On an action-packed night, Luka Doncic hits triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks fall to the Toronto Raptors, and seven Spurs hit double figures as San Antonio puts up 132 points against the Washington Wizards
Monday 28 January 2019 11:11, UK
It was a happy return to action for Chris Paul as the Houston Rockets closed out a 103-98 comeback win against the visiting Orlando Magic at Toyota Center on Sunday.
The Rockets point guard missed 17 games due to a hamstring injury but it didn't affect his team too badly as they went 12-5 in his absence, mainly down to the exploits of reigning league MVP James Harden.
'The Beard' finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks to make it 23 consecutive games where he has scored 30-plus points.
Harden was streaky from deep at times in this one, but sank a vital trey with 75 seconds left, his first three-pointer of the second half, to snap a 95-95 tie. In typical fashion, he followed with a step-back 17-footer with 30.5 seconds left.
Houston outscored Orlando 29-16 in the fourth quarter as Orlando struggled at the end of a game once again. It's the 11th time the Magic have lost in the final minute of a game, and the 12th time they have blown a double-digit lead.
Steve Clifford's team are now 20-30 and four games outside of playoff contention in the East.
Aaron Gordon (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 17 rebounds) posted double-doubles for Orlando, with Evan Fournier scoring 18 and Terrence Ross hitting 15 off the bench.
The Magic finished with a 56-39 rebounding edge, but shot just 40.2 percent and struggled from deep (10 of 35) and at the line (10 of 17).
Paul had 12 points and six assists in his, while Kenneth Faried added a double-double (12 points, 10 boards) for the Rockets, who took their first lead at 93-92 on a PJ Tucker transition layup with 4:13 remaining.
From there, Orlando failed to recover their advantage at any point and Houston closed it out to earn a split of the season series.
Montrezl Harrell and Tobias Harris starred for the Los Angeles Clippers as they claimed a 122-108 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Harrell scored 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting off the bench, and Harris added 18 points as the Clippers ended a four-game home losing streak.
Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points and Patrick Beverley added 16 as the Clippers got off to a hot start by making six of their first seven three-point attempts.
De'Aaron Fox scored 21 points for the Kings, who displayed their typical pattern of starting slow before rallying late, but could not overcome a deficit that was as large as 25 points in the first half.
Lou Williams had 12 points and 10 assists off the bench for the Clippers, one game after recording the first triple-double of his career. It's the first time Williams has recorded back-to-back games of double-digit assists in his career.
The Clippers' lead ballooned to 25 points at two different points in the second quarter, before the Kings closed the half on a 13-4 run to trail 67-51.
The Kings' late rally got them within five points on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter, before the Clippers pulled away late, outscoring the Kings 35-32 in the final period to move to 3-0 against them for the season.
Paul George scored 36 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-112 home win over the high-flying Milwaukee Bucks.
The Thunder led by as many as 19 in the second and the Bucks rallied to reduce the lead to six at one point, but then George, who scored 21 points in the first half, sank a three-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter to help cool off Milwaukee's run. Dennis Schroder soon followed it with another three to give the Thunder a double-digit lead going into the fourth.
George hit a season-high eight from deep as Oklahoma City hit on 16 shots from behind the arc.
The Thunder have won five consecutive games, sweeping their three-game homestand which also included wins over New Orleans and Portland. Russell Westbrook had a triple-double in all three games of the homestand, finishing with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in this one.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Milwaukee, who can still boast the NBA's best record having lost one game fewer than the Golden State Warriors at 35-13.
The Thunder made life miserable for Giannis Antetokounmpo early, as the All-Star captain missed all six of his first-half field goals, scoring just three points before halftime, all at the free-throw line.
But Antetokounmpo scored 24 second-half points to lead Milwaukee with 27 as part of a double-double which also saw him grab 18 rebounds. Khris Middleton added 22 but it wasn't enough as the Thunder made it five wins in a row. They sit third in the West (31-18)
The Toronto Raptors drained 17 3-pointers and Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points, offsetting a superb triple-double by rookie sensation Luka Doncic in a 123-120 victory at the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night.
The Raptors salvaged the final game of their three-game road trip, while Dallas couldn't cap its three-game home stand with a third consecutive win.
Doncic, though, put on a show with a game-high and career-best 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. It was his second triple-double and sixth 30-point game of the season - huge numbers for a rookie.
Kyle Lowry contributed 19 points for the Raptors, with all five of his field goals coming from deep. Pascal Siakam had 14 points, including a three-point play that put Toronto ahead 111-108 with 3:56 to go. Fred VanVleet added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, off the bench.
Leonard scored 19 of Toronto's 70 first-half points and the Raptors led by 12 at the break.
Dallas climbed back in the game in the third quarter, doubling up the Raptors, 30-15. Toronto missed its first 10 shots of the quarter and then lost the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game when Dennis Smith Jr made a layup and a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 75-74.
The Mavs then grabbed their largest lead, 92-85, early in the fourth before Doncic's three made it 104-99 as the teenager showed off his composure in the clutch once again.
It was the veterans who were struggling for the hosts, Harrison Barnes struggled to get 14 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Smith and reserve forward Dorian Finney-Smith both finished with 13 points and Wesley Matthews had 12.
Leonard's jumper tied the game at 108-108 with 4:25 remaining and his driving layup made it 118-112 with one minute to play as the Raptors made their charge to grab the much-needed victory. Leonard added 10 rebounds on the box score and Serge Ibaka (11 points, 11 boards) also had a double-double for Toronto.
Seven players scored in double figures for the San Antonio Spurs as they finished off the Washington Wizards 132-119.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the scoring with 30 points as San Antonio shot 57 percent from the floor, the third straight game they have made at least 52 percent of their field goals.
The win, on the back end of a road-home back-to-back, was the second in a row for Gregg Popovich's side as the rest of the roster stepped up in the absence of the Spurs' leading scorer DeMar DeRozan, who missed the game with a left knee injury.
Flame-haired forward Davis Bertans hit 5 of 8 on three-pointers and added 21 points for the Spurs with Derrick White, Bryn Forbes, Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli and Rudy Gay also hitting double-figures.
The Spurs led by as many as 13 in the first half but by just 70-69 at halftime.
But San Antonio rallied after half-time and pushed their lead to 99-86 by the end of the third quarter as White attacked the rim on the break for a layup and Bertans buried back-to-back three-pointers.
Bradley Beal and Tomas Satoransky led the Wizards with 21 points each, while Trevor Ariza scored 20, Jeff Green and Thomas Bryant hit for 15 each.
The Wizards, who were missing Sam Dekker and Ian Mahinmi for the game, conclude their three-game road trip on Tuesday in Cleveland. San Antonio remains home to host struggling Phoenix on Tuesday.
In-form sophomore Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and dished out five assists to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-111 win over the host Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday in Minneapolis.
There were also big contributions from Utah's European contingent as Ricky Rubio added 18 points and eight assists and Rudy Gobert chipped in 17 points and three blocks as the Jazz beat the Timberwolves for the second time in three days.
Andrew Wiggins scored 35 points to lead Minnesota, whilst Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and Jerryd Bayless chipped in 19.
A pattern of Utah stretching in front before Minnesota pulled it back established itself throughout the first half and at the start of the second before a barrage of threes was unleashed by the Timberwolves during the third quarter. Minnesota scored seven baskets from distance in the quarter and the final one from Brit Luol Deng, who scored 15, gave the Timberwolves a 79-78 lead with 3:10 left.
Utah kept pace behind a scoring outburst from Mitchell. He made five straight baskets in the third quarter after going 2-for-12 in the first half.
Rubio buried a mid-range jumper, then took a steal in for a layup on back-to-back possessions to extend the Jazz lead to 103-92 with just under eight minutes remaining and the Jazz kept their foot on the pedal to see it through.
A late flurry from Wayne Ellington helped the Miami Heat hold off the host New York Knicks for a 106-97 victory at Madison Square Garden.
He scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the final 2:16 of the game to consign the Knicks to a ninth straight loss.
Hassan Whiteside had 13 points, including the layup that gave the Heat the lead for good with 3:12 remaining, and grabbed 16 rebounds. Dwyane Wade, playing his penultimate game in New York, added 15 points and 10 assists for Miami.
Tim Hardaway Jr scored 22 points for the Knicks and was the only starter with more than six points for the home team. Trey Burke (16 points), Damyean Dotson (14), Mario Hezonja (12) and Allonzo Trier (11) all reached double figures off the bench.
Miami appeared to be on its way to a relatively easy victory when it overcame a nine-point first-half deficit and took a handful of 13-point leads spanning the third and fourth quarters.
But the Heat went ice-cold from the field down the stretch and missed seven straight field goal attempts during an 18-5 run by the Knicks, who tied it at 90-90 on a three-pointer by Hardaway with 4:01 left.
The Knicks' execution in the clutch let them down and Ellington put them with an eight-point run which included two consecutive contested three-pointers.
That allowed Miami to extend its lead to 100-92 with 1:08 left, and New York were unable to mount a comeback.
The Knicks have now lost 17 of their last 18 whilst Miami are back to .500 (24-24) as they occupy the seventh playoff spot in the East.
Alec Burks scored 18 points, including a putback jumper with 17 seconds left, to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 104-101 road win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls had two chances to tie or take the lead after Burks' bucket, with Kris Dunn missing a layup with 8.4 seconds left that would have put Chicago in front and Zach LaVine's three-pointer missing the mark at the buzzer.
The victory snapped the Cavaliers' six-game losing streak and was just their second win in 20 games. The Bulls have now dropped three straight and 13 of their last 14 games.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Cavs opened up an eight-point lead - the biggest to that point by either team - thanks to a quick 7-0 run.
Bulls coach Jim Boylen reinserted his starters and Chicago quickly answered, ripping off a 15-5 run and retaking the lead at 98-96 with 3:52 remaining on Robin Lopez's reverse dunk.
The teams exchanged the lead three more times in the closing stages. The Bulls pulled ahead 101-100 as Wayne Selden, who replaced the injured Chandler Hutchinson in the Bulls' starting lineup, hit from distance with 1:07 remaining, but those were the final points Chicago would score.
The game stayed tight throughout, with 23 lead changes and 14 ties. Jordan Clarkson also had 18 points for Cleveland, making 8 of 11 shots from the field, while Cedi Osman scored 17. Center Ante Zizic had a career-high 14 rebounds.
Finnish forward Lauri Markkanen was busy for Chicago, leading the scoring with 21 points and 15 rebounds whilst LaVine added 17 points and 12 boards. Lopez scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four blocks.
The win for Cleveland was just their 10th of the season, and they remain bottom of the Eastern Conference. Chicago sit just a couple of places and 2.5 wins ahead.
The Los Angeles Lakers avoided a season-long four-game skid with a 116-102 win against the visiting Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on Sunday evening.
Ivica Zubac and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the scoring with 24 points apiece, whilst blossoming Bosnian big man Zubac, also had a career-high 16 rebounds.
Brandon Ingram also finished with 22 points and crowd favourite Lance Stephenson scored 10 of his 17 points during a key fourth-quarter stretch for the Lakers.
The Lakers were without three starters, including their top two scorers.
LeBron James missed his 16th straight game with a groin injury, Kyle Kuzma sat out with a sore hip, and Lonzo Ball missed his third straight game with an ankle injury.
Whilst the Suns were without their second and third-leading scorers. TJ Warren missed his third straight game with an ankle injury that will keep him out another 2-3 weeks. Deandre Ayton missed his fifth straight game, also with an ankle problem.
Star man Devin Booker scored 21 points to lead the Suns. Kelly Oubre Jr scored 17 off the bench and Mikal Bridges had 16 points for Phoenix.
The Suns managed to cut the deficit to nine entering the fourth and got as close as six on a three-point play by Richaun Holmes with 11:25 left.
Stephenson followed with his double-figure points run, including two treys, over a 103-second stretch to extend the lead back to 101-88 with 8:43 left, and the Suns never got back within single digits.
They have now lost eight in a row and sit mired at the bottom of the Western Conference, whilst the Lakers sit two games back from their city rivals the LA Clippers, who occupy the final playoff spot.
