurs committed 19 turnovers, leading to 23 points for New Orleans.
Celtics beat Knicks in first matchup of the season
Celtics beat Knicks in first matchup of the season
Pakistan rejects claims it approached ICC for dialogue over India match boycott
- Indian journalist Vikrant Gupta says Pakistan approached ICC after it informed PCB of legal ramifications of boycotting India clash
- Pakistan’s government has allowed national team to take part in ongoing World Cup but barred it from playing against India on Feb. 15
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) this week rejected an Indian journalist’s claim that it has approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a dialogue regarding Pakistan’s upcoming cricket fixture against India.
Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta wrote on social media platform X on Saturday that the PCB has reached out to the ICC for dialogue over its decision to boycott the Feb. 15 T20 World Cup match against India.
Gupta said the development took place after the ICC informed the PCB of the legal ramifications and potential sanctions the cricket governing body could impose if Pakistan boycotted its World Cup match against India.
Gupta said the ICC was responding to the PCB, which had informed the global cricket governing body in writing that it was pulling out of the match as Pakistan’s government had not allowed the national team to play the Feb. 15 fixture.
“I categorically reject the claim by Indian sports journalist Vikrant Gupta that PCB approached the ICC,” PCB spokesperson Amir Mir said in a statement on Saturday.
“As usual, sections of Indian media are busy circulating fiction. A little patience and time will clearly show who actually went knocking and who didn’t.”
Pakistan’s government earlier this month cleared the team’s participation in the T20 World Cup but barred them from facing India in Colombo on Feb. 15.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later said the decision was taken to express solidarity with Bangladesh, after it was replaced by the ICC in the ongoing tournament.
ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland last month after the latter refused to play its World Cup matches in India due to security reasons.
Pakistan has blamed India’s cricket board for influencing the ICC’s decisions. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif this week called for a the formation of a new cricket governing body, saying the ICC is now hostage to “India’s political interests.”
India generates the largest share of cricket’s commercial revenue and hence enjoys considerable influence over the sport. Critics argue that this financial contribution translates into decisive leverage within the ICC.
A large part of that revenue comes from the Indian Premier League (IPL), the sport’s most lucrative T20 cricket competition, which is run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Between 2024 and 2027, the IPL is projected to earn $1.15 billion, nearly 39 percent of the ICC’s total annual revenue, according to international media reports.
The ICC is headed by Jay Shah, the son of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah. The ICC chair is expected to be independent from any cricket board and take impartial decisions.
