Friday 28 December 2018 08:11, UK
Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer as the Sacramento Kings snatched a narrow victory over the Lebron James-less Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Bogdan Bogdanovic made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Sacramento Kings another come-from-behind triumph, earning a 117-116 victory over the visiting Los Angles Lakers, who were without an injured LeBron James.
Bogdanovic scored 23 points, Willie Cauley-Stein added 19 and De'Aaron Fox had 15 points with 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Kings won their third consecutive home game.
After coming back from 19-point deficits in each of their last two home victories, the Kings took down the Lakers after trailing by 15 points with just under seven minutes remaining.
Lonzo Ball nearly delivered his own triple-double for the Lakers, scoring 20 points with 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma scored 33 points for Los Angeles and Brandon Ingram added 22 as the Lakers played without James for the first time this season.
Trailing by 15 points with 6:44 to play after an alley-oop dunk from Tyson Chandler, the Kings went on the attack. Sacramento tied the game 112-112 with just under a minute remaining on three free throws from Justin Jackson.
Kuzma gave the Lakers a 115-112 edge on a three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining.
Ingram later made 1-of-2 free throws with four seconds remaining for a 116-114 Los Angeles lead before Bogdanovic made the long-distance three-pointer to win it as time expired.
The Portland Trail Blazers stole the ball from Stephen Curry when the Golden State Warriors could have run out the clock, and Damian Lillard nailed a three-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining for a stunning 110-109 overtime victory in Oakland.
Kevin Durant, completing a night on which he had a triple-double, misfired on a 12-footer at the final buzzer, allowing the Trail Blazers to win for the fifth time in their past seven games.
A three-pointer by Draymond Green had given the Warriors a 109-107 lead with 51.8 seconds remaining in the extra session before CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic missed for Portland, giving the Warriors possession with under 20 seconds remaining.
However, the Trail Blazers trapped Curry, and his left-handed pass was deflected away, leading to Lillard's eventual game-winner at the other end.
The Warriors forced the overtime by outscoring the Trail Blazers 16-6 over the final 3:01 of regulation, with Durant's three-pointer with 19.1 seconds remaining drawing the hosts even.
Portland had the last shot of regulation, but Lillard lost control of his dribble and then saw his desperation 30-foot heave under heavy pressure go over the backboard.
Nurkic had a 27-point, 12-rebound double-double for Portland. McCollum added 24 points, Lillard 21 and Seth Curry and Moe Harkless 11 apiece for the Trail Blazers.
Durant's triple-double consisted of 26 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Warriors. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 29 points, while Green and Klay Thompson chipped in with 15 points apiece.
Joel Embiid scored 23 points, collected 15 rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked five shots to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 114-97 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
Embiid finished a point shy of 3,000 for his three-year career before fouling out with 4:21 left.
JJ Redick added 24 points and Jimmy Butler chipped in 18 points for the Sixers, who won for the third time in four games. Ben Simmons finished with a triple-double, posting 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists.
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points and Dante Exum added 20 off the bench to lead the Jazz. Rudy Gobert chipped in 17 points and 15 rebounds for his 30th double-double of the season.
Utah shot just 38 per cent from the field while allowing the Sixers to shoot 50 per cent.
The Sixers took their first double-digit lead after Redick buried back-to-back three-pointers to make it 69-55. Philadelphia led by as many as 19 points during the quarter after Embiid hit a three and tipped in a lay-up on back-to-back possessions to put the Sixers up 95-76.
Giannis Antetokounmpo fell two assists shy of recording a triple-double in the Milwaukee Bucks' 112-96 victory over the visiting New York Knicks.
The 'Greek Freak' scored 31 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished out eight assists and blocked four shots.
Khris Middleton carried the early load as Antetokounmpo struggled from the floor. Middleton finished with 25 points, including nine in the third quarter when Milwaukee opened up a 12-point lead.
Things got testy early in the fourth when Enes Kanter knocked Antetokounmpo to the floor with a forearm to the head at the 9:56 mark.
The two players went face-to-face with Kanter being the aggressor while play continued on the other end. Play stopped, and Kanter was given a double technical and ejected. Antetokounmpo also was assessed a technical but stayed in the game.
Malcolm Brogdon made the technical free throw, and the Bucks led by 10.
Milwaukee received a huge lift off the bench from DJ Wilson, who in 20 minutes of play scored 10 points and grabbed 14 boards.
Luke Kornet connected on 7-of-11 three-point attempts and led the Knicks with 23 points. Noah Vonleh recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
James Harden matched his career high for three-pointers as the Houston Rockets extended their home-court winning streak to eight consecutive games with a 127-113 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics.
Harden scored a game-high 45 points, his eighth consecutive game with at least 30, and hit 9-of-18 three-points to pace the Rockets to their eighth win in nine games.
He survived a cool spell following a red-hot start only to catch fire again with four consecutive threes to help Houston pull away late.
The Rockets supplied Harden with ample help as Clint Capela produced a double-double (24 points, 18 rebounds) while Eric Gordon scored 20 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Austin Rivers and Gerald Green scored 10 points apiece off the Rockets bench.
Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 23 points and 11 assists. Marcus Morris added 19 points before being ejected with 4:38 to play following his second technical foul.
Jaylen Brown tallied 18 off the bench for Boston, who erased a 17-point lead before falling behind for good in the third.
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