Bradley Beal nearly outscored the Suns by himself in the first quarter; Gordon Hayward strong for Hornets, Hawks break losing-streak - Sky Sports' live coverage of the NBA continues on Thursday when the Los Angeles Clippers host the New Orleans Pelicans from 3.30am on Sky Sports Arena
Tuesday 12 January 2021 09:23, UK
Bradley Beal's 34-point haul for the Washington Wizards inspired them to victory over the Phoenix Suns, while Gordon Hayward's strong display helped to create the Charlotte Hornets' fourth consecutive victory on Monday.
Meanwhile, the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans was postponed due to health and safety protocols. Tuesday night's contest between the Boston Celtics and hosts Chicago Bulls will also not take place.
It brings the total number of match postponements this season to four, leading to rumours the league is considering a one to two-week pause. According to ESPN reports, the NBA has called a special Board of Governors meeting for Tuesday.
Bradley Beal nearly outscored the visiting Phoenix Suns all by himself in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 34 points as the Washington Wizards grabbed a big early lead and coasted to a 128-107 victory.
Despite playing without Russell Westbrook, out with a strained left quad, the Wizards rode a balanced scoring attack that featured six players in double figures.
Devin Booker came up one point short in his personal duel with Beal, totalling a team-high 33 points for the Suns.
Washington never trailed, using a 20-10 game-opening run to quickly take a double-digit advantage. They built their first 20-point lead at 43-23 on a 3-pointer by Davis Bertans with 7:14 left in the second quarter and went into half-time holding a 68-42 advantage.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 13 of his 22 points in the second half to lift the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to a 121-99 victory over the Orlando Magic.
The 26-year-old show no ill-effects of the back spasms that prevented him from playing in Milwaukee's 100-90 win over Cleveland on Saturday.
The reigning, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player ignited scoring surges in the second half and danced around foul trouble for the Bucks, who outscored the Magic by a 35-17 margin in the fourth quarter.
Khris Middleton collected 20 points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Portis finished with 20 points off the bench to send Milwaukee to its fifth win in six games.
Orlando's Nikola Vucevic recorded 28 points and 13 rebounds for his third straight double-double and eighth of the season.
The Charlotte Hornets picked up their fourth consecutive victory by defeating the visiting New York Knicks 109-88, with Gordon Hayward scoring 28 of his 34 points in the first half.
Devonte' Graham added 19 points, P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges each provided 13 points. Charlotte committed only 10 turnovers. Hayward shot 11-for-17 from the field, hitting both of his three-point attempts.
Charlotte rookie guard LaMelo Ball, a 19-year-old who became the youngest player in NBA history to produce a triple-double two nights earlier, pulled in a game-high 14 rebounds to go with eight points, seven assists and three steals in a reserve role.
CJ McCollum scored 30 points, including the go-ahead basket with 9.9 seconds left, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied for a 112-111 home victory over the Toronto Raptors.
Portland erased a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit. Damian Lillard added 23 points and Carmelo Anthony had 20 for the Trail Blazers, including a key three-pointer with 1:48 to play.
Enes Kanter contributed 14 points for Portland, which outscored the Raptors 36-25 in the fourth period to pull off the comeback.
After a Siakam dunk with 53.9 seconds remaining gave Toronto a 111-110 lead, the Trail Blazers got the game-winning basket on a jumper from McCollum. Siakam had a shot inside at the buzzer to win it, but the attempt hit the rim and bounced away.
The Trail Blazers trailed 96-82 with 9:32 remaining before they started to chip away. A 10-0 run that was capped on a three-pointer by Kyle Lowry with 2:36 to play gave Portland a 107-104 lead, the Blazers' first advantage since early in the third quarter.
Dillon Brooks scored 21 points, and Jonas Valanciunas notched two of his 12 points on a critical put-back with less than two minutes remaining as the Memphis Grizzlies rallied to beat their hosts.
Brooks capped his team-high scoring performance on a deep three-pointer with 36.1 seconds remaining, the final points of a game-sealing 7-0 run for the Grizzlies. The decisive stretch began on Valanciunas' put-back, which was one of the center's seven rebounds
Cleveland trailed by 16 points in the late third quarter, but Isaac Okoro's three-pointer ignited a 19-4 run that extended into the fourth quarter. Memphis endured a 3:27 scoring drought while the Cavaliers erased the deficit.
The teams then exchanged lengthy scoreless spells, and the lead, during the final period. In the late stages, Cleveland pulled ahead before Memphis regained the advantage during a 6-0 burst spanning 1:58.
De'Anthony Melton scored half of his eight points over the 6-0 run, which gave Memphis a lead they did not relinquish.
Trae Young scored 26 points to help the Atlanta Hawks end their four-game losing streak with a 112-94 win over the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers.
Young took a hard fall on Saturday and left the arena with a bag of ice on his right wrist but was not wearing any sort of protection for the game and showed no ill effects from the injury. He was 9-for-19 from the field with eight assists to pace Atlanta.
Joel Embiid returned to the Philadelphia lineup after missing the last game with back tightness. He scored 24 points, making 8 of 17 from the field, and had 11 rebounds, 10 of them in the first half. Embiid did not play the second half.
Philadelphia played without Ben Simmons (left knee swelling) and Seth Curry, Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, Vincent Poirier and Matisse Thybulle because of COVID protocols. Mike Scott returned after missing five games with a left knee contusion.
Harrison Barnes scored a season-best 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting and collected eight rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings post a 127-122 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers.
De'Aaron Fox added 21 points and nine assists, and Buddy Hield scored 18 points on a season-high six 3-pointers as Sacramento won for just the second time in its past seven games.
Barnes made two free throws to give the Kings a 118-117 lead with 1:45 remaining. Hield buried a 3-pointer 36 seconds later, and Fox drove down the lane to slam home a ferocious left-handed dunk to make it 123-117 with 33.4 seconds left.
Oladipo scored on his own dunk with 29.7 seconds remaining before Sacramento closed out the victory.
