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Saturday 3 April 2021 09:48, UK
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks beat Portland Trail Blazers to maintain the pressure at the top of the Eastern Conference, while in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers continued a recent upturn in form and Utah set a franchise record. It wasn't such a good night for the Golden State Warriors who were left without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
Giannis Antetokounmpo matched his season best of 47 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a convincing 127-109 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Antetokounmpo made 18 of his 21 attempts while also collecting 12 rebounds and three blocked shots while recording his third 40-point effort and 32nd double-double of the season.
Jrue Holiday added 22 points and 10 assists and Khris Middleton contributed 20 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals as Milwaukee improved to 2-1 on a six-game road trip.
Damian Lillard made five 3-pointers while scoring 32 points for Portland, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. CJ McCollum notched 18 points and seven assists, Robert Covington also had 18 points on six 3-pointers and Norman Powell had 12 points.
The Trail Blazers shot 36.4 per cent and were 21 of 54 from 3-point range while defeat was just their third in the past 10 games.
Kyle Kuzma dominated the host Sacramento Kings to the tune of a season-best and game-high 30 points in 36 minutes Friday night, propelling the Los Angeles Lakers to a 115-94 victory.
Dennis Schroder contributed 17 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Lakers - still without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, win for the third time in their last four games after losing four in a row.
Harrison Barnes had a team-high 26 points, equalling his fourth-most this season, for the Kings, who had beaten the Lakers in their last trip to Sacramento, just before the All-Star break.
However the rematch wasn't close, with the Lakers overwhelming the hosts from beyond the 3-point arc. Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope combined for eight 3-pointers in 14 attempts, helping Los Angeles shoot at a 51.5 per cent rate,
De'Aaron Fox had 12 points and Richaun Holmes 11 for Sacramento.
Donovan Mitchell returned to Utah's lineup Friday night after missing a game for personal reasons and scored 26 points to lead the red-hot Jazz to a 113-106 win over the Chicago Bulls in Salt Lake City.
Mitchell scored eight straight points for the Jazz before Royce O'Neale wrapped up the scoring with two late free throws as Utah won its eighth consecutive game and its franchise-record 21st straight at home.
The previous record was set over the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 13 rebounds for Utah, Jordan Clarkson poured in 19 points, including three 3-pointers, off the bench, and Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 18 points and eight boards. Mike Conley added 13 points and five assists.
The Bulls lost for the second time in three days against the top two teams in the Western Conference. Two nights after falling to the host Phoenix Suns 121-116, the Bulls made Utah earn the win down the stretch by almost storming back from a 17-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.
Thaddeus Young led Chicago with 25 points and sparked a fourth-quarter run that set the stage for a tight finish. That spurt was made while All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic were on the bench, but they both returned to help pull Chicago within striking distance but the Bulls still lost their sixth straight game.
Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Jaylen Brown added 22 with 11 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the visiting Houston Rockets 118-102.
Robert Williams III scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-9 shooting in his return from a game missed due to a non-COVID illness as the Celtics snapped a two-game losing streak.
Williams added nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists in his fourth start of the season. New addition Evan Fournier scored 23 points and sank seven 3-pointers. Marcus Smart had 10 of Boston's 35 assists on the night.
Christian Wood amassed 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rockets, who have lost three straight and 5 of 6 since snapping a 20-game skid.
Devin Booker scored 32 points to lead the host Phoenix Suns to a 140-103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder - topping their season high of 132 in a game.
The first time the teams met this season, the Suns scored a season-low 97 points in a January defeat and Booker was absent with a hamstring injury but he made amends as put up 16 points as the Suns built a 43-13 lead after the first quarter.
Phoenix hit four 3-pointers in the game's first five minutes and hit six threes in the opening period, shooting 60 per cent overall in the frame.
While Phoenix started red hot offensively, Oklahoma City went the other direction. After making their first shot of the game, the Thunder missed their next 14, not hitting their second field goal until nearly seven minutes into the game.
Phoenix are an NBA-best 26-6 since the January loss to the Thunder, winning five consecutive games and eight of their last nine.
Bogdan Bogdanovich scored 26 points to lead seven Atlanta players in double figures as the Hawks routed the host New Orleans Pelicans 126-103 in a battle of short-handed teams.
The Hawks played without Trae Young (knee), John Collins (ankle), De'Andre Hunter (knee) and Danilo Gallinari (Achilles) while the Pelicans played without four starters - Zion Williamson (thumb), Brandon Ingram (toe), Lonzo Ball (hip) and Steven Adams (ankle) and top reserve Josh Hart (thumb).
Kevin Huerter added 24 points for Atlanta, Lou Williams scored 19 with eight assists, Clint Capela had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Onyeka Okongwu scored 11 while Tony Snell and Brandon Goodwin scored 10 each for the Hawks, who finished 4-4 on their road trip.
Rookie Kira Lewis Jr. scored a season-high 21 points, James Johnson had 16, Eric Bledsoe had 14, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes added 12 each and Wes Iwundu had 10 to lead the Pelicans, who visit the Hawks again on Tuesday after a road game at Houston Sunday.
Both teams were completing back-to-backs after the Pelicans lost to visiting Orlando 115-110 in overtime and the Hawks won 134-129 in double overtime at San Antonio on Thursday.
Pascal Siakam's season-high 36 points on his 27th birthday spearheaded the Toronto Raptors' 130-77 rout of the short-handed Golden State Warriors in Tampa.
The Raptors, who led by as many as 61 points, set a franchise record for largest margin of victory, while the deficit was the third worst in Warriors history.
Toronto, coming off a miserable month of March, won for only the second time in the past 15 games and snapped a four-game losing streak.
With Stephen Curry and Draymond Green sitting out, the Warriors lost for the sixth time in their past seven games.
Curry was ruled out hours before tipoff due to lingering effects of a bruised tailbone, which kept him out for five games before returning to play in Golden State's previous two. Curry scored 32 and 36 points in those games.
Green was a late scratch due to a left finger sprain and their combined presence was sorely missed against Toronto, who thoroughly outplayed the Warriors from the second quarter on.
Gary Trent Jr. continued to make an impact since being traded to Toronto, finishing with 24 points and five rebounds while Andrew Wiggins led Golden State with 15 points.
Luka Doncic scored 13 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Dallas Mavericks pulled away from the New York Knicks, 99-86.
The Mavericks played without head coach Rick Carlisle, who was scheduled to coach in his 1,500th game Friday night before he tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day.
Assistant Jamahl Mosley filled in for Carlisle, who was vaccinated in January and said he hoped the test would prove to be a false positive.
Doncic added eight rebounds and seven assists as the Mavericks overcame a 13-point second-quarter deficit to win their third straight game.
Jalen Brunson scored 15 points off the bench while former Knicks players Kristaps Porzingis and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 14 points. Josh Richardson netted 11.
Alec Burks scored 20 points off the bench for the Knicks, who have lost three successive games, while. Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 11 assists, and Reggie Bullock added 13 points.
Miles Bridges scored 23 points off the bench and ignited a strong stretch late in the first half as the visiting Charlotte Hornets topped the host Indiana Pacers 114-97.
Cody Zeller supplied 17 points off the bench, Terry Rozier added 15 points and Gordon Hayward, who didn't play in the second half, P.J. Washington and Brad Wanamaker each had 13 points for Charlotte.
Caris LeVert's 16 points led the Pacers, who have lost three games in a row. Doug McDermott posted 13 points and T.J. McConnell and Aaron Holiday had 12 points apiece for Indiana, which shot 30.3 per cent on 3-pointers and committed 20 turnovers.
By the end, Indiana's Domantas Sabonis was out with an ailment despite pulling in 10 rebounds, while Charlotte's Hayward sat out the second half with an injury after compiling eight rebounds and six assists.
Memphis Grizzlies shot nearly 50 per cent from 3-point range and scored 56 bench points in their 120-108 defeat of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Eight Grizzlies scored in double figures, including four reserves. De'Anthony Melton led the Memphis bench with 14 points, and his 4-of-6 3-point shooting was second only to Grayson Allen's 5-for-7 night.
Allen scored all 15 of his points from beyond the arc, and was one of four Grizzlies starters in double-figures scoring. Jonas Valanciunas set the pace with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Dillon Brooks added 12 points, while Ja Morant scored 11 points and dished seven assists. Karl-Anthony Towns posted game highs with 30 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Rookie
Anthony Edwards scored 22 points, the fifth time in six games he has netted at least that many, and he dished a team-high six assists. Naz Reid was the only other Timberwolves scorer in double digits, adding 18 points off the bench.
Minnesota remain without back-to-back wins since the first two games of the season in shooting 48.7 per cent on 3-point attempts.
