Davis scores 32 but booed on Pelicans' return; Giannis outduels Doncic as Bucks beat Mavs; new-look Sixers power past Nuggets
Saturday 9 February 2019 07:32, UK
Stephen Curry scored 10 fourth-quarter points as the Golden State Warriors produced a late-game rally to beat the Phoenix Suns and record their 11th straight road win.
Stephen Curry saved 10 of his 20 points for a fourth-quarter rally that enabled the Golden State Warriors to overtake the host Phoenix Suns 117-107 on Friday night for their 11th consecutive road win.
Phoenix lost its 13th straight despite leading by as many as 17 points in the first quarter and 94-88 after hoop by Kelly Oubre Jr with 8:35 left in the game.
The Warriors scored the next 13 points, with DeMarcus Cousins contributing two dunks to a flurry that produced a 101-94 lead with 5:46 to go.
The Suns got as close as 101-98 on a Richaun Holmes tip-in with 4:58 to play, but Curry countered with a three-pointer, and Phoenix never got closer than four again.
The Warriors won for the 14th time in their past 15 games despite losing Draymond Green at the start of the fourth period after he drew his second technical foul.
Klay Thompson led Golden State with 25 points, almost half of them coming on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range. Kevin Durant added 21 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, while Cousins finished with 18 points.
Oubre (25 points, 12 rebounds) and Deandre Ayton (23 points, 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Phoenix, who lost their fifth straight home game. Mikal Bridges (19 points), Josh Jackson (19) and Holmes (10) also scored in double figures.
Anthony Davis returned from a three-week absence to score 32 points before his New Orleans Pelicans team-mates took over in the fourth quarter of a 122-117 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
Davis, who was booed during his pregame introduction and whenever he touched the ball during his first appearance since asking for a trade and recovering from a finger injury, made 11-of-15 field-goal attempts and 10-of-11 free-throw attempts. He also grabbed nine rebounds.
The All-Star forward sat out the final 15-plus minutes of a close game, but there was no indication of a health issue as he stayed on the bench.
Jrue Holiday had 27 points, rookie Kenrich Williams added 19 and Tim Frazier and Julius Randle had 12 each for New Orleans.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points, Andrew Wiggins added 23 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Canaan scored 12 for the Timberwolves.
Towns scored seven points as the Wolves closed within 112-110 with 1:39 left. Minnesota had a chance to tie or go ahead, but Frazier made a steal that led to a Randle basket, giving New Orleans a 114-110 lead with 42.5 seconds left.
Towns broke free for a dunk, but Randle answered by a powering his way to a basket from the lane with 23.6 seconds left. Dario Saric's three-pointer got Minnesota within three with 7.7 seconds left, but Randle made four free throws sandwiching a Teague layup to complete the victory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Milwaukee's Khris Middleton did not play, nor did Nikola Mirotic, who was acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans at the trade deadline. Mirotic, who still must pass a physical, missed his last seven games with the Pelicans because of a calf strain.
The Bucks didn't need either Middleton or Mirotic in winning their sixth consecutive game. Brook Lopez scored 20 and Eric Bledsoe and Malcolm Brogdon each added 18 points.
Rookie Luka Doncic, who recorded the first triple-double of his career against Milwaukee last month, led the Mavericks with 20 points.
Trey Burke, acquired from the New York Knicks as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade, came off the Dallas bench and went 3-for-5 from three-point range while scoring 18 points.
Antetokounmpo scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to push the Bucks' lead to 99-86. But Dallas still had one last spurt left and trailed 104-97 after Doncic's lay-up with 8:14 left.
Lopez had an answer from 25 feet, and after another Bledsoe three-pointer, the Bucks were back up by 14 and cruised the rest of the way.
Andre Drummond collected 29 points and 20 rebounds and Blake Griffin had 26 points as the host Detroit Pistons handed the New York Knicks their 15th consecutive loss, 120-103.
Drummond overcame early foul trouble to shoot 12-for-15 from the field while Griffin recorded the same numbers from the free-throw line for the Pistons, who scored a season-high 41 points in the first quarter.
Reggie Jackson made four three-pointers in the first half and finished with 20 points as Detroit won for the fourth time in five games and their sixth straight versus New York.
Dennis Smith Jr scored 19 of his career-high 31 points in the first half for the NBA-worst Knicks, who have lost 23 of their last 24 games. Smith Jr shot 9-for-15 from the field and added a team-high eight assists.
Detroit led 77-66 midway through the third quarter when Drummond committed his fourth foul to earn a seat on the bench but returned to start the fourth for Detroit, which saw Khyri Thomas and Ish Smith each make threes and Jackson drain a pair of jumpers as part of its 17-4 run.
New York missed six of their first eight free throws in the session as their deficit ballooned to 18 at 106-88 with 5:47 remaining.
JJ Redick scored 34 points to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Denver Nuggets 117-110 on Friday night.
Redick's 11th career game with at least 30 points helped the Sixers win in their first game since making a blockbuster deal with the Los Angeles Clippers before the Thursday trade deadline.
Jimmy Butler added 22 points and newly acquired Tobias Harris had 14. Joel Embiid had 15 points and 12 rebounds for his league-leading 45th double-double of the season.
The Sixers snapped a two-game skid on a night where they retired Moses Malone's No 2 jersey.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his 11th triple-double of the season. Jamal Murray added 23 points, but Denver dropped fell to their third loss in a row.
Buddy Hield scored 23 points as the host Sacramento Kings rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to defeat the Miami Heat 102-96.
Hield made a go-ahead free throw and then hit a fastbreak lay-up to give the Kings a 99-96 lead with 35.5 seconds left. Willie Cauley-Stein added a free throw, the Heat threw the ball away, and the Kings closed the game on a 19-2 run.
Bogdan Bogdanovich added 16 points for the Kings, who held Miami to a season-low 13 fourth-quarter points.
Josh Richardson led Miami with 21 points, and Hassan Whiteside added 17 points and 19 rebounds. Dwyane Wade contributed 15 points for Miami.
Forward Harrison Barnes, acquired by Sacramento this week from the Dallas Mavericks, started the game in his Kings debut and scored 12 points.
The Heat led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter but settled for an 83-75 advantage entering the fourth. Sacramento finished the quarter on a 13-4 run and Bogdanovic had eight points in the period.
Sacramento took their first lead of the game on a Hield free throw with 1:21 left in the fourth quarter and held on from there.
Bobby Portis scored 30 points in his Washington debut, and the Wizards beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 119-106 to end a three-game losing streak.
Obtained along with Jabari Parker in a trade with the Chicago Bulls for Otto Porter Jr earlier this week, Portis made 12-of-18 field-goal attempts.
Bradley Beal had 25 points and 13 assists for Washington. Parker had seven points, 11 rebounds and nine assists in 23 minutes.
Collin Sexton scored 27 points and Jordan Clarkson added 24 for the Cavaliers, who have lost three straight and 21 of 24. Larry Nance Jr had 10 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
Cleveland forward Kevin Love returned after missing 50 games because of a left foot injury. He started the game and played six minutes in his first action since October 24, scoring four points on 1-for-5 shooting and contributing one rebound and one assist.
Washington led by six to start the fourth quarter, and a Portis three-pointer put the Wizards ahead 106-96 with 6:05 remaining. Portis scored 10 points in the quarter as Washington pulled away.
Lauri Markkanen collected 31 points and 18 rebounds as the visiting Chicago Bulls led most of the way and recorded a 125-106 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Markkanen shot 11-of-18 and hit four three-pointers for his 10th double-double of the season and fifth in six games. His third straight 30-point showing helped the Bulls snap a six-game losing streak to the Nets.
Zach LaVine added 26 points as the Bulls shot 54.1 per cent and made 14-of-28 three-point attempts.
Otto Porter Jr helped the Bulls stretch the floor by contributing 18 points and hitting four 3-pointers in his team debut after being acquired from Washington on Wednesday for Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker.
D'Angelo Russell scored 23 points for the Nets, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Allen Crabbe and Joe Harris contributed 19 apiece for Brooklyn.
Jarrett Allen recorded 12 and 10 rebounds while Caris LeVert played 15 minutes and contributed 11 points in his return from a right foot injury that cost him 42 games.
