Grizzlies maul Clippers 113-104

(The Sports Xchange) - For the first time since the 2008-09 season, the Detroit Pistons are off to a 7-3 start following a 108-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday.

The Pistons, who are 4-1 at home, have played in front of paltry crowds so far in their new home, Little Caesars Arena, but hope that their recent hot streak will bring more fans to the turnstiles.

Detroit has now won five of its last six games and improved to 2-0 on the start of a five-game homestand.

Avery Bradley led the way with 24 points, Harris scored 20 points, and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 19 rebounds.

Anthony Davis collected 27 points and 16 rebounds and DeMarcus Cousins scored 25 points and had 11 rebounds as New Orleans won for the second straight night to get to .500 on the season.

Jameer Nelson scored 13 points for New Orleans, and his long shot with 48 seconds left in overtime gave the Pelicans an eight-point lead.

Justin Holiday led the Bulls with 18 points and Denzel Valentine finished with 16 points.

Mike Conley scored 22 points to lead seven Memphis players in double figures in the Grizzlies’ win.

Memphis got key contributions off the bench from guards Tyreke Evans (20 points) and Mario Chalmers (12 points).

Los Angeles shot a miserable 15.4 percent from 3-point range (4 of 26).

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with a season-high 30 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Timberwolves 112, Mavericks 99 Karl-Anthony Towns recovered from the worst offensive performance of his career by scoring 31 points, and Andrew Wiggins added 23 points to lead Minnesota.

The Timberwolves have won four in a row as Minnesota won four in a row for the first time since December 2012.

Towns was held to just two points on 1-of-7 shooting in a win against New Orleans on Wednesday, but the third-year center had his way with Dallas. He added 12 rebounds and three blocks, notching his seventh double-double in nine games this season.

The Mavericks are 1-10, their worst start since going 1-23 to start the 1993-94 season.

Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Stephen Curry had 22 points and 11 assists, and Golden State routed the Denver.

Draymond Green had 15 points, eight assists and seven assists and Klay Thompson scored 15 points for Golden State, which has won three straight and six of its last seven.

Will Barton had 21 points and eight rebounds and Emmanuel Mudiay scored 15 points for Denver, which lost the second game of a home back-to-back. No Nuggets starter scored in double figures.

The Warriors outscored the Nuggets 27-6 during a stretch where it turned a five-point lead into an 8761 advantage halfway through the third quarter. MADRID, (Reuters) - Just six months after Cristiano Ronaldo racked up 25 league goals to propel Real Madrid to the Liga title, the Portuguese hitman seems to have lost his scoring touch.

While the champions eased to a 3-0 victory over Las Palmas yesterday, the fact that neither Ronaldo or Karim Benzema found the back of the net is starting to cause concern in certain sections of the Bernabeu. The duo have not scored in La Liga since hitting a goal apiece as Real laboured to a 2-1 victory over Getafe three weeks ago. Those strikes remain their only league goals this campaign.

The club’s top scorers are midfielders Marco Asensio and Isco, with four each. It is a far cry from Lionel Messi’s 12 goals for Barcelona.

“Cristiano and Benzema do things well on the pitch. Isco scores from Ronaldo’s cross, for example,” manager Zinedine Zidane said when quizzed about their goal droughts.

“They’re setting them up at the moment - but runs change.” While fans are hoping the lean spell will end soon, patience is wearing thin where Benzema is concerned.

There were audible groans when he missed a one-on-one in the opening exchanges and he was booed off the pitch when he was substituted after making little impact in yet another match.

When former Barcelona striker Gary Lineker recently tweeted that Benzema was “overrated”, the Frenchman reacted by accusing the Englishman of spreading “hatred”.

Unfortunately for Benzema, the numbers do not add up.

Apart from the strike against Getafe, he has found the net only once more this season, during the Spanish Super Cup second leg win over Barcelona. It is a poor return in 11 appearances in all competitions this season.