Williams buzzer-beater clinches Clippers win; Vucevic leads Magic to win over Bulls; Kings snap losing streak
Monday 18 March 2019 09:30, UK
Chris Paul, Clint Capela and James Harden recorded double-doubles as the Houston Rockets turned a blistering third-quarter shooting display into a 117-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
Paul paired 25 points with 10 assists and matched his single-game high of six three-pointers, while Capela recorded 20 points and 13 rebounds in grappling with Timberwolves All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists).
Houston improved to 11-2 since the All-Star break by catching fire from the perimeter in the third quarter, connecting on 10 of 18 treys.
Eric Gordon ignited the barrage with consecutive three-pointers that yielded a 58-51 lead. Harden, who had 20 points and 10 assists, sank a three at the 9:23 mark of the third before Paul got hot, drilling four treys in succession to stretch the advantage to 75-58.
When Danuel House Jr. connected from deep with 5:38 left in the period, the Rockets led by 18.
Houston finished 21 for 50 from behind the arc. House scored 14 points and Gordon added 12.
Rookie forward Josh Okogie scored 21 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost seven of their last 10 games. Taj Gibson chipped in with 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Minnesota.
Lou Williams hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to earn the Los Angeles Clippers a dramatic 119-116 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
The Clippers held a 10-point lead with 62 seconds left but gave it all back, as Jarrett Allen's dunk forged a 116-116 tie with five seconds remaining.
After Los Angeles called its last timeout, Patrick Beverley inbounded the ball along the left sideline to Danilo Gallinari. Gallinari quickly connected with Williams, who took three dribbles, moved from right to left to the top of the key, and released the off-balance 28-footer over Spencer Dinwiddie just before the horn sounded.
Williams, whose game-winner was the first of his career, scored 11 of his 25 points in a fourth quarter that featured wild runs by both teams.
The Clippers held a 105-91 lead with 7:07 left after a dunk by Montrezl Harrell capped a 12-0 run, but the Nets scored the next 10 to get within 105-101 on a dunk by Allen.
Los Angeles appeared to clinch the game when Williams found rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a wide-open corner three-pointer with 1:02 left to make it 116-106, but the Nets scored the next 10, setting the stage for Williams' game-winner.
The Clippers (41-30) won for the seventh time in eight games and moved into a virtual tie with Utah for seventh in the West and a half-game behind sixth-place San Antonio.
Gallinari and Harrell added 20 points apiece as Los Angeles shot 43.3 percent, overcame a 19-point deficit in the second quarter and recorded its eighth straight home win over the Nets.
D'Angelo Russell scored 32 points, but the Nets dropped to 0-3 on a season-high seven-game road trip that continues Tuesday in Sacramento. The Nets (36-36) also fell 1.5 games behind sixth-place Detroit in the Eastern Conference and lead eighth-place Miami by just 1.5 games.
Nikola Vucevic scored 17 of his 27 points in the first quarter as the Orlando Magic remained in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 101-91 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Vucevic scored the first 13 points of the game for Orlando and 17 of the team's first 19. He finished 10-for-20 from the field as he led the Magic in scoring for the 32nd time this season, and grabbed 20 rebounds for his team-leading 52nd double-double.
Orlando (33-38), vying for its first playoff spot since 2010-11, trail Miami (33-36) by one game for the eighth spot in the playoffs. Miami defeated Charlotte 93-75 on Sunday. They meet one last time this season in Miami on March 26.
The Magic also got 22 points and eight rebounds from Aaron Gordon and 14 points and seven rebounds from reserve Wes Iwundu.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 20 points and five assists. Alex Len scored 13 and Dewayne Dedmon finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds. John Collins only played 20 minutes before fouling out with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Orlando was aided by a 26-7 advantage at the free throw line as Atlanta lost for the second time in as many days after a defeat to the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Buddy Hield made his only three-pointers of the game in a 14-point, second-quarter flurry that propelled the Sacramento Kings to a 129-102 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and allowed the ninth-placed Kings (34-35) to retain a slim hope of reaching the Western Conference playoffs this season.
In the opener of a four-game homestand, Sacramento led just 30-27 before scoring the next 14 points, with Hield contributing six of the first eight with his three-pointers.
Sacramento went on to lead by as many as 30 in the third period before coasting home to its second-largest margin of victory of the season.
In just his third game back from a knee injury, Marvin Bagley III shot 9 of 14 and led Sacramento with 21 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
De'Aaron Fox (17 points), Hield (16), Harry Giles III (16) and Harrison Barnes (15) also scored in double figures for the Kings, who will face Brooklyn, Dallas and Phoenix in the remaining games on their must-win homestand.
Zach LaVine (18 points) was the top scorer for the Bulls. Lauri Markkanen, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Shaq Harrison added 11 apiece, while Ryan Arcidiacono had 10 for Chicago, which lost by 27 or more points for the eighth time this season.
