Milwaukee Bucks blow out LA Clippers to extend win streak to 14 games
Lakers rout Blazers for 11th straight road win; Tatum and Brown lead Celtics past Nuggets; Butler stars as Heat dispatch Wizards
Saturday 7 December 2019 08:38, UK
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks extended their NBA-best winning streak to 14 games with a 119-91 victory on Friday over the visiting LA Clippers.
LA Clippers 91-119 Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks extended their NBA-best winning streak to 14 games with a 119-91 victory on Friday over the visiting LA Clippers.
Khris Middleton scored 17 points while Pat Connaughton and Ersan Ilyasova added 13 each as the Bucks improved to 10-1 at home.
Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points and Paul George added 13 for the Clippers, who lost for just the second time in their last 11 games.
The victory was never in doubt as the Bucks led 30-15 after one quarter and 52-43 at half-time, while shooting just 38.3 per cent from the field in the opening two quarters. Milwaukee put the game away by outscoring the Clippers 35-19 in the third quarter to take an 87-62 lead, with Antetokounmpo having already sealed his double-double.
Donte DiVincenzo had 11 points for the Bucks who have not lost since dropping a 103-100 decision at Utah on November 8.
Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell added 11 each for the Clippers, who dropped to 3-6 on the road.
Los Angeles Lakers 136-113 Portland Trail Blazers
Anthony Davis delivered 39 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 136-113 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers.
LeBron James made four three-pointers while recording 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the Lakers improved their record to 20-3, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for best in the NBA.
Kyle Kuzma scored 15 off the bench and JaVale McGee added 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting as Los Angeles completed a 3-0 road trip that began with games against the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.
Damian Lillard registered 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Trail Blazers. Hassan Whiteside added 17 points, 10 rebounds and three steals and Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum and Anfernee Simons added 15 points apiece.
Portland's Rodney Hood suffered a torn left Achilles tendon during the first quarter. Hood collected a rebound and fell to the floor after landing and immediately grabbed for the lower portion of his left leg with 3:27 left in the stanza. He was scoreless in the contest.
The Trail Blazers trailed 81-70 after Lillard's three-pointer with 10:02 left in the third quarter. James responded by making a trio of triples over an 80-second span to give Los Angeles a 95-77 advantage and the lead reached 20 on Davis' dunk to make it 101-81 with 3:59 remaining.
The Lakers led 110-93 entering the final stanza. The lead reached 121-100 when James slammed home a lob from Alex Caruso with 7:16 left and the advantage topped out at 27 as Portland never mounted a late charge.
Denver Nuggets 95-108 Boston Celtics
Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and Jaylen Brown added 21 as the Boston Celtics blew out the visiting Denver Nuggets 108-95.
Kemba Walker had 19 points and Marcus Smart chipped in nine in his return from an abdomen injury as the Celtics won for the fifth time in their last six games. Boston improved to 9-0 at home.
Nikola Jokic had a season-high 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who lost for the third time in their last four games. Denver were playing the second night of a back-to-back, having beaten the New York Knicks by a 37-point margin on Thursday.
Jokic snapped a personal funk of four single-digit scoring games in his last five, but the Nuggets were still handed nearly their worst loss of the season.
The Celtics never trailed, grabbing their first double-digit lead, 28-18, on a Brown basket with 2:15 left in the opening quarter. A Walker basket ended the scoring in the half, and the Celtics led 53-45 at the break.
The Nuggets got back within five early in the third quarter, but the Celtics continued to pull away, grabbing a 65-53 lead with 6:10 to go. Tatum hit a three with 1.7 ticks remaining as the Celtics carried an 85-64 lead into the final quarter.
Boston's lead grew as high as 23 in the fourth, as Denver was unable to get back within single digits.
Washington Wizards 103-112 Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler had his second triple-double in the past three games and the sixth of his career, posting 28 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the host Miami Heat to a 112-103 win over the Washington Wizards.
Miami also got impressive performances from center Bam Adebayo and rookie guard Tyler Herro. Adebayo had a career-high 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Herro finished with 22 points.
Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal, who entered the game fifth in the league in scoring, had 23 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Davis Bertans added 19 points and 10 rebounds off the Washington bench, making 5-of-13 attempts from three-point range.
Washington assembled a 12-0 second-quarter run, taking a 40-29 lead, but Miami cut the gap to 65-61 by half-time. The lead changed hands five times in the third quarter, but Miami ended the period with an 86-85 advantage.
Miami guard Kendrick Nunn, the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for November, made a lay-up with 10:22 left in the fourth quarter, and the Heat never trailed again.
Minnesota Timberwolves 127-139 Oklahoma City Thunder (OT)
Dennis Schroder forced overtime with a last-second basket and Chris Paul scored 30 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 139-127 win over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 29, including 11 of the Thunder's 17 points in the extra period. Oklahoma City had five players finish with 20-plus points for the first time in franchise history. Schroder scored 25 off the bench while Steven Adams (22 points, 11 rebounds) and Danilo Gallinari (21) also contributed.
Jeff Teague scored 32 points, his best scoring performance in nearly four years, and had nine assists for the Timberwolves. Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and eight assists.
Minnesota looked to have the game in firm control in the final seconds before a wild end to regulation. The Thunder, down by two, got the ball with 14 seconds left when an errant inbounds pass went off the hands of Shabazz Napier and wound up with Oklahoma City calling a timeout after diving on the ball.
The Thunder gave the ball to Paul, who drove toward the basket, pulling up and arcing a shot over the outstretched hands of Towns. The shot hit off the front of the rim and was eventually pulled down by the Timberwolves' Jordan Bell.
Bell then missed two foul shots with 3.9 seconds to go, but Towns was fouled with 1.1 seconds left. Oklahoma City was given another shot when Teague was called for a technical foul with Towns on the free-throw line after missing the first of two free throws.
Gallinari made the technical free throw to pull the Thunder within one. Instead of missing the second free throw, Towns had the shot bounce off the front of the rim and through to give Oklahoma City a chance to set up a desperation play.
Adams launched a full-court pass to Schroder, who quickly floated a shot over Teague that went through as time expired to force overtime.
Brooklyn Nets 111-104 Charlotte Hornets
Joe Harris pumped in 22 points as the Brooklyn Nets produced a couple of significant second-half scoring surges to defeat the host Charlotte Hornets 111-104.
Harris shot 8-for-13 from the field and made six three-pointers. Taurean Prince tacked on 16 points, while centers Deandre Jordan and Jarrett Allen posted 16 and 14 points, respectively, for the Nets, who have won five of their past six road games.
Jordan grabbed 13 rebounds and Allen pulled in 10 boards as Brooklyn held a 49-34 rebounding edge. Spencer Dinwiddie contributed a game-high 12 assists.
Hornets guard Devonte' Graham scored 29 points, hitting six three-pointers one game after he tied a franchise record with 10 treys. Terry Rozier's 21 points, Cody Zeller's 17 points and PJ Washington's 14 points helped the Hornets stay within striking distance.
Prince's three-pointer capped a 10-0 run as the Nets built a 72-64 lead midway through the third quarter, and the lead soon grew to nine points. Charlotte responded to tie the game at 84-84 before a 14-0 spurt for the Nets that extended into the fourth quarter.
Sacramento Kings 104-105 San Antonio Spurs (OT)
Dejounte Murray's jumper with 29.6 seconds to play proved to be the difference as the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the visiting Sacramento Kings 105-104 in overtime in the Alamo City, winning back-to-back games for the first time since the opening week of the season.
The Spurs were down by nine points with 1:50 to play in regulation but made a final push, pulling to within 98-97 on a LaMarcus Aldridge putback lay-up with 47 seconds to play. After two free throws by Harrison Barnes with 14.3 seconds left, Marco Belinelli canned a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Two free throws by DeMar DeRozan at the 3:07 mark of overtime were answered by Buddy Hield's jumper on the ensuing possession to knot the game at 102. Patty Mills put the Spurs in front with a free throw with 56.8 seconds remaining. Hield's jumper then gave the Kings a short-lived lead before Murray hit the game-winner.
Sacramento had four shots to win in the final 14 seconds and missed them all.
Aldridge scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Spurs. DeRozan, who had three three-pointers in the game after having only four all season, added 15 points, Murray had 14, Mills and Jakob Poeltl scored 13 points each, and Belinelli hit for a season-high 11 points for San Antonio.
Hield led the Kings with 23 points, with Barnes scoring 21 points and securing 10 rebounds, Yogi Ferrell adding 17 points and Richaun Holmes scoring 13 points and taking 14 rebounds for the Kings, who lost their third straight game.
Indiana Pacers 101-108 Detroit Pistons
Exactly one-third of the wins this season for the Detroit Pistons have come against the Indiana Pacers.
Andre Drummond had 25 points and 22 rebounds and Blake Griffin added 25 points to lead the Pistons to a 108-101 home win over the Pacers in the fourth and final meeting of the season already between the teams. Detroit won the season series 3-1.
With the score tied at 101-101 in the final minute, the Pistons took a 104-101 lead on a three-pointer from the top of the key by Griffin with 41.4 seconds left. Following an Indiana turnover, the Pistons took a 106-101 lead with 18.4 seconds remaining on a floater by Derrick Rose.
The Pistons wrapped the game up with a defensive stop and subsequent breakaway lay-up by Langston Galloway with 9.3 seconds remaining.
Luke Kennard added 15 points and Rose scored 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter for Detroit. TJ Warren scored 26 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 21 points in a losing cause for Indiana.
Orlando Magic 93-87 Cleveland Cavaliers
Terrence Ross made four three-pointers to highlight his 21-point performance as the visiting Orlando Magic recorded a 93-87 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Evan Fournier scored 18 points and Aaron Gordon added 14 for the Magic, who extended their winning streak to a season-high four games by defeating the Cavaliers for the third time this season.
Collin Sexton finished with 19 points and Cedi Osman added 14 for the reeling Cavaliers, who have lost five in a row and 11 of their last 12 games. Cleveland's Kevin Love sat out with an illness.
Jonathan Isaac drained his first three-point attempt to stake Orlando to an 84-81 lead with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter. Isaac answered Sexton's short jumper with one of his own before Larry Nance Jr tipped home a basket to bring Cleveland back within one with 2:19 left.
Markelle Fultz and Ross each sank a pair of free throws to push the Magic's advantage to 90-85 with 52.4 seconds left. Darius Garland drained a long-range jumper for Cleveland, however, Orlando was able to secure an offensive rebound and Gordon's dunk effectively ended any bid of a comeback by the Cavaliers.
Golden State Warriors 100-98 Chicago Bulls
Glenn Robinson III scored a team-high 20 points, including a go-ahead basket with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter, as the Golden State Warriors held on for a 100-98 win over the host Chicago Bulls.
Alec Burks scored 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting off the bench for Golden State, who won only their fifth game of the season but improved to 2-0 against Chicago. Eric Paschall finished with 13 points and Willie Cauley-Stein added 10.
Zach LaVine scored 22 points to lead the Bulls, who had won their previous two games in a row. Lauri Markkanen tallied 20 points, and rookie Coby White finished with 14 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
An alley-oop dunk by Robinson broke a 98-98 tie with 63 seconds to play. The Bulls had possession coming out of a timeout with 13 seconds to play, but LaVine waited for the clock to wind down and missed a three-point attempt just before the buzzer.
