Overtime wins for Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns; Doncic shines as Mavericks end losing run; Towns posts 20/20 as T'Wolves beat Bulls
Thursday 27 December 2018 08:40, UK
Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points as Eastern Conference leaders the Toronto Raptors snapped the Miami Heat's five-game winning streak with a 106-104 victory on Wednesday night.
Kawhi Leonard posted a game-high 30 points and added eight rebounds as the Toronto Raptors snapped the host Miami Heat's five-game win streak with a 106-104 victory on Wednesday night.
The Raptors were without point guard Kyle Lowry, who has back pain. But Toronto are 8-1 without Lowry this season.
Toronto's Danny Green hit the go-ahead three-pointer from the right corner with 23 seconds left to give the Raptors a 106-104 lead.
On the following possession, Miami's Dwyane Wade missed a three-pointer that fell short. Team-mate Justise Winslow grabbed the rebound and missed a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left, and Wade failed on a tip-in as Toronto survived.
All-Star Goran Dragic led the Heat with 21 points and added four assists. He had nine of his points in the fourth quarter. Team-mate Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
For Toronto, Green added 18 points and made 4-of-7 three-pointers. Toronto also got 16 points from Fred VanVleet.
Joe Harris recorded a steal and drove in for the game-winning fast-break lay-up with 3.4 seconds left in double overtime as the host Brooklyn Nets finally outlasted the Charlotte Hornets 134-132.
The Nets have won two in a row and nine of 10. The Hornets have lost two straight and four of six.
The Hornets had the ball with less than two seconds separation between the shot clock and the game clock, but Malik Monk lost the ball as he tried dribbling around Rodions Kurucs.
Harris picked up the ball and scored the layup, but the shot clock never reset, so a buzzer signalling a shot clock violation went off just before Charlotte lofted a desperation shot.
Officials put 1.6 seconds back on the clock and gave the Hornets the ball at half-court. Monk then missed a desperation heave from just inside half-court to end a wild affair.
Spencer Dinwiddie totalled 37 points and 11 assists for the Nets. Harris finished with 27 points while Kurucs (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (16 points, 15 rebounds) each had double-doubles.
Kemba Walker scored 35 points for the Hornets, including all 12 during a 12-2 run that seemed to put Charlotte in control late in the fourth quarter.
Jeremy Lamb had 31 points while Marvin Williams (14 points, 12 rebounds) recorded a double-double.
Blake Griffin scored a game-high 23 points and sparked an early second-half run that gave Detroit the lead for good as the Pistons defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 106-95.
Detroit had lost nine of their previous 11 games, but the burst at the start of the second half gave the Pistons command. They scored 23 of the first 25 points in the third quarter and turned a one-point deficit into a 77-57 lead with 6:39 left in that period.
The Pistons began the streak with back-to-back three-pointers just nine seconds apart from Griffin and Bruce Brown. Detroit outscored the Wizards 31-17 in the third quarter.
Washington rallied in the fourth quarter, led by a trio of three-pointers from Trevor Ariza that reduced Detroit's lead to three points on three occasions. The Pistons then locked things up with a 10-0 run.
Griffin also finished with nine rebounds and six assists. Langston Galloway added 22 points off the bench in 23 minutes while Andre Drummond (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Reggie Jackson (19 points) also helped the Detroit offense.
John Wall and Beal led the Wizards with 21 points apiece.
Devin Booker helped the Phoenix Suns escape Orlando and end a successful road trip with a 122-120 overtime win against the Magic.
Booker had 35 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and TJ Warren added 24 points for Phoenix. Deandre Ayton was held to just eight points and 12 rebounds.
The Suns have won five of their last seven games and posted a winning record on a road trip of at least five games for the first time since November 2014.
DJ Augustin had a season-high 27 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost four in a row.
Booker gave Phoenix a four-point lead when he scored seven straight in the final minute, but Orlando came back to tie the game after Augustin was fouled on a three-point attempt with 0.6 seconds left in regulation.
Augustin made all three free throws to force overtime, but Warren's four points in OT were good enough to outscore the Magic 4-2. Evan Fournier missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Karl Anthony-Towns and Taj Gibson combined for all the scoring in an 8-0 burst to open the game that gave the Minnesota Timberwolves the lead for good in their 119-94 romp over the host Chicago Bulls.
Derrick Rose had a team-high 24 points to go with eight assists, while Towns recorded a 20-point, 20-rebound double-double for the Timberwolves, who completed a two-game, season-series sweep of the Bulls.
The 20-20 game was Towns' third of the season and eighth of his career. It was just the 21st 20-20 game of the NBA season. Only Detroit's Andre Drummond, with six, has more than Towns.
Zach LaVine came off the bench for a game-high 28 points for the Bulls, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Towns and Gibson had two hoops apiece in the early push that propelled Minnesota to as much as a 15-point lead in the first quarter and a 60-37 half-time advantage.
Indiana's Tyreke Evans came back from missing three games with a bruised knee to score 19 points, one of eight Pacers in double figures, in a 129-121 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
In 19 minutes, Evans was 7-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-4 on three-pointers, to help the Pacers win their third straight game. Indiana have won 10 of their last 12 games.
The Pacers also got 21 points from Thaddeus Young and 19 points and eight rebounds from Domantas Sabonis. Victor Oladipo added 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Indiana pulled away toward the end of the third quarter when they went on a 17-10 run, taking a 105-95 lead.
The loss ruined a 32-point effort from Atlanta's Kent Bazemore, who was 14-for-25 from the field and matched his career-high. Bazemore made four three-pointers and added four assists.
Rookie Luka Doncic had 21 points and 10 assists as the host Dallas Mavericks ended a six-game losing streak and extended the New Orleans Pelicans' losing streak to five games with a 122-119 win.
DeAndre Jordan added 20 points and 12 rebounds, JJ Barea scored 18 points, Harrison Barnes and Devin Harris each had 16 points each and Maximilian Kleber added 10 for the Mavericks, who improved to 14-3 at home.
Anthony Davis had 32 points and 18 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 25 and Julius Randle had 23 for the Pelicans, who completed a four-game road trip by falling to 4-15 away from home.
Doncic broke a 119-all tie by making two free throws with 30 seconds left. Davis missed a three-pointer before Doncic made one of two free throws to give Dallas a 122-119 lead with 11 seconds remaining.
Davis missed a three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left and Doncic rebounded to seal the win.
Marc Gasol recorded 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots to help the Memphis Grizzlies post a 95-87 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Mike Conley registered 15 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies won their second straight game following a five-game slide. Kyle Anderson also scored 15 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr and Garrett Temple added 11 apiece.
Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points off the bench for Cleveland, who lost their fourth straight game. Collin Sexton added 16 points and Cedi Osman scored 10 for the Cavaliers, who scored just nine first-quarter points.
Cleveland, who played without guard Rodney Hood (Achilles), shot just 35.5 per cent from the field and were 9-of-29 from three-point range.
DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 27 as the San Antonio Spurs played their best basketball in the fourth quarter while defeating the visiting Denver Nuggets 111-103.
Denver led 80-79 after two free throws by Malik Beasley with 9:44 to play before the Spurs fashioned a 15-0 run, with three-pointers by Marco Belinelli beginning and capping the spurt, to run past the Nuggets.
San Antonio ran their advantage to as many as 18 points and had more than enough to hold off a late Denver run.
Bryn Forbes scored 15 points for San Antonio, and Belinelli added 12 points off the bench. Jakob Poeltl led the Spurs with 11 rebounds.
Juancho Hernangomez poured in a career-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic led both teams with 10 assists.
Lou Williams scored 24 points off the bench and the Los Angeles Clippers held on for a 127-118 win against the visiting Sacramento Kings.
Montrezl Harrell had 22 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots off the bench, Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Avery Bradley added 15 points for the Clippers, who have won seven straight against the Kings.
De'Aaron Fox had 19 points and nine assists, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 13 off the bench and Iman Shumpert finished with 12 points for Sacramento, who were trying to climb four games over .500 for the first time since November 25, 2014.
Sacramento never led in the game. They produced a 10-1 run to pull within 91-81 with 3:27 left in the third, but the Clippers eventually took a 102-85 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Kings were not able to trim the deficit back to single digits until a 19-0 run made it 118-110 with 3:22 left but the Clippers held for the win.
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