Luka Doncic posts triple-double to lead Dallas Mavericks past San Antonio Spurs
Westbrook and Harden combine for 63 in Rockets win; Tatum stars as Celtics hand Jazz fourth straight loss; T-Wolves upset Heat
Thursday 27 February 2020 08:22, UK
Luka Doncic supplied 26 points and 14 assists as the Dallas Mavericks made a series of clutch shots in the final three minutes to hold off the San Antonio Spurs.
Dallas Mavericks 109-103 San Antonio Spurs
Luka Doncic scored 26 points, distributed 14 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds as the visiting Dallas Mavericks made a series of crucial plays in the final three minutes to hold off the San Antonio Spurs 109-103 on Wednesday in the Alamo City.
The Mavericks led by 10 points at the half and by 11 after three before San Antonio rallied in the final period. The game was tied at 96 on a Lonnie Walker IV three-pointer with 4:01 to play before Dallas got a three-point play and three-pointers by Kristaps Porzingis and Seth Curry to move back in front for good at 105-96.
Porzingis led Dallas with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr added 17 points and Dorian Finney-Smith hit for 14 for the Mavericks. DeMar DeRozan led San Antonio with 27 points, with Marco Belinelli scoring 14 points and Walker IV and Bryn Forbes and 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The game was the first at home for the Spurs since February 1 and came after San Antonio went 2-6 on their annual 'Rodeo Road Trip'. San Antonio forward LaMarcus Aldridge missed the contest due to right shoulder soreness on his own bobblehead night.
The Mavericks set the pace early on, driving to as much as a 19-point lead early in the second quarter before settling for a 59-49 advantage at half-time. Dallas could not shake San Antonio in the third quarter despite 12 points and four assists in the period from Doncic. Dallas led 88-77 heading into the final quarter.
San Antonio fashioned a 13-1 run to start the fourth quarter to jump in front at 90-89. Dorian Finney-Smith's three-pointer at the 5:32 mark of the final period was Dallas' first field goal of the quarter and pushed the Mavericks back into the lead.
Memphis Grizzlies 112-140 Houston Rockets
Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 63 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists as the host Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to five games with a wire-to-wire 140-112 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Houston earned at least a split of the season series against Memphis with another strong three-point shooting display, finishing 23-for-50 from behind the arc. The Grizzlies, playing without Jaren Jackson Jr (left knee) and Brandon Clarke (right quad), shot 13-for-39 from deep. The Rockets can claim the season series with a home victory in the season finale on April 15.
Westbrook made his presence felt in his first game against Memphis this season, posting 33 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals. He teamed with Harden to score 46 first-half points, nearly matching the Grizzlies' total as Houston led 73-47 at the intermission.
Harden finished with 30 points and seven rebounds, while nailing 7-of-12 three-pointers. Austin Rivers continued his uptick in scoring with 23 points off the bench. Houston have won nine of their last 11 games.
Dillon Brooks paced the Grizzlies with 22 points, while Jonas Valanciunas posted his 27th double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rookie guard Ja Morant, electric in his previous start against the Rockets, produced a quiet line of 12 points, three rebounds and nine assists.
Houston built their early lead to 45-25 on a PJ Tucker trey with 8:17 left in the half, then eliminated all doubt with a 22-3 surge that bridged the middle two periods, extending to an 82-47 advantage when Robert Covington completed a three-point play with 10:46 left in the third quarter. That 35-point lead was the largest of the game for the Rockets.
LA Clippers 102-92 Phoenix Suns
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the LA Clippers rallied from an 11-point deficit in the first quarter to beat the host Phoenix Suns 102-92.
The Clippers won their second straight game following a three-game losing streak, with former Suns forward Marcus Morris adding 18 points. Los Angeles remained in third place in the Western Conference and improved to 6-0 when their line-up, including stars Leonard and Paul George, is fully healthy.
The Suns, who had won three of four before Wednesday, got 25 points and 17 rebounds from center Deandre Ayton, and 18 points and 10 assists from Ricky Rubio. All-Star Devin Booker suffered through a 5-for-19 shooting night and scored just 14 points.
The Clippers used a 14-2 run in the second quarter to take a five-point lead at half-time. A steal and fast-break lay-up by Leonard gave the Clippers a 71-59 lead midway through the third quarter.
Phoenix made it a nine-point game, 78-69, early in the fourth quarter, but Reggie Jackson hit a long three to put the Clippers up by 12. Then came back-to-back baskets by Lou Williams and Jackson for an 85-69 lead with 8:03 to play.
Phoenix were without one of their top scorers, forward Kelly Oubre Jr, who did not play because of a knee injury.
Boston Celtics 114-103 Utah Jazz
Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter combined for all of Boston's scoring in a 15-5 burst to start the fourth quarter as the Celtics, on the second night of a back-to-back set, had enough depth and energy to overcome the Utah Jazz 114-103 in Salt Lake City.
Jayson Tatum had 33 points and a game-high 11 rebounds to pace the Celtics, who won three of four on their Western swing, losing only a two-point decision Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Donovan Mitchell poured in a game-high 37 points for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight, all at home.
In the first meeting of the season between teams solidly entrenched in their respective playoff races, the Celtics and Jazz played on even terms for 35-and-a-half minutes before Gordon Hayward buried a three-pointer to give the visitors an 85-82 lead after three quarters. Boston never trailed again.
Kanter opened the fourth period with two hoops, including the tip-in of a Brad Wanamaker miss, before Smart nailed three consecutive three-pointers, sandwiching a pair of hoops by Utah's Jordan Clarkson, to help the Celtics take command.
When Kanter turned a Smart assist into a basket with 7:22 remaining in the game, the Celtics suddenly held a 100-87 advantage. Utah got no closer than eight after that.
Tatum was the Celtics' driving force for the better part of three periods. He shot 13-for-20 overall and 3-for-5 on three-point attempts to cap a remarkable trip on which he scored 28, 41, 36 and 33 points.
Jaylen Brown added 20 points, Smart finished with a game-high nine assists to complement 17 points, and Daniel Theis chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who were swept by the Jazz in the season series last year.
In his second return to Utah after playing his first seven seasons for the Jazz, Hayward contributed 12 points and five rebounds to the win.
Mitchell's point total came on 15-of-32 shooting. He made just two of his 10 three-point attempts. Mike Conley went for 15 points and Royce O'Neale 14 for Utah, who are now 1-4 on a six-game homestand that ends on Friday night against the Washington Wizards.
Philadelphia 76ers 94-108 Cleveland Cavaliers
Collin Sexton scored 28 points as the host Cleveland Cavaliers posted a 108-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost three-time All-Star center Joel Embiid to a shoulder injury.
Larry Nance Jr collected 13 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and Tristan Thompson had 14 and 13, respectively, as the Cavaliers posted their fourth win in five games.
Embiid sustained a left shoulder sprain after a collision with Cleveland center Ante Zizic with 49 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The 7ft Embiid winced in pain as he missed both free throw attempts before retreating to the locker room. Embiid briefly returned to the bench in the second quarter before he was ruled out for the contest at half-time.
Embiid's injury is the latest for the 76ers, who are without Ben Simmons after the All-Star guard was injured during Saturday's 119-98 setback in Milwaukee. Simmons is dealing with a nerve impingement in his lower back.
Kevin Love, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, drained a three-pointer to push Cleveland's advantage to 70-50 midway into the third quarter, before Philadelphia answered with 11 straight points. Josh Richardson capped that surge with a three-pointer, and Shake Milton and Al Horford later connected from beyond the arc to cut the Cavaliers' lead to 85-80 with just more than nine minutes left in the game.
Thompson's alley-oop dunk and three-pointers by Love and Sexton highlighted a 16-6 surge to effectively put the game on ice.
Milton scored 20 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 14 for the 76ers, who have dropped seven in a row on the road to fall to 9-21 away from Philadelphia on the season.
Minnesota Timberwolves 129-126 Miami Heat
D'Angelo Russell scored 27 points and Jordan McLaughlin made the go-ahead lay-up with 8.5 seconds left, leading the supposedly overmatched Minnesota Timberwolves to a 129-126 upset win over the host Miami Heat. The Timberwolves had lost 18 of their past 19 games.
Down by 12 points with 4:39 left in the fourth quarter, Minnesota used a 16-spurt to get back into the game. Seldom-used reserve Jake Layman made two free throws with 17 seconds left to give Minnesota a 125-124 lead. After two free throws by Miami's Jimmy Butler, the 5ft 11in McLaughlin drove the right side of the lane and somehow got his shot over 6ft 9in shot-blocker Bam Adebayo.
Butler, a five-time All-Star who had missed the previous two games due to personal issues, posted 18 points and a game-high nine assists. Rookie guard Kendrick Nunn led Miami with 24 points, and Adebayo - playing despite a sprained ankle and stitches under his left eye - had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
The Heat have lost two straight games, against two of the bottom five teams in the NBA: Minnesota and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Minnesota snapped a five-game losing streak despite playing their fifth straight game without star center Karl-Anthony Towns, who has a wrist injury.
Miami seemed to take control of the game in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota used an 11-0 run to tie the score 123-123 with 46 seconds left, setting the stage for the final drama.
Brooklyn Nets 106-110 Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal scored 30 points and connected with Jerome Robinson for the go-ahead three-pointer with 9.5 seconds remaining as the Washington Wizards recovered after blowing an 18-point lead to pull out a 110-106 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
Beal scored 17 of Washington's 29 points in a wild fourth quarter that featured nine lead changes and 10 ties. He also had five assists, including the pass to Robinson, who buried the clutch three-pointer from the right side before Spencer Dinwiddie could defend him.
Robinson's three-pointer gave Washington a 108-106 lead and he also grabbed the rebound when Dinwiddie missed a triple with 4.5 seconds left. Caris LeVert fouled him and Robinson iced Washington's 15th win in the past 17 meetings with Brooklyn by hitting two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining.
Beal surpassed 25 points for the 16th consecutive games as Washington snapped a three-game losing streak. He shot 11-of-24 from the floor as the Wizards shot 42.7 percent as a team.
Rookie Rui Hachimura added 17 points and Davis Bertans contributed 14 as the Wizards recovered after they were outscored 37-21 in the third quarter when the Nets stormed back.
LeVert led all scorers with 34 points, while Dinwiddie added 18, as the Nets shot 41.4 percent from the field. DeAndre Jordan added 16 points and 16 rebounds off the bench while Taurean Prince contributed 13.
Orlando Magic 130-120 Atlanta Hawks
Evan Fournier scored 28 points, including a couple of key fourth-quarter baskets that helped the visiting Orlando Magic defeat the Atlanta Hawks 130-120.
Fournier scored five points during a 9-2 run that enabled the Magic to stretch a four-point lead to an 11-point advantage. Fournier was 11-for-18 from the floor with four rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The victory enabled the Magic to split the four-game season series with Atlanta. Orlando have won two straight and four of their last five. Atlanta have dropped two straight.
The Magic also got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Aaron Gordon and 17 points and 12 rebounds from Nikola Vucevic. Orlando's Mo Bamba entered the game early in the first quarter when Vucevic picked up two quick fouls and finished with 15 points - matching his career-high - along with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Atlanta's Trae Young wasn't expected to play because of flu-like symptoms in the morning. He wound up with 37 points - 20 in the second quarter - with 11 assists. The Hawks also got 26 points from John Collins and 14 points from Cam Reddish.
The score was tied 64-64 at half-time after a wild second quarter in which the teams combined for 78 points. The volatility continued in the third quarter. Atlanta surged to a 75-68 lead on Bruno Fernando's dunk with 9:21 left. But Orlando outscored the Hawks 29-9 and led 97-84 when Gordon scored on a lay-up. The Magic took a 103-95 lead into the fourth quarter and held on for the win.
New York Knicks 101-107 Charlotte Hornets
Terry Rozier scored 26 points and Devonte' Graham added 21 as the Charlotte Hornets' backcourt proved the difference in a 107-101 victory against the visiting New York Knicks.
PJ Washington and Bismack Biyombo each added 12 points, and Miles Bridges had 10 points as the Hornets bounced back a night after one of their most miserable outings of the season.
The Knicks, who have lost five games in a row, closed within 97-95 with just less than three minutes to play. Graham scored the next three points on free throws. From there, Rozier answered for the Hornets' next four points to keep the Knicks at bay. Rozier was 8-for-8 on foul shots.
Julius Randle put up 18 points, Bobby Portis had 17 points and Allonzo Trier provided 15 points to pace the Knicks. Also contributing were Mitchell Robinson's 12 points and 16 rebounds and Taj Gibson's 10 points.
The Hornets, who were held to a season-low point total a night earlier in a 119-80 loss at the Indiana Pacers, held a 56-46 half-time lead, shooting 55.8 per cent from the field.
New York's starting backcourt of Elfrid Payton and RJ Barrett had six points at the half and ended up with a combined 11 points on 5-for-19 shooting.
Want to watch the NBA but don't have Sky Sports? Get the Sky Sports Action and Arena pack, click here.
