Nuggets hand Heat heavy loss; Young enjoys winning Hawks return; Hayward erupts for 39 as Celtics beat Cavs
Wednesday 6 November 2019 09:49, UK
LeBron James registered a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers stormed back from an 19-point second-half deficit for a 118-112 win over the host Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
LeBron James registered a triple-double with 30 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers stormed back from a 19-point second-half deficit for a 118-112 win over the host Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.
Quinn Cook added 17 points off the bench for Los Angeles, who won their sixth game in a row. Anthony Davis finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in his return to his hometown. The Lakers outscored the Bulls 38-19 during the fourth quarter.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting, adding seven rebounds and seven assists. Otto Porter Jr and Coby White had 18 points apiece, and Wendell Carter Jr. posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Cook drained a three-pointer from near the left corner to wipe out the huge second-half deficit as part of a 16-0 run that put the Lakers on top 96-93 with 8:12 to go in the fourth quarter.
Less than three minutes later, Los Angeles increased their lead to 104-97 on another three-pointer from Cook. James assisted on the play, which prompted a full timeout from Bulls coach Jim Boylen to try to regroup.
It didn't work. Los Angeles pulled ahead by double digits, 107-97, on a dunk by Dwight Howard with 4:57 remaining, and the Lakers never looked back.
Jamal Murray scored 21 points and Will Barton had 15 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the line-up as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 109-89.
Jerami Grant also scored 15, Monte Morris added 11 and Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee had 10 apiece for the Nuggets, who won their second game in a row. Barton was back after missing two games due to a toe ailment.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with 16 points. Kelly Olynyk had 13, Kendrick Nunn 11 and Justise Winslow and Meyers Leonard had 10 each for the Heat, whose three-game winning streak ended.
Denver won without Millsap and Gary Harris for most of the second half. Harris came up limping after a floater late in the second quarter and walked gingerly to the locker room. He was ruled out for the second half due to a left ankle injury.
Early in the third quarter, Millsap was bumped by Leonard as he drove to the lane, and Millsap knocked heads with Winslow, opening a cut on his forehead. He got it wrapped, came back and hit his free throws but then went to the locker room. He was not officially ruled out but did not return to the game. Leonard was assessed a flagrant-1 foul.
Miami started the second half with a Nunn three-pointer, but Denver then outscored the Heat 12-3 to lead by 16 midway through the third quarter. The Heat missed 10 of 11 shots and three free throws in that stretch.
Malik Beasley and Grant hit three-pointers to help Denver build a 22-point lead late in the quarter. After five straight points by Miami, Morris converted a three-point play to give the Nuggets an 89-69 edge heading into the fourth.
Denver then scored the first six points of the final period to lead 95-69 and closed it out from there.
Atlanta's Trae Young returned from an ankle injury to score 28 of his 29 points in the second half and help the Hawks beat the visiting San Antonio Spurs 108-100.
Young missed one game after severely spraining his ankle last week against Miami. He was cleared to play late Monday but restricted to 30 minutes. He scored only one point in the first half, but found his rhythm in the second half and helped the Hawks break a three-game losing streak.
Young was 5-for-10 on three-pointers and had 13 assists in his return. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.
Young's return was needed. The Hawks were playing without power forward John Collins, who was suspended for 25 games for violation of the NBA anti-drug policy.
Collins was replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Jabari Parker. He scored 19 points, eight of those in the first quarter, and added eight rebounds. Rookies De'Andre Hunter added 16 points and eight rebounds and Cam Reddish scored 12 points and was 3-for-3 on three-pointers.
San Antonio got 22 points from DeMar DeRozan, 17 points from Bryn Forbes and 16 from Patty Mills. Trey Lyles had a game-high 12 rebounds. The Spurs have lost three of their last four.
Gordon Hayward highlighted his career high-tying 39-point performance by making all nine shots he attempted in the first half as the visiting Boston Celtics recorded a 119-113 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hayward finished 17-of-20 from the field and added eight assists and seven rebounds to propel the Celtics to their fifth straight win.
Kemba Walker went 6-of-8 from three-point range to highlight his 25-point outing as Boston posted their fifth consecutive victory against Cleveland for the first time since a 13-game winning streak spanning the 2000-04 seasons.
Collin Sexton scored 21 points, Tristan Thompson added 19 and 13 rebounds and Kevin Love contributed 17 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have lost three in a row.
Hayward was hot right out of the blocks, sinking all seven shots he attempted during his 16-point first quarter to stake Boston to a 32-24 lead.
The Celtics produced a 9-2 run to end the half, with Hayward's pull-up jumper making him a perfect 9-for-9 from the floor.
Hayward was undaunted after missing his first shot on a three-point attempt early in the third quarter. He continued his sterling performance by converting an alley-oop lay-up from Walker before banking home a short jumper to give Boston a 69-59 lead.
Hayward and Walker connected from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions to send the Celtics to a 113-101 advantage with 4:35 to play.
Thompson's lay-up and putback brought the Cavaliers within 113-110 with 2:10 remaining and Sexton answered Walker's three-pointer with one of his own with 1:33 to play. Hayward cleaned up a rebound of Walker's three-point attempt to effectively put the game away.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Chris Paul added 20 as the host Oklahoma City Thunder continued their dominance of the Orlando Magic with a 102-94 victory.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 9-of-14 from the field, and Paul made clutch free throws down the stretch for the Thunder, who have won 14 of the past 17 encounters with Orlando.
Oklahoma City's Steven Adams recorded 11 points and as many rebounds in his return from a two-game absence caused by a left knee contusion.
Aaron Gordon had 15 points and four other players finished with 13 for the Magic, who connected on just 3-of-22 attempts from three-point range en route to their third straight loss. Orlando, who fell to 0-3 on the road, also remained the lone NBA team that has yet to score 100 points in a game this season.
The Magic pulled even with the Thunder on two occasions to begin the fourth quarter, only to be turned away by rookie Darius Bazley. After Bazley drove to the basket to regain the lead with 10:42 remaining, the 19-year-old answered Nikola Vucevic's layup with a three-pointer to stake the Thunder to an 86-83 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander drained a short jumper and then connected from beyond the arc with 4:21 remaining before Adams and Paul worked the interior to push Oklahoma City to a 95-87 advantage with 2:09 to play.
Devonte' Graham, fouled on a three-point shot attempt, made two of three free throws to break a tie with 1.7 seconds remaining in overtime and cap a career-best scoring effort, giving the Charlotte Hornets a 122-120 victory over the visiting Indiana Pacers.
After Indiana's Jeremy Lamb forged the fourth tie of the extra session by hitting a 19-footer with 5.2 seconds remaining, Graham drew a foul from JaKarr Sampson outside the arc and calmly produced the game-winning points.
It was fitting that the game was ultimately decided at the free throw line, where the Hornets went 28-for-42 while the Pacers shot just 6-for-7. Graham finished with 35 points off the bench, easily eclipsing his previous best of 24, set earlier this season.
Each team had a shot to break a 113-all in the final seconds of regulation, but TJ Warren stole a Graham pass on Charlotte's last possession before Malcolm Brogdon misfired on a desperation 34-footer at the horn.
Brogdon finished with 31 points for the Pacers, two fewer than team leader Warren, who set a season high.
The game was tied at 109, 111 and 113, with the Hornets hurting themselves with a pair of missed free throws in the final minute of regulation, one by Bismack Biyombo and another by Graham.
Terry Rozier backed Graham with 22 points for the Hornets, who won their third straight in the wake of a three-game losing streak. Miles Bridges had 18 points, PJ Washington 16 and Biyombo 15 off the bench for Charlotte.
