LA Clippers hold off Boston Celtics for dramatic overtime win
Nuggets snap Rockets winning streak; Doncic posts triple-double as Mavs rout Warriors; Giannis hits 33 as Bucks bash Hawks
Thursday 21 November 2019 08:32, UK
The LA Clippers held off the Boston Celtics to score a dramatic overtime win as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George played together for the first time.
Boston Celtics 104-107 LA Clippers (OT)
Lou Williams scored 27 points and Paul George added 25 points and eight assists to help the Los Angeles Clippers notch an intense 107-104 overtime victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Kawhi Leonard returned from a three-game absence caused by a knee injury to score 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting. Patrick Beverley corralled a career-best 16 rebounds to go along with 14 points and seven assists, and JaMychal Green added 10 points as Los Angeles won their third straight game.
Jayson Tatum scored a season-best 30 points for Boston. Marcus Smart recorded 15 points and eight assists, Brad Wanamaker added 14 points, and Kemba Walker had 13 points and nine rebounds, shooting just 4-for-17 from the field.
The contest marked the first time George and Leonard played together since both joined the Clippers in the offseason. Wednesday's game was George's fourth of the campaign.
The Clippers led by five points nearly two minutes into the overtime before Boston pulled within two. Beverley drilled a three-pointer to make it 107-102 with 43.9 seconds remaining before Tatum's dunk pulled Boston within three with 34.7 seconds left.
Tatum missed a tying three-point attempt with 2.6 seconds left, and Leonard blocked Walker's last-gasp three-point attempt just before time expired.
Houston Rockets 95-105 Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Rockets 105-95, ending Houston's eight-game winning streak.
Will Barton had 15 points and seven rebounds and Paul Millsap scored 11 points for Denver, who had all five starters finish in double figures en route to their seventh win in eight games.
James Harden had 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, Russell Westbrook added 25 points and Clint Capela scored 12 points and pulled down a season-high 21 rebounds for Houston.
The Rockets, who finished with 21 turnovers, were held to under 100 points for the first time this season.
Westbrook hit a three-pointer early in the fourth quarter to get Houston within 84-76, but the Nuggets went on another run to take control. Juancho Hernangomez and Torrey Craig hit lay-ups, and after a turnover led to another Westbrook basket, two straight Rockets turnovers led to Craig's reverse dunk and a Monte Morris layup for Denver and a 92-78 lead with 7:39 left.
A lay-up by Millsap, a put-back from Jokic and another lay-up from Craig gave the Nuggets an 18-point lead with 2:46 remaining.
Utah Jazz 103-95 Minnesota Timberwolves
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points including six three-pointers - and Donovan Mitchell added 26 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 103-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minneapolis.
Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks for the Jazz. Mike Conley totaled 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins finished with 22 points to lead the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
The Jazz finally pulled away in the fourth quarter after knocking down seven three-pointers. The final one from Bogdanovic made it 103-94 with 50.7 seconds left.
Utah took the lead for good earlier in the quarter with a 12-0 run highlighted by a go-ahead three-point play from Gobert. Conley and Mitchell capped the run with back-to-back baskets to put the Jazz up 85-79.
Golden State Warriors 94-142 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic scored 22 of his game-high 35 points in the first quarter as the host Dallas Mavericks made quick work of the injury-riddled Golden State Warriors in a 142-94 thrashing.
Doncic ran up his 35 points in only 26 minutes, hanging around just long enough to record a second straight triple-double with a game-high-tying 10 rebounds and a game-high 11 assists. According to ESPN, the 25:30 that Doncic played was the least court time for a player in a 30-point triple-double in NBA history.
Doncic bombed in five three-pointers in the first quarter, helping the Mavericks take 8-0, 26-7 and 39-12 leads. His 22-point period provided half of Dallas' scoring en route to a 44-16 advantage after one quarter.
The Mavericks, who also had already beaten reigning champion Toronto on the homestand, went on to lead by as many as 39 in the second quarter, relegating the second half to bench-clearing.
Jalen Brunson, who made all six of his shots, added 15 points for the Mavericks. Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points to go with 10 rebounds, Courtney Lee turned four three-pointers into 12 points, and Boban Marjanovic chipped in with 10 points for Dallas.
Rookie Eric Paschall led Golden State with 22 points.
Milwaukee Bucks 135-127 Atlanta Hawks
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 11 rebounds to pace the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to a 135-127 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
It was the ninth time that Antetokounmpo has had 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game. He has accomplished the feat in eight of his last nine outings. Antetokounmpo was 12-for-17 from the field, but only 1-for-6 on three-pointers.
Milwaukee have won five straight games, and nine of their last 10. Eric Bledsoe added 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Bucks.
Atlanta tried to rally in the fourth quarter by scoring 44 points. The Hawks used a 13-1 run to cut Milwaukee's lead to 126-119 with 2:10 left on a basket by DeAndre Bembry. But Milwaukee's Sterling Brown emerged from a timeout to hit a three-pointer and re-establish the double-digit lead. The Hawks never again got closer than seven.
Atlanta were led by rookie De'Andre Hunter, who scored a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Trae Young added 25 points and eight assists and Cam Reddish scored a career-high 17 points.
New York Knicks 104-109 Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid had 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the Philadelphia 76ers overturned a 17-point deficit on their way to a 109-104 victory over the visiting New York Knicks.
Ben Simmons added 18 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who earned their second win in a row. Tobias Harris scored 14 points, Mike Scott had 12 and James Ennis III had 11. The Sixers improved to 5-0 at home and have won nine straight overall against the Knicks.
Marcus Morris scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Julius Randle and Frank Ntilikina scored 17 points each for the Knicks.
Scott's fourth three-pointer, with 1:27 remaining, gave the Sixers a 99-95 lead, and Morris missed a jumper on the Knicks' next possession. Embiid then made a trey from the top of the key for a 102-95 advantage to help seal the win.
Simmons hit the first three-pointer of his career with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter, and the crowd exploded. Simmons missed the first 17 treys of his career before connecting from the corner. It was his lone long-distance attempt of the night and his first three-point try of the season.
Orlando Magic 97-113 Toronto Raptors
Fred VanVleet scored 24 points and added seven assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Orlando Magic 113-97.
The Magic line-up was depleted after they lost center Nikola Vucevic and forward Aaron Gordon to sprained right ankles in the first half. Neither returned.
Terence Davis II had a career-best 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Raptors, who shot 52.3 per cent from the field. Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Norman Powell added 15 points and Chris Boucher contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Evan Fournier led Orlando with 21 points. Jonathan Isaac added 16 points and 13 rebounds, Terrence Ross had 14 points, and Markelle Fultz and Khem Birch each scored 12 points for the Magic, who shot 38.5 per cent from the field.
VanVleet's running lay-up put the Raptors ahead by 15 points with 10:54 to play in the fourth quarter. Siakam's 13-footer put the Raptors ahead by 19 points with 4:53 remaining.
Charlotte Hornets 91-101 Brooklyn Nets
Jarrett Allen posted season-highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Charlotte Hornets 101-91 in New York.
The Nets won for the second time in third games without Kyrie Irving, who sat out due to right shoulder impingement.
Allen enjoyed one of the most productive games of his career and recorded his fifth double-double of the season. He shot 9-for-12 from the floor as Brooklyn overcame shooting 39.6 per cent and outrebounded Charlotte 53-41.
Taurean Prince added 20 points while shooting 6-for-15 in a game where the Nets never led by more than 12 points. Spencer Dinwiddie started for Irving and contributed 20 while tying a season-high with eight assists.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 18 points but shot 5-of-14 as the Hornets dropped their second straight game following dramatic last-second wins over the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks.
The Nets sealed the game on a three-pointer by Joe Harris with 1:33 left that made it 100-88.
Cleveland Cavaliers 100-124 Miami Heat
Duncan Robinson scored a career-high 29 points - making seven three-pointers in a decisive second quarter - as the host Miami Heat routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-100.
Rookie guard Tyler Herro added 22 points as the Heat improved to 6-0 at home this season.
Robinson, a 6ft 7in forward who went undrafted last year, made 9-of-15 three-pointers, falling one short of the team record of 10 three-pointers held by Mario Chalmers and Brian Shaw.
Besides Robinson's heroics, Wednesday's game marked the return of Heat back-up point guard Goran Dragic, who had 13 points and six assists.
The Cavaliers, who have lost five straight games, got two players back from the injured list. Kevin Love returned with 25 points and 13 rebounds while Larry Nance Jr produced 16 points and nine rebounds.
Miami prevailed despite the fact their star Jimmy Butler missed 13 of his first 14 shots. Butler, however, went 13-for-13 from the foul line and finished with 21 points.
Detroit Pistons 89-109 Chicago Bulls
Power forward Lauri Markkanen scored 24 points as the host Chicago Bulls ended a three-game losing streak by pounding the slumping Detroit Pistons 109-89.
Markkanen, who was averaging 12.3 points in nine games this month, made half of his 14 field-goal attempts and 7-of-11 free throws. Tomas Satoransky supplied 15 points and seven assists and Wendell Carter Jr contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds for Chicago.
Former Bull Derrick Rose scored 18 points off the bench for Detroit, who have lost five straight and are 1-7 on the road. Blake Griffin scored 16 points, and Luke Kennard had 14, but both shot just 4-of-15 from the field.
Chicago began the third quarter with a 12-3 run. A putback by Carter upped Chicago's lead to 14 at 78-64. The Bulls maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the quarter and led 84-71 when it ended.
Thaddeus Young scored five points in the first 1:03 of the fourth quarter to stretch Chicago's advantage to 18.
San Antonio Spurs 132-138 Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal scored 21 of his 33 points in the third quarter as the host Washington Wizards held on for a 138-132 victory over the sliding San Antonio Spurs.
Beal eclipsed 30 points in four consecutive contests for the first time in his career as the Wizards sent San Antonio to their first seven-game losing skid since Gregg Popovich's first season as Spurs coach in 1996-97.
Former Spurs forward Davis Bertans and Ish Smith each added 21 points as Washington avenged a 124-122 setback to San Antonio on October 26.
DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points for the Spurs, who put a scare into Washington as Rudy Gay's emphatic dunk highlighted a 19-7 surge to trim their deficit to two with 16.1 seconds remaining. Beal calmly sank two free throws to change the momentum and DeRozan missed a pair at the other end to effectively end the game.
