Doncic and Kleber lead Mavs to win at Magic; Siakam stars in Raptors victory; Zion drops 25 as Pels complete season-sweep of Blazers; Cavs win on Bickerstaff debut
Saturday 22 February 2020 10:15, UK
LeBron James scored a game-high 32 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 117-105 at Staples Center on their return to action following the All-Star break.
LeBron James scored a game-high 32 points as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 117-105 at Staples Center on their return to action following the All-Star break.
Anthony Davis sustained a bruised calf in the first quarter but remained in to contribute 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven of the Lakers' 14 blocked shots. Avery Bradley added 14 points and three steals as the Lakers won their fourth in a row. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in 12 points.
Josh Jackson scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting to lead the Grizzlies, who lost for the second time in as many nights. Rookie Ja Morant had 17 points, and Brandon Clarke and Gorgui Dieng each amassed 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dieng hit all six of his field-goal attempts.
Memphis power forward Jaren Jackson Jr left the contest due to left knee soreness and did not return for the second half He finished with seven points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.
After trailing by 25 early in the third quarter, the Grizzlies got within 88-84 early in the fourth. However, a 13-3 run put the Lakers up 101-87 after Alex Caruso slammed home a missed free throw by Davis. The Grizzlies got no closer than seven the rest of the way.
The Lakers have won all three meetings with the Grizzlies this season and the victory on Friday night moves them to 42-12 on the season.
Gordon Hayward scored a game-high 29 points and the visiting Boston Celtics played strong defense down the stretch to hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-117.
Jayson Tatum scored 28 points and Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis chipped in with 25 apiece as the Celtics came out of the All-Star break to win their fourth road game in the last five. Boston has won 12 of 14 overall.
Malik Beasley had 27 points to pace the Timberwolves, who were without star center Karl-Anthony Towns, out with a sprained left wrist.
Beasley connected on 4 of 8 from behind the arc for Minnesota, which lost for the 16th time in its last 17 games.
Tatum (11 rebounds), Theis (game-high 16 rebounds) and Marcus Smart (10 points, 10 assists) all recorded double-doubles for Boston, which went without injured point guard Kemba Walker.
D'Angelo Russell had 18 points and a game-high 13 assists for the Timberwolves. Naz Reid finished with 19 points, Juan Hernangomez 17, Jordan McLaughlin 11 and Josh Okogie 10.
Luka Doncic scored 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out eight assists, Maxi Kleber scored a career-high 26 points off the bench, and the Dallas Mavericks held off the host Orlando Magic 122-106.
Kleber did much of his damage in the fourth quarter, hitting 3 of 4 three-point attempts and scoring 12 points in the frame. His effort ignited a critical final 12 minutes for the Mavericks, who were dominant in the opening and closing periods.
Kristaps Porzingis recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks. In Dallas' previous game, Doncic had 33 points and Porzingis added 27 in a win over the Sacramento Kings before the All-Star break.
Evan Fournier led the Magic with 28 points, Nikola Vucevic grabbed 12 rebounds and a game-high four steals as well as dropping with 27 points, while Aaron Gordon - fresh from his controversial All-Star Dunk Contest defeat - finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Markelle Fultz finished with 14 points and nine assists for the Magic. Terrence Ross scored 19 points, and Michael Carter-Williams grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench.
Dallas committed 16 turnovers to just eight for Orlando, but the Magic's 39.4 percent field-goal shooting, including just 9 of 43 (20.9 percent) from behind the three-point arc, made the difference.
Pascal Siakam scored 37 points - 25 in the first half - and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Phoenix Suns 118-101.
Serge Ibaka also added 16 points for the Raptors, who have won eight straight home games and 16 of 17 overall.
Guard Fred VanVleet chipped in with 14 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Toronto, Terence Davis II had 14 points off the bench, Kyle Lowry had a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists, OG Anunoby contributed 12 points, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 10.
In defeat, Devin Booker scored 21 points and had eight assists for the Suns, who have lost seven of nine. Deandre Ayton contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds, Ricky Rubio had 13 points and nine assists, and Kelly Oubre Jr scored 11 points.
Chris Paul made four three-pointers as part of a 29-point display to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 113-101 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets.
Steven Adams recorded 19 points, 17 rebounds and matched his season-best of four steals as Oklahoma City won for the 11th time in the past 14 games. Danilo Gallinari added 15 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as the Thunder halted a seven-game losing streak when facing the Nuggets.
Paul scored 20 of his points in the second half for Oklahoma City, which shot 46 percent from the field, including 9 of 26 from three-point range. Luguentz Dort and Dennis Schroder also scored 11 points apiece, and Nerlens Noel added 10.
Nikola Jokic scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting as Denver lost its second straight contest following a four-game winning streak. Jamal Murray added 21 points, and Will Barton registered 16 points and nine rebounds. The Nuggets were hurt by 19 turnovers and 6 of 27 shooting from behind the arc as they fall to 38-18, five games back from the Lakers in the Western Conference.
Zion Williamson scored 25 points and the New Orleans Pelicans completed a four-game season sweep of Portland with a solid 128-115 road victory over the Trail Blazers in Rip City.
Jrue Holiday recorded 20 points, nine assists and four steals and Brandon Ingram added 16 points and six assists for the Pelicans, who have won seven of their past 10 games. Lonzo Ball had 15 points and seven assists, Josh Hart added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Nicolo Melli also scored 13 for New Orleans.
CJ McCollum registered 27 points, matched his career-high of 10 assists and grabbed six rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who played without All-Star shooting guard Damian Lillard (groin).
Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points and Hassan Whiteside added 19 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots for Portland, which lost its third straight game. Gary Trent Jr had 15 points and Trevor Ariza added 13 points and eight rebounds.
New Orleans knocked down 18 of 34 three-point attempts with Holiday leading the way with four. Overall, the Pelicans shot 53.6 percent in what finished up as a comfortable victory.
Dejounte Murray poured in 23 points to lead six teammates in double-figure scoring as the visiting San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 113-104 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
It's the first time Murray has had back-to-back games with 20 points or more in his three-year career. He scored 25 in the Spurs' win at Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
The Spurs led by 19 points at the half and never let Utah get back in the game, heading to the fourth quarter up 93-75. The Jazz made two runs in the fourth quarter, cutting San Antonio's lead to 10 points on two Bojan Bogdanovic free throws with 4:13 to play, but a Derrick White three-pointer at the 3:17 mark boosted the Spurs' lead back to 109-95 and San Antonio cruised to the finish line.
DeMar DeRozan hit for 18 for San Antonio while LaMarcus Aldridge and Patty Mills added 15 points, White had 14 and Bryn Forbes scored 13 for the Spurs, who have won two straight games after losing the first five on their annual Rodeo Road Trip. The trip ends Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Emmanuel Mudiay and Rudy Gobert led the Jazz with 18 points each, while Gobert also grabbed 14 rebounds for his 43rd double-double this season. Jordan Clarkson and Bogdanovic added 15 points for Utah, with Donovan Mitchell scoring 12 points. Defeat for the Jazz saw a four-game win streak snapped.
Collin Sexton scored 25 points as the Cavaliers posted a 113-108 victory over the host Washington Wizards on Friday night, making JB Bickerstaff a winner in his Cleveland head-coaching debut.
Bickerstaff, who took over after John Beilein resigned on Wednesday, watched the Cavaliers outscore the Wizards 32-21 in the fourth quarter.
Cedi Osman had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Darius Garland added 15 points for Cleveland, which has won two in a row after losing 13 of its previous 14 games.
Bradley Beal scored 26 points on 9-of-28 shooting for Washington, which had won five of its previous seven as it vies for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Beal has recorded 13 straight games with at least 25 points.
Beal also recorded his 600th career steal in the game. Rui Hachimura added 17 points for the Wizards who now sit three games back from the Orlando Magic in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
TJ Warren scored 27 points as the visiting Indiana Pacers overcame a sluggish start and shaky finish to record a 106-98 victory over the New York Knicks.
The Pacers beat the Knicks for the eighth time in the past nine meetings by outscoring New York 65-45 in the second and third quarters. Indiana then survived going the final 5:12 without a basket and withstood missing 15 of 20 shots in the fourth.
Domantas Sabonis posted his 42nd double-double (24 points, 13 rebounds) for the Pacers, who shot 41 percent overall and won their second straight game following a season-high six-game losing streak. Reserve Doug McDermott added 14 points, Malcolm Brogdon contributed 11. Victor Oladipo finished with eight points in little more than 25 minutes before exiting with back soreness.
Bobby Portis scored 19 points to lead the Knicks, who lost their third straight game and could not rally from a 22-point deficit. Rookie RJ Barrett added 17 points and Frank Ntilikina contributed 14 but leading scorer Julius Randle was held to seven points as New York shot 43.2 percent.
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