LeBron James triple-double in vain as Los Angeles Lakers lose to Memphis Grizzlies
Rockets win but Harden 30-point streak ends; Embiid-less Sixers hold on to beat Pelicans; Thompson shines as Warriors defeat Hornets
Tuesday 26 February 2019 09:09, UK
LeBron James supplied 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists but could not prevent the Los Angeles Lakers from falling to a 110-105 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Los Angeles Lakers 105-110 Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Conley scored 30 points and the Memphis Grizzlies ended a four-game losing streak with a 110-105 win against the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 13 rebounds, Avery Bradley scored 15, and Joakim Noah finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for Memphis.
LeBron James had 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, Brandon Ingram scored 32 points, and Kyle Kuzma finished with 22 points for the Lakers, who went 0-2 on the brief road trip.
James - who became the first player in NBA history to move into the top 10 in both career assists and career points - scored on a fast break with a minute left, but missed the free throw on the potential three-point play to keep the deficit at 105-103.
The Grizzlies shot 5-for-8 from the free throw line over the final 40 seconds, but the Lakers could not pull any closer.
Golden State Warriors 121-110 Charlotte Hornets
Klay Thompson scored 26 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the visiting Golden State Warriors beat the Charlotte Hornets 121-110.
The Warriors never trailed in the final three quarters and led by as many as 17 in the final six minutes before the Hornets went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to seven, 115-108, with 3:24 to go. Ultimately, Steph Curry's three-pointer with 58.5 seconds left settled it, accounting for the game's final points.
Cousins might have had his best game since returning from an Achilles injury 14 games ago. He was 9-of-15 from the field and was on the court for most of the Warriors' runs. The Warriors also got 20 points from Kevin Durant, 16 points from Curry, and 14 points and 10 assists from Draymond Green.
Curry, in his annual return to his hometown, was just 5-of-18 from the field and 4-of-14 from three-point range.
Cody Zeller scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Hornets, hitting 13 of 14 from the field. The Hornets also got 23 points from Kemba Walker, 16 from Jeremy Lamb, 14 from Nic Batum and 11 from Marvin Williams.
Philadelphia 76ers 111-110 New Orleans Pelicans
Tobias Harris scored 29 points as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers held on to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 111-110.
After Julius Randle scored on a dunk to pull New Orleans within one point with 10.9 seconds left, Philadelphia's Jonathon Simmons missed two free throws with 9.7 seconds to go, giving the Pelicans a chance to take the lead.
However, Jimmy Butler got a hand on E'Twaun Moore's three-point attempt, forcing a miss just before the buzzer.
JJ Redick added 16 points, Ben Simmons had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Mike Scott scored 12 points, and Butler had 11 points for the 76ers. Boban Marjanovic contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds before being helped from the court after sustaining a knee injury late in the fourth quarter.
Sixers All-Star Center Joel Embiid sat out his third consecutive game to rest a sore left knee.
Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 22 points, and Randle had 19 points and 14 rebounds. Anthony Davis, who returned to the lineup after sitting out a 128-115 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers to rest Saturday night, had 18 points, and Elfrid Payton added 10 points and 14 assists.
Atlanta Hawks 111-119 Houston Rockets
James Harden and Chris Paul combined for 48 points as the host Houston Rockets withstood a career night from Atlanta Hawks rookie guard Trae Young in their 119-111 win.
Harden had his streak of consecutive 30-point games come to an end at 32, posting 28 points despite finishing 0-for-10 on three-pointers. Harden had an opportunity to pursue an extension of the streak, the second-longest in league history, but he dribbled out the clock with the win secure.
Paul added 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds and carried the Rockets to a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter with a show of force down the stretch of the third.
Four other Rockets scored in double figures, with Eric Gordon scoring 16 off the bench after being replaced in the starting lineup by Kenneth Faried (13 points, 10 rebounds, two blocked shots).
Young paired 36 points on 8-of-12 shooting from three-point range with eight assists. Forward John Collins chipped in 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks.
Milwaukee Bucks 117-106 Chicago Bulls
Malcolm Brogdon and Khris Middleton scored 22 points apiece as the Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a 117-106 win over the host Chicago Bulls.
Brook Lopez and Nikola Mirotic added 13 points apiece for the Bucks, who won their fifth game in a row. Milwaukee shot 46.2 per cent (42-of-91) from the field and knocked down 17 shots from beyond the arc.
Lauri Markkanen and Robin Lopez each had 26 points in a losing effort for the Bulls. Chicago's three-game win streak came to an end as the Bucks completed a four-game sweep in the regular-season series.
Milwaukee led comfortably for most of the second half and rested their starters in the final few minutes. The Bucks boosted their record to an NBA-best 46-14 on the season.
The Bucks entered the fourth quarter with a 90-80 advantage. Tony Snell provided a lift for Milwaukee on both ends of the court in the third quarter as he blocked a shot by Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and made a lay-up in the final seconds.
Milwaukee played without All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out because of soreness in his right knee. Sterling Brown (right wrist soreness) and George Hill (left groin strain) also did not play.
Sacramento Kings 105-112 Minnesota Timberwolves
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 34 points and collected 21 rebounds in his return from a concussion to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 112-105 home victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Derrick Rose added 20 points for the Timberwolves, who won for the fourth time in the past five games. Tyus Jones contributed 16 points and eight assists as Minnesota overcame 22 turnovers.
Marvin Bagley III recorded 25 points and 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double as the Kings finished 1-3 on a four-game road trip.
De'Aaron Fox scored 23 points, Buddy Hield had 18 points and eight rebounds, and Corey Brewer added 12 points for Sacramento, who committed 20 turnovers.
Bagley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 draft, excelled in his second career start and scored four straight points to pull the Kings within 95-87 with 9:22 remaining.
Towns made two free throws 15 seconds later to start an 11-4 burst. Jones scored seven points during the run, including a jumper to make it 106-91 with 7:03 left.
Sacramento responded with 10 straight points to trim its deficit to five, and later moved within 108-104 on Bagley's three-pointer with 3:05 to play.
But the Kings scored just one point the rest of the way and Rose's 21-footer with 29.4 seconds left accounted for the final margin.
San Antonio Spurs 85-101 Brooklyn Nets
D'Angelo Russell scored 23 points as the Brooklyn Nets led most of the way and cruised to a 101-85 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, who ended their eight-game 'Rodeo road trip' with a 1-7 record.
Russell made 9-of-19 field-goal attempts and scored at least 20 points for the 34th time this season. He added eight assists and seven rebounds after matching a career high Saturday with 40 points in a win at Charlotte.
Caris LeVert added 15 points and Joe Harris contributed 15 by hitting five of Brooklyn's 19 three-pointers.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points for the Spurs, who shot 36.5 per cent from the field and set a season low for points. DeMar DeRozan added 23 for San Antonio, who missed 20 of 24 three-point attempts.
The Nets led for the final 44-and-a-half minutes and gradually pulled away. They were on top by double digits for the final 25:33 and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Spurs.
San Antonio finished their 8,424-mile trek with a second straight double-digit loss. Six of the seven losses were by double digits.
Indiana Pacers 109-113 Detroit Pistons
Andre Drummond powered his way to 26 points and 16 rebounds and Blake Griffin recorded a triple-double as the Detroit Pistons collected a 113-109 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers.
Detroit have won seven of their last eight, including all three outings since the All-Star break. Griffin racked up 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Luke Kennard had 19 points off the bench, and Wayne Ellington and Reggie Jackson added 14 points apiece.
Bojan Bogdanovic's 25 points led Indiana, who had won eight of their previous nine. Reserve Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and seven rebounds, but he hobbled off with an ankle injury with a minute remaining. Darren Collison supplied 21 points and five assists.
The Pistons got off to a hot start, but the Pacers pulled within four at 55-51 by half-time. Detroit carried an 84-77 lead into the fourth.
Bogdanovic scored in the lane early in the quarter to make it a three-point game but Detroit responded with 10 unanswered points. Griffin had a three-pointer and an assist, and Drummond converted a lob to finish it off.
Kennard tossed in a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Pistons a 105-91 lead with under four minutes left.
Collison hit a trey with less than a minute to go to make it 109-102 but the Pacers couldn't get closer than four.
Portland Trail Blazers 123-110 Cleveland Cavaliers
Portland squandered most of a 23-point halftime lead, but CJ McCollum and Seth Curry came to the rescue as the Trail Blazers beat the Cavaliers 123-110 in Cleveland.
In winning their fourth straight, the Trail Blazers never trailed, and they scored more than 100 points for the 26th straight game.
Portland took command early, scoring the first 14 points of the game. The Trail Blazers shot a sizzling 68.4 per cent in the first half and made 11-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc, leaving them seemingly in command up 71-48 at intermission.
However, the Cavaliers outscored the Trail Blazers 36-17 in the third to trail 88-84 heading into the fourth. Cleveland were down just 92-90 after Larry Nance Jr's free throw with 9:08 left. Back-to-back three-pointers by McCollum and Curry pushed the lead back to eight. Collin Sexton's trey got the Cavs within 100-95, but then Portland put the game away on an 19-7 run.
McCollum scored 35 points lead the Trail Blazers. Damien Lillard added 21 points and eight assists, and Jusuf Nurkic recorded 15 points and eight rebounds.
Cedi Osman led the Cavaliers with 27 points. Jordan Clarkson added 19 off the bench. Kevin Love scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to notch his third straight double-double.
Dallas Mavericks 112-121 Los Angeles Clippers
Montrezl Harrell scored a career-high 32 points and Lou Williams added 21 as the Los Angeles Clippers' bench rode to the rescue again in a 121-112 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks.
Danilo Gallinari led the starting five with 20 points as the Clippers won for the fourth time in their past six games and beat the Mavericks at home for the fifth consecutive time.
Luka Doncic recorded a triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and veteran Dirk Nowitzki added 12 in his second start of the season as the Mavericks lost their fifth consecutive game and fell for the sixth time in their past seven games.
The Clippers' bench has been doing the job all season, scoring 52.9 points per game entering Monday's contest, on pace to become the highest-scoring reserve unit in the NBA in 30 years. The combined 36.0 points per game from Harrell and Williams would be the highest for a reserve duo in NBA history.
The duo led the way in the fourth quarter, with Harrell tying his career high on a free throw with 4:45 remaining and setting a new benchmark on a dunk with 2:03 remaining. Williams finished with 10 assists.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers took the public address microphone in the closing minute and led a cheer in honour of Nowitzki, who is in his 21st season.
Phoenix Suns 124-121 Miami Heat
Devin Booker scored 20 points and dished nine assists as the Phoenix Suns snapped a franchise-record, 17-game losing streak with a 124-121 win over the host Miami Heat.
Booker, fouled by Josh Richardson with 17.3 seconds left, made two free throws to give Phoenix a 122-121 lead. Miami's Dwyane Wade hit the front rim on a difficult turnaround jumper on the next possession, and team-mate Bam Adebayo just missed a contested put-back.
Phoenix's Kelly Oubre Jr got the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws 2.1 seconds left. Wade missed a three-point attempt to tie the score, and Phoenix escaped with their first win since beating the Denver Nuggets on January 12.
Heat center Hassan Whiteside had 29 points and 11 rebounds. Two other players in Miami's power rotation also produced big games, as Kelly Olynyk had a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Adebayo had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Guard Tyler Johnson, playing his sixth game since the Heat traded him to the Suns, scored 18 points. Johnson had scored a season-best 29 points in his previous game. His former team-mate, Wade, entered the game midway through the first quarter and blocked Johnson's shot three seconds later. Johnson, though, walked away with the win.
