Giannis leads Bucks past Kawhi-less Clippers; Simmons injured as 76ers fall to Jazz; Morant stars late as Grizzlies stun T-Wolves
Thursday 7 November 2019 09:18, UK
James Harden, Clint Capela and PJ Tucker recorded double-doubles as the host Houston Rockets breezed by the short-handed Golden State Warriors 129-112 on Wednesday night.
James Harden, Clint Capela and PJ Tucker recorded double-doubles as the host Houston Rockets breezed by the short-handed Golden State Warriors 129-112 on Wednesday night.
Harden paired a game-high 36 points with 13 assists to lead the charge. He and Russell Westbrook were a combined 0-for-6 from behind the three-point arc midway through the second quarter before Harden caught fire and connected on his final four three-pointers of the first half.
Tucker posted 22 points and 11 rebounds while Capela had 19 points, 16 boards and six blocks. All five Houston starters scored in double figures, with Danuel House tallying 17 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting while Westbrook chipped in 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
The Warriors, down three starters (Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, D'Angelo Russell) due to injury, mustered an answer to every Rockets run until Harden led a 21-6 surge to close the first half. Houston led 63-52 at the break and opened the third quarter on a 20-8 burst that extended the cushion to 23 points on a Westbrook dunk, assisted by Harden.
Alec Burks, instrumental in keeping the Warriors within range in the first half, scored 28 points in 31 minutes off the bench. Rookie forward Eric Paschall added 19 points and six rebounds while Glenn Robinson III tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Warriors clawed within 87-77 in the third quarter, but when Harden fed Capela for an alley-oop dunk with 9:05 remaining in the game, the Houston lead was back up to 107-86.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 129-124 victory over the host Los Angeles Clippers, who played without star forward Kawhi Leonard.
Milwaukee's George Hill came off the bench to score 24 points, hitting 6-of-7 three-point attempts, while Eric Bledsoe had 20. Kyle Korver added 14 points for the Bucks, Khris Middleton chipped in 13, and Brook Lopez finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Montrezl Harrell, in his first start this season, scored a career-high 34 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. Lou Williams also had 34 points while Patrick Beverley contributed 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Leonard sat out his second contest in eight games because of "load management." Los Angeles have lost both games.
JaMychal Green's jumper sliced Milwaukee's lead to 125-121 with 44.4 seconds left. After a free throw by Antetokounmpo, Landry Shamet's three-pointer cut the margin to 126-124 with 23.2 seconds remaining. However, two free throws by Middleton clinched the Bucks' fourth consecutive win.
Donovan Mitchell recorded 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 106-104 victory over the visiting Philadelphia in Salt Lake City, on a night the 76ers lost guard Ben Simmons to a shoulder injury.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Joe Ingles scored a season-best 16 points off the bench as Utah halted a two-game slide. Mike Conley scored 15 points and Rudy Gobert contributed 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals.
Joel Embiid registered 27 points and 16 rebounds but was just 5-of-16 from the field as Philadelphia lost their second straight game. Josh Richardson scored 24 points, Tobias Harris added 16 and Raul Neto had 11 for the 76ers.
Simmons had just two points in 10 minutes before departing with 5:20 left in the second quarter with right shoulder soreness. He appeared to initially hurt the shoulder early in the first quarter when he banged it against the body of Utah defender Royce O'Neale.
According to reports, Simmons sustained a sprained AC joint and will be re-evaluated Thursday.
Harris scored all the points during Philadelphia's 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter and bring his team within 86-81 with 9:37 remaining. Conley's three-point play pushed Utah's advantage to 97-87 with 5:59 remaining before the 76ers scored seven of the next eight points to pull within four with 4:35 left.
Philadelphia later crept within 102-100 on two free throws by Embiid with 2:17 remaining. A short time later, Bogdanovic buried a three-pointer to give the Jazz a 106-101 lead with 1:39 left and the 76ers didn't convert another basket until Richardson scored just before time expired.
Dorian Finney-Smith put Dallas ahead for good with a three-pointer with 3:36 remaining and the Mavericks drew two charging calls on Orlando's Aaron Gordon in the final seconds to preserve a 107-106 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic.
Luka Doncic capped a 27-point effort with a pair of free throws with 2:31 remaining to give the Mavericks a 107-102 lead. But Dallas didn't score again, including two missed free throws by Seth Curry with a chance to extend a 107-106 advantage with 7.0 seconds left.
Orlando, who also failed to score again after a Gordon dunk with 1:09 to play, had a last-second chance to win, but Nikola Vucevic misfired on a three-pointer, sending the Magic to their fourth consecutive defeat.
Orlando had two earlier opportunities to take a late lead, but Gordon, the team's leading scorer with 23 points, was called for charging fouls with 34.7 and 7.7 seconds left.
En route to just their second win in four home games this season, the Mavericks trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before rallying to an 86-79 lead by period's end.
But Orlando tied the game at 91, and eventually at 98 and 100 as well, before Finney-Smith's go-ahead hoop with 3:36 remaining.
Dillon Brooks and Jae Crowder combined to make nine three-pointers and a big fourth quarter from Ja Morant powered the host Memphis Grizzlies past the Minnesota Timberwolves 137-121.
Memphis snapped a three-game losing skid in a game they led virtually wire to wire. A season-high 37-point first quarter set the Grizzlies on their way.
Minnesota stayed within striking distance despite trailing, paced by Andrew Wiggins' 30 points. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a double-double (25 points, 13 rebounds) in his return from a two-game suspension.
The Timberwolves were within seven points late in the fourth quarter, but Brooks knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the night to extend the lead to double-digits. It never dipped into single figures again.
Brooks scored 31 points to lead all scorers on a night when the Grizzlies hit the franchise's highest single-game point total in 12 years. Memphis rookie Morant took his late-game production to another level. He scored 14 of his 26 points in the final 12 minutes.
The Grizzlies also got 18 points from Crowder, who was 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line; and a double-double from Jonas Valanciunas. He finished with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Tomas Satoransky scored a career-high 27 points as the visiting Chicago Bulls ended a two-game losing streak with a 113-93 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Satoransky entered the game averaging 6.5 points and had not scored in double figures all season. He was 10-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 on three-pointers and added seven rebounds and eight assists.
Lauri Markkanen added 17 points, including four three-pointers. Otto Porter Jr scored 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting but exited in the first half and did not return due to a left foot contusion.
The Hawks struggled without forward John Collins, who was serving the second game of a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA's drug policy. Jabari Parker, his replacement, contributed a team-high 18 points, and veteran Vince Carter scored 14.
It was a dismal offensive night for the Hawks, who made only 6-of-30 three-pointers and turned the ball over 24 times. Trae Young entered the game averaging 27.2 points but was limited to nine points and was 0-for-8 from three-point range.
The Bulls established their dominance early and led 33-19 after one quarter and 56-41 at half-time. Chicago outscored Atlanta 9-2 to start the second half and expanded their lead to 91-65 to start the final quarter.
Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and Pascal Siakam supplied 23 points and 13 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 124-120.
Serge Ibaka scored 21 points, OG Anunoby contributed a season-best 18 points and Marc Gasol and Fred VanVleet each had 12 for the Raptors.
Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 26 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 22 points off the bench, Buddy Hield scored 21. De'Aaron Fox had 17, and Cory Joseph scored 10 for the Kings, who had won their two previous games after an 0-5 start to the season.
The Kings tied a franchise record with 20 made 3-pointers. The Raptors led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter and were ahead 95-88 going into the fourth. The Kings cut that to three points early in the fourth, but did not get closer despite continuing to threaten.
Anunoby missed two free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining with the Raptors leading by four points, but the Kings missed two shots to end the game.
Andre Drummond had 27 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Tony Snell made all nine of his shot attempts while scoring a season-high 24 points as the host Detroit Pistons cruised past the New York Knicks 122-102.
Markieff Morris supplied 22 points and five assists for the Pistons, who were once again without three of their top players. All-Star forward Blake Griffin remained sidelined due to hamstring and knee injuries. The team's top point guards, Reggie Jackson (back) and Derrick Rose (hamstring), were also in street clothes.
Their absence didn't hurt the Pistons' ball movement, as they racked up 37 assists and shot 55.7 per cent from the field.
Langston Galloway added 13 points off the bench, while Luke Kennard chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Bruce Brown, who started at point guard, tossed in nine points and added six assists.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 20 points. Marcus Morris contributed 18 points, while rookie RJ Barrett had 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists for New York, who have four straight and seven of eight to start the season.
TJ Warren scored 21 points as the host Indiana Pacers benefited from a lopsided run to begin the third quarter to record a 121-106 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Warren shot 9-of-15 from the field and Doug McDermott connected on four three-pointers to finish with 19 points as seven Pacers players scored in double figures.
Indiana's Domantas Sabonis collected 13 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds before fouling out in his return from a two-game absence due to a bruised left calf. Aaron Holiday scored 18 points, JaKarr Sampson added 14 and Malcolm Brogdon contributed 12 points and 13 assists as Indiana recorded their fourth win in their last five outings.
Washington's Bradley Beal scored 30 points despite shooting just 1-of-12 from three-point range. Thomas Bryant had 20 points and 11 rebounds and CJ Miles added 15 points for the Wizards, who have lost four of their last five.
Indiana followed up a 44-point second quarter by scoring 22 of the first 27 points in the third to seize a 92-67 lead. Washington turned the tables with a 14-0 run, but Aaron Holiday emphatically put a halt to the Wizards' charge, draining back-to-back three-pointers to stake Indiana to a 100-83 lead with 9:53 to play in the fourth quarter.
