Middleton leads Bucks past Raptors; Tatum fires for 36 as Celtics beat Blazers; Thunder hold off Bulls despite LaVine's 41
Wednesday 26 February 2020 10:30, UK
LeBron James had 40 points and eight rebounds in his first career meeting with Zion Williamson while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to their sixth straight victory, 118-109 over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
LeBron James had 40 points and eight rebounds in his first career meeting with Zion Williamson while leading the Los Angeles Lakers to their sixth straight victory, 118-109 over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
Anthony Davis had 21 points and 14 rebounds to remain unbeaten in his three meetings with his former team this season.
In the Lakers' first game after an emotional memorial service for Kobe Bryant at Staples Center on Monday, James opened up a close contest with back-to-back buckets at the rim with about three minutes left. Danny Green sealed it for Los Angeles with his fifth three-pointer with 51 seconds to play.
Williamson had 29 points and six rebounds in his first career showdown with James and Davis, his predecessor as the Pelicans' centerpiece. In his 13th NBA game, Williamson scored at least 20 points for the ninth consecutive time, but managed only one field goal in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Ingram had 34 points against his former team, but just six in the final period as New Orleans lost for only the second time in seven games.
Williamson was still injured for the Pelicans' first two meetings of the season with the Lakers, but the No 1 overall pick's delayed debut in Hollywood was as entertaining as everyone hoped. Williamson had several impressive dunks in his usual fearsome floor game, and only six missed free throws kept him from surpassing his career high of 32 points.
Davis is the leading scorer and rebounder in New Orleans franchise history, making six All-Star teams during his tenure. He went just 6-of-21 from the field in this meeting, failing to score 40 points against the Pelicans for the first time.
Lonzo Ball had 10 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, and Josh Hart scored three points in their second return to face the Lakers, who traded them to New Orleans along with Ingram last July for Davis.
The Pelicans also got three first-round draft picks in their princely haul for Davis, who had requested a trade. Davis has been just as good as the Lakers hoped in propelling them back to NBA championship contention, while the Pelicans are getting an All-Star season from Ingram alongside Williamson in an increasingly potent core.
James scored 11 points in less than two minutes early in the third quarter to stretch the Lakers' lead to 14 points, but Ingram scored 10 in the period to keep it close.
Alex Caruso provided the Lakers with his usual injection of energy in the fourth quarter, particularly with a stunning block of Ball's shot at the rim that left Ball flat on his back. Caruso finished with eight points and eight assists.
Khris Middleton scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Toronto Raptors 108-97.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 points and added 19 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks, who have won 18 of their past 20 games. The Bucks have won the first two meetings this season with the Raptors. Milwaukee have scored 100 or more points in 82 straight games.
Eric Bledsoe added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Bucks and Brook Lopez contributed 15 points.
Pascal Siakam had 22 points for the Raptors, who lost for only the second time in 19 games. Fred VanVleet added 14 points for Toronto, OG Anunoby had 11 while Kyle Lowry, Chris Boucher, and Terence Davis II each scored 10 points.
The Bucks trailed by 12 points during the second quarter but were down by only two at half-time. They dominated the third quarter and took a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Raptors opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run capped by a jump shot and free throw by Davis. After the Raptors cut the lead to five, the Bucks regained their 13-point lead on George Hill's corner three-pointer with 6:21 to play.
The Raptors cut the lead to eight, only to have the Bucks increase the lead to 14 on Bledsoe's layup with 3:23 remaining. Toronto got to within seven with 2:23 left when VanVleet made a three-pointer and a free throw, but Antetokounmpo answered with a triple of his own to close out the game.
Jayson Tatum had 36 points, including a career-high eight three-pointers, to lead the Boston Celtics to a 118-106 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers 118-106.
Jaylen Brown added 24 points for the Celtics, who sit in third in the Eastern Conference behind the first-place Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors.
Tatum had 26 points in the second half alone as the Celtics built a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Blazers, playing without All-Star Damian Lillard, couldn't keep up. All of Tatum's points came from the floor, as he did not go to the line once in the game.
CJ McCollum had 28 points and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers. Hassan Whiteside added 18 points and 19 rebounds.
The Blazers were without Lillard for the third straight game because of a groin injury that kept him out of the All-Star game. Lillard has said he expected to miss up to five games.
McCollum has been standing in for Lillard at point guard. In the first two games without Lillard, McCollum had a combined 68 points, 22 assists and 15 rebounds.
The Blazers jumped out to a 17-12 lead but the Celtics caught up quickly and went ahead on a Tatum triple. Boston led 28-24 after the first quarter, led by Marcus Smart with three three-pointers.
The Celtics stretched the lead to as many as 11 points but Portland closed the gap to 47-44. Brown answered with a three-pointer and Tatum dunked to extend Boston's lead. The Celtics went into the half ahead 56-48, led by Brown with 15 points.
Tatum's long three-pointer put Boston up 98-79 in the final quarter. He had another three that made it 111-94 with just under three minutes left that sent the Moda Center crowd streaming to the exits.
Jerami Grant scored a career-high 29 points and Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray added 16 each as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Detroit Pistons 115-98. Michael Porter Jr had 13 points for the Nuggets, who won their second straight game.
Derrick Rose and Christian Wood scored 20 points each, Brandon Knight had 14, Langston Galloway 12 and Tony Snell 10 for Detroit, who have lost seven games in a row.
The Nuggets' lead was 10 after the third quarter and the Pistons were within nine early in the fourth before Denver went on a run to pull away.
Grant had two dunks and Porter drained a couple of jumpers during a 9-0 surge that put the Nuggets up 93-75. Jokic, who was quiet for most of the second half, hit a three-pointer that gave Denver a 102-82 lead, and the Nuggets held on to improve to 40-18.
The Nuggets increased their 13-point half-time lead to 65-50 on a dunk by Paul Millsap, but Detroit didn't go away. Rose drove for a lay-up, Svi Mykhailiuk sank a three-pointer, Rose was fouled on a shot from deep and hit all three free throws, and Wood split a pair from the line during a 9-0 run that got the Pistons within six.
Millsap scored on an offensive rebound and Gary Harris hit a three-pointer after Monte Morris stole the ball from Rose, making it 70-59 with 5:06 left in the third.
Danilo Gallinari scored 24 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder hold on for a 124-122 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 21 points off the bench as the Thunder won their fourth straight game and 13th in their past 16.
Chris Paul had 19 points and nine assists and Steven Adams added 16 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
Zach LaVine poured in 41 points for the Bulls but was off the mark with a three-pointer as time expired. Chicago recovered from a 24-point, second-quarter deficit but lost for the ninth time in their last 10 games.
Rookie Coby White scored a season-best 35 points while making six three-pointers and collecting seven rebounds. The 20-year-old White joined legendary Michael Jordan as the only rookies in franchise history with three straight 30-point outings. Jordan had five streaks of three or more consecutive 30-point outings - including one of four - in 1984-85.
Gallinari drove for a dunk to give the Thunder a 115-114 lead with 1:39 left. Paul scored in the lane with 1:03 remaining to increase the margin to three. The lead reached six before LaVine knocked down two three-pointers in less than seven seconds to pull the Bulls within 121-120 with 16.4 seconds to go.
Paul made three of four three throws down the stretch to make it a two-point game prior to LaVine's final miss.
Domantas Sabonis posted 21 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the Indiana Pacers held the Charlotte Hornets to just 33 per cent shooting en route to a 119-80 blowout in Indianapolis.
Sabonis led six Pacers scoring in double figures, joined by TJ Warren with 19 points, Malcolm Brogdon with 15, and the trio of Justin Holiday, Doug McDermott and JaKarr Simpson adding 16, 10 and 10, respectively, off the bench.
Indiana's balanced scoring and tenacious defense made quick work of Charlotte, pushing the Pacers ahead by 10 points through the first quarter and 25 points at half-time. The lead swelled to as many as 43 points in the fourth quarter.
Just two Hornets scored in double figures. Myles Bridges had 17 points and Caleb Martin added 11 off the bench, shooting 3-of-4 from behind the three-point arc. PJ Washington, who made 3-of-6 from long distance, scored nine points.
While the Pacers limited the Hornets' scoring opportunities, Indiana's offense clicked effectively. The hosts shot 57 per cent from the floor and went 10-of-23 (43.5 per cent) from three-point range as a team. Turner, Brogdon and Holiday each made two three-pointers; all five Pacers starters sank at least one.
For Brogdon, the game was something of a bounce-back from recent back and head injuries. In addition to his 15 points, he grabbed six rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Indiana played without Victor Oladipo, who made his return from a year-long quadriceps injury on January 29. He sat on Tuesday due to back spasms. The Pacers were also without Jeremy Lamb, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in a loss Sunday to Toronto.
Buddy Hield bombed in three straight three-pointers to open the fourth quarter and break open a competitive game, helping the Sacramento Kings defeat the host Golden State Warriors 112-94.
Harrison Barnes - who won an NBA championship as a Golden State player - and De'Aaron Fox led six Sacramento players in double figures with 21 points apiece as the Kings won their third straight game, and also won their third in a row in the season series against the Warriors, once again using three-point-shooting dominance to provide the difference.
Hield, winner of the 3-Point Contest at All-Star Weekend, finished with five three-pointers in 10 attempts, single-handedly surpassing Golden State's total of four in 28 tries. The Kings outscored the Warriors 39-12 from beyond the arc.
Marquese Chriss paced the Warriors with 21 points, tying Barnes and Fox for game-high honours.
The Kings never trailed, and built leads as big as 12 points in the first quarter, 16 in the second and 18 in the third. But the Warriors scratched back each time, eventually getting within four on two occasions in the middle of the third period.
The margin was just eight before Hield's long-range shooting spree early in the fourth, a nine-point burst that opened a 90-73 lead. In losing their seventh straight game, Golden State never got closer than eight after that.
Hield (19 points), Bogdan Bogdanovic (17), Harry Giles III (13) and Cory Joseph (11) also scored in double figures for the Kings, who won their second in a row in a stretch of four consecutive road outings.
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