Payton Pritchard earns Boston Celtics last-second win over Miami Heat; Malcolm Brogdon leads Indiana Pacers past Houston Rockets; Oklahoma City Thunder secure one-point win over New Orleans Pelicans; Devin Booker inspires Phoenix Suns; Gordon Hayward puts up career-high figures
Thursday 7 January 2021 07:16, UK
Rookie guard Payton Pritchard delivered a last-second putback to earn the Boston Celtics a dramatic win over the Miami Heat, while the Oklahoma City Thunder battled to a one-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans after late George Hill free throws.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led a dominant offensive display from the Milwaukee Bucks in their win over the Detroit Pistons, Malcolm Brogdon inspired the Indiana Pacers to victory over the Houston Rockets, Devin Booker helped the Phoenix Suns overcome the Toronto Raptors and Gordon Hayward put up career-high figures for the Charlotte Hornets against the Atlanta Hawks.
Pritchard scored on a put-back from a missed drive by Marcus Smart with two-tenths of a second left to give the Celtics a 107-105 win over the host Heat on Wednesday night.
Boston went on a 13-0 run late in the fourth quarter to turn a three-point deficit into a 10-point lead, only for Miami to recover with a three-pointer by Duncan Robinson with 1:09 left and then his four-point play 30 seconds later, cutting the Heat deficit to 105-102.
Miami's Goran Dragic tied the score with a three-pointer with 13 seconds left, setting up Pritchard for his dramatic play, the first-rounder finishing with six points.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with a game-high 27 points, while Jaylen Brown added 21 points for the Celtics, who were eliminated by the Heat in last season's Eastern Conference finals.
Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 26 points to lead Miami, who have alternated a loss with a win in each of their seven games this season. Robinson had 16 points, Bam Adebayo 15 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Both teams scored 19 points in the second quarter, and Boston, who led by as many as 17 points, went into halftime with a 53-45 lead. The third quarter, thanks in part to eight points by Miami's Kelly Olynyk, ended at 80-80.
Brogdon scored a career-high 35 points and Myles Turner recorded eight blocked shots as the Pacers held on for a 114-107 victory over the Rockets.
Brogdon eclipsed his career high of 33 points, set two games earlier against the New York Knicks, on a pair of free throws with 29.9 seconds left that extended the Indy lead to six points.
The Brogdon free throws followed the final block of the game from Turner, who turned away David Nwaba at the rim with 38.2 seconds remaining.
Brogdon gave the Pacers the lead for good at 109-107 with 2:22 to play, getting a shooter's bounce immediately after James Harden pushed the Rockets in front with a driving layup.
Brogdon added seven assists and three steals in 39 minutes and recorded just one turnover. Domantas Sabonis added his eighth double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Justin Holiday scored 20 off the Indiana bench while Victor Oladipo totaled 18 points and nine boards.
The Rockets, playing without center Christian Wood (sore left knee), were led by John Wall with 28 points and Eric Gordon's 20 off the bench. Harden paired 15 points with 12 assists, Nwaba added a season-high 15 points while making a second consecutive start and DeMarcus Cousins, making his first start since April 2019, had nine points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 21 points and Hill made two free throws with 12.1 seconds remaining to lift the visiting Thunder to a 111-110 victory over the Pelicans.
Darius Bazley had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Muscala scored 18 and Hill finished with 13.
Zion Williamson led the way for the Pelicans with 29 points, Brandon Ingram had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and Lonzo Ball scored 15. Eric Bledsoe and Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in with 13 points each and Steven Adams had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Pelicans led by five points at halftime, before Bazley scored the first 11 points of the third quarter. Ingram ended the run by making two free throws, but Al Horford made a three-pointer and Bazley hit consecutive baskets to give OKC a 72-61 lead.
New Orleans scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter but Muscala negated that by making three consecutive three-pointers. Five points by Alexander-Walker started a 12-0 run that ended with Ball's three-point play giving New Orleans a 99-97 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander replied to Ingram's jumper with free throws to give the Thunder a 109-108 lead with 47 seconds left. Williamson's basket then put New Orleans ahead, but Hill made the decisive free throws before Alexander-Walker missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.
Antetokounmpo had 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bucks to a 130-115 home win over the Pistons.
Khris Middleton had 23 points and seven assists, Brook Lopez scored 17 points and Bobby Portis added 16 points off the bench for the Bucks, who won their third straight.
Jerami Grant scored a game-high 31 points and Saddiq Bey had 20 points for Detroit, who have now lost three in a row.
Milwaukee got to the 80-point mark in the final minute of the first half, taking an 82-56 advantage into the break after shooting 65.2 percent from the field (30 of 46) and 63.2 percent from three-point range (12 of 19).
The Bucks' offensive onslaught continued in the second half as they reached the 100-point mark with 2.58 left in the third quarter, before entering the fourth with a 108-82 lead.
Derrick Rose, Detroit's second-leading scorer, left the game in the first half and didn't return after suffering a right knee contusion. He finished with 10 points.
Booker scored 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter as the Suns defeated the visiting Raptors 123-115.
Jae Crowder added 21 points for the Suns, who have won six of eight games to start the season. Pascal Siakam scored a season-best 32 points for the Raptors, who have lost six of their first seven games.
Cameron Johnson added 16 points for Phoenix, Dario Saric had 15, Deandre Ayton scored 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, Mikal Bridges chipped in with 13, Chris Paul had 12 points and Cameron Payne had five points and 10 assists.
Kyle Lowry added 24 points and nine rebounds for the Raptors, followed by OG Anunoby with 20 points, Fred VanVleet with 13 points and seven assists and Norman Powell with 13 points.
The Suns took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and led by 15 on Saric's three-pointer with 10:32 to play. Anunoby's dunk cut the lead to six with 2:34 to play to finish a 9-0 run for Toronto. Bridges hit two free throws to increase the lead to eight with 53.8 seconds left.
Hayward scored a career-high 44 points as the visiting Hornets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 102-94 win over the Hawks.
Hayward was 15-for-25 from the field and four-for-nine on three-pointers, breaking his previous career-high of 39 points that he accomplished against Cleveland on November 5, 2019.
Atlanta, who have lost three straight and four of their last five, overcame a 24-point first-half deficit and took an 86-85 lead on a three-point play from John Collins with 5:22 left, but Hayward answered with a basket and followed with a three-point play to restore Charlotte's lead to four points at 90-86 with 3:55 left.
LaMelo Ball came off the bench to add 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Terry Rozier scored 14.
Trae Young, who entered the game averaging 28.6 points, scored only two points in the first half and finished with a season-low seven points, making only two of nine shorts, zero of three from deep and finishing with seven turnovers.
Collins led the Hawks with 23 points while pulling down 11 rebounds. Kevin Huerter came off the bench to make a season-high five three-pointers to score 19 and De'Andre Hunter added 17. Clint Capela had a season-high 19 rebounds.
