Kawhi Leonard hits late game-winner as Clippers rally past Rockets
LeBron and AD combine for 56 as Lakers beat OKC; Doncic stars as Mavs rout Cavs; Walker injured in Celtics loss in Denver
Saturday 23 November 2019 10:59, UK
Kawhi Leonard hit a go-ahead jumper with 15.4 seconds, lifting the host Los Angeles Clippers to a 122-119 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Houston Rockets 119-122 LA Clippers
Kawhi Leonard hit a go-ahead jumper with 15.4 seconds, lifting the host Los Angeles Clippers to a 122-119 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.
Lou Williams scored all 26 of his points in the second half. Leonard finished with 24 points and six rebounds, while Paul George had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers, who won their fourth in a row.
James Harden had 37 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who dropped their second straight after an eight-game winning streak.
Russell Westbrook scored 22 points and Clint Capela had 17 points and 19 rebounds.
Williams hit a three-pointer with 30.8 seconds left, giving the Clippers a 118-117 lead before two free throws by Harden gave the Rockets a one-point advantage with 22.1 seconds remaining.
After Leonard's bucket, George converted two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining for the difference.
It was the first meeting between Westbrook and George, who spent two seasons together with the Oklahoma City Thunder, after the latter requested a trade to the Clippers to play with Leonard.
The Thunder dealt Westbrook to the Rockets a short time later.
Los Angeles Lakers 130-127 Oklahoma City Thunder
Anthony Davis scored 33 points, including a four-point play late in the fourth quarter, and LeBron James added 23 points and 14 assists as the visiting Los Angeles Lakers held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 130-127.
It was the Lakers' second victory over the Thunder in a span of three days, as they earned a tightly contested 112-107 decision Tuesday at Los Angeles.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points, and Danny Green added 14 as the Lakers won their sixth consecutive game and earned a 13th victory in their past 14 contests.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Steven Adams added 22 for the Thunder, who lost its third consecutive game and fell for the fifth time in their past six games.
Chris Paul added 18 points and seven assists for Oklahoma City, which tied a season high in points.
James has delivered double-digit assists in each of his past seven games, and leads the league with an average of 11.3 assists per game.
Davis was also in the giving mood. His assist total was two short of his career high, and he also had 11 rebounds. The Lakers had a 45-37 rebounding advantage.
Boston Celtics 92-96 Denver Nuggets
Nikola Jokic scored 18 points, collected a season-best 16 rebounds and also had 10 assists and three steals during his third triple-double of the season to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 106-102 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics.
The game was marred with a scary incident that led to Boston guard Kemba Walker taken off the court on a stretcher with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter.
The Celtics later announced that Walker was diagnosed with "concussion-like symptoms" and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Denver's Jamal Murray recorded a team-high 22 points to go with six rebounds and five assists as the Nuggets won their fourth straight game and eighth in the past nine. Will Barton added 15 points, and Paul Millsap contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum added 16 points for the Celtics, who have lost three of their past four games following a 10-game winning streak. Marcus Smart scored 15 points, and Brad Wanamaker added 14.
Cleveland Cavaliers 101-143 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic collected 30 points and 14 assists as the Dallas Mavericks recorded a sweep of their four-game homestand with a convincing 143-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Doncic, who shot 11 of 18 from the floor before sitting out the fourth quarter, became the eighth Mavericks player to score 30-plus points in three straight games.
The last such player to accomplish the feat was Dirk Nowitzki (2010), who received a standing ovation from the crowd after being shown on the Jumbotron during the first quarter.
It was the German's first visit to American Airlines Center since retiring after last season.
Dallas surpassed 140 points for the second consecutive game. Justin Jackson had 19 points and Kristaps Porzingis scored 17 and added four blocks while playing in his 200th career game.
San Antonio Spurs 104-115 Philadelphia 76ers
Tobias Harris scored 26 points while Joel Embiid added 21 points and 14 rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the San Antonio Spurs 115-104.
Al Horford scored 18 points and Furkan Korkmaz had 17 to carry the Sixers to their third win in a row.
Ben Simmons completed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for Philadelphia, which improved to 6-0 at home.
DeMar DeRozan paced the Spurs with 29 points while Rudy Gay added 22 and LaMarcus Aldridge had 17.
The reeling Spurs fell to 5-11 overall and suffered their eighth consecutive loss, the longest skid since head coach Gregg Popovich took over in 1996-97.
Miami Heat 116-108 Chicago Bulls
Jimmy Butler scored a team-high 27 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and the visiting Miami Heat coasted to a 116-108 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Heat center Bam Adebayo finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds to notch his eighth double-double of the season. Kendrick Nunn (21 points), Goran Dragic (16) and Kelly Olynyk (10) also scored in double digits for Miami, which increased its season-high winning streak to five games.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 15 points on 6-for-14 shooting. Coby White and Thaddeus Young scored 12 points apiece to lead a spirited effort from the reserve unit for Chicago, which has lost four of its past five.
Sacramento Kings 97-116 Brooklyn Nets
Spencer Dinwiddie continued to effectively fill in for injured Kyrie Irving by scoring 23 points as the Brooklyn Nets never trailed and recorded a 116-97 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings.
Dinwiddie started in place of Irving for the fourth straight game. Irving missed his fourth consecutive game due to right shoulder impingement and the Nets did not provide a further update on his status.
Without Irving's 28.5 points per game, Dinwiddie set a career mark by getting at least 20 points for the fourth straight game.
He shot 8 of 15 overall, hit all seven of his free-throw attempts and handed out seven assists in helping the Nets win for the third time in four games.
Joe Harris matched a season high with 22 points, equalling his season-best set last Saturday in Chicago. He shot 8 of 11 and hit a season-best five three-pointers.
Golden State Warriors 109-113 Utah Jazz
Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for 10 points in a 16-2, second-quarter burst that ultimately helped propel the host Utah Jazz to a 113-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Salt Lake City.
In winning a second straight game, the Jazz led by as many as 21 points early in the fourth quarter before the Warriors made an improbable late run that defied a fourth game in six nights on the road.
Donovan Mitchell finished with 30 points, Conley 27 and Bogdanovic 17 for the Jazz, who were playing the front end of a home back-to-back.
Emmanuel Mudiay was a fourth player scoring in double figures with 11 points for the Jazz, who outshot the Warriors 50.6 percent to 45.7.
With Draymond Green missing his second straight game with a sore heel, Golden State suited up just eight players, and seven of them scored in double figures.
The loss was Golden State's ninth in its last 10 games.
Atlanta Hawks 102-128 Detroit Pistons
Blake Griffin scored 24 points and the host Detroit Pistons had their highest scoring first half in 36 years while snapping a five-game losing streak as they pummelled the Atlanta Hawks 128-103.
Andre Drummond had 23 points and 15 rebounds in 27 minutes, while Bruce Brown supplied 14 points, seven assists and three steals while limiting Hawks star Trae Young to nine points on 3-for-12 shooting.
Markieff Morris had 13 points, Langston Galloway tossed in 12 and Derrick Rose and Christian Wood added 11 apiece for Detroit.
The Pistons shot 59.8 percent overall and made half of their 34 three-point tries.
Charlotte Hornets 118-125 Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal had 30 points and 12 assists, and the Washington Wizards rallied to defeat the visiting Charlotte Hornets 125-118 on Friday night.
The Wizards overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
It was Beal's fifth-straight game with 30-or-more points, extending his career mark.
Thomas Bryant added 21 points and 11 rebounds while Davis Bertans (20 points) tied his career high with six three-pointers.
Miles Bridges scored a career-high 31 points for Charlotte, which finished its four-game road trip 1-3.
Devonte' Graham, Malik Monk and Terry Rozier scored 19 points each for the Hornets.
