Westbrook scores 31 as Rockets rally to beat Spurs; Grizzlies stun Heat; Siakam drops 33 as Raptors batter Cavaliers
Tuesday 17 December 2019 07:44, UK
Kristaps Porzingis collected 26 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Dallas Mavericks ended the Milwaukee Bucks' 18-game winning streak with a 120-116 victory on Monday.
Kristaps Porzingis collected 26 points and 12 rebounds as the visiting Dallas Mavericks ended the Milwaukee Bucks' 18-game winning streak with a 120-116 victory on Monday.
Seth Curry scored 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor for the Mavericks, who overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo's 48-point, 14-rebound performance to post their 12th win in 15 games.
Dallas played without reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic, who sustained a moderate ankle sprain during the first quarter of Saturday's 122-118 loss to Miami.
"Luka Doncic is responding well to treatment," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said prior to the game. "He is off crutches and out of a boot. He is progressing well. He will not play on Wednesday (against Boston)."
Kyle Korver had five three-pointers to highlight his season-high 17 points for the Bucks, who fell two wins shy of their franchise record. The loss was Milwaukee's first since a 103-100 setback at Utah on November 8.
Porzingis connected on a pair of long-range three-pointers on consecutive possessions to push Dallas' advantage to 105-91 with 5:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. Curry added a no-hesitation three-pointer in transition to appear to put the game out of reach with four-and-a-half minutes left, however, Milwaukee took advantage of some shoddy Mavericks foul shooting to remain within earshot.
Antetokounmpo's driving basket brought the Bucks to within three at 119-116, however, he was unable to make the ensuing free throw. Tim Hardaway Jr made one of two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to ice the game.
Russell Westbrook scored 25 of his 31 points in the first half, and James Harden finished with 28 as the Houston Rockets rallied for a 109-107 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Houston trailed by 25 in the second quarter and by 19 at the half but roared back behind Harden and Westbrook, assuming a 101-97 lead on a Harden dunk with 4:46 to play.
PJ Tucker's three-pointer with 2:34 to play gave the Rockets a 107-104 lead. Both teams struggled offensively down the stretch, with Rudy Gay's lay-up with 46.3 seconds left bringing San Antonio to within 107-106.
Harden, who scored 19 after half-time, then canned two free throws with 16.2 seconds remaining to push the Houston advantage to three points. Bryn Forbes then missed a three-pointer for the Spurs, but Houston's Clint Capela mishandled the rebound, giving San Antonio another chance with 6.3 seconds to play.
The Rockets chose to foul Derrick White rather than give the Spurs a chance to make a three-pointer to tie the game. White made the first free throw then purposely missed the second, but Westbrook grabbed the rebound to seal the win.
Ben McLemore added 17 points for the Rockets, with Capela posting 15 points and 15 rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Forbes scored 18 points, all in the first half on six three-pointers, while Dejounte Murray and White scored 16 points each.
After nearly squandering a 15-point half-time lead, the Memphis Grizzlies closed the game on a 14-4 run to top the visiting Miami Heat 118-111.
Chipping away at a deficit that grew to as many as 16 points in the third quarter, Miami took a three-point lead with 5:30 remaining when Bam Adebayo dunked home two of his 14 points. The Grizzlies held the Heat to one point over the next 5:19.
Memphis regained the lead with quick buckets from Jae Crowder and Ja Morant, the first of five Grizzlies to score during the decisive run.
The balanced scoring over the end-of-game flourish reflected the night for Memphis. Jonas Valanciunas' 21 points and Morant's 20 set the pace with six Grizzlies scoring in double figures, including 16 and 14 points off the bench from De'Anthony Melton and Brandon Clarke.
Jaren Jackson Jr scored 15 points, including a three-pointer during the late run, and Crowder notched four of his 10 points in the final five-and-a-half minutes. Dillon Brooks came one point shy of putting all five Memphis starters in double figures, finishing with nine.
Adebayo finished with a double-double for Miami, grabbing 13 rebounds to go with five assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Heat star Jimmy Butler registered his ninth consecutive 20-plus-point game, putting up 25. His three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining ended Miami's field-goal drought, but it was too little, too late.
The Memphis run was 12-1 by that juncture, with any hope of Heat rally evaporating on a missed Tyler Herro lay-up with 46.6 seconds to go.
Pascal Siakam scored 33 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 133-113.
Norman Powell added 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting and Kyle Lowry had 20 points and 11 assists for the Raptors, who have won two in a row. Serge Ibaka scored 14 points off the bench and OG Anunoby contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
Collin Sexton scored 25 points for the Cavaliers, who have lost 10 of their past 11 games and two in a row. Darius Garland added 20 points, Tristan Thompson had 18 points and eight rebounds and Cedi Osman contributed 12 points.
The Raptors took a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter that the Cavaliers cut to 11 with 9:04 to play on a three-pointer by Garland. Toronto then pulled away by 17 on Ibaka's 10-footer with 2:24 remaining.
CJ McCollum had 30 points and three three-pointers and Damian Lillard had 27 points and hit the winning three-point play with 26 seconds remaining as the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 16-point deficit in a 111-110 victory over the host Phoenix Suns.
Carmelo Anthony had 23 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots and Hassan Whiteside had his 18th double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who made 14-of-34 attempts from three-point range.
Kelly Oubre Jr had 24 points, Ricky Rubio had his sixth career triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists and Dario Saric and Frank Kaminsky had 17 points apiece for the Suns, who have lost eight of 11.
Portland did not lead until late in the third quarter but were ahead by seven in the fourth quarter before the game tightened. Lillard appeared to give the Trail Blazers a four-point lead with 33.6 seconds remaining when Aron Baynes was called for goaltending, but the call was overturned after video review and the Suns gained possession, leaving the score 108-106 Blazers.
Oubre hit a three-pointer on a feed from Rubio and added a free throw when he was fouled on the play for a 110-108 lead with 32 seconds left. Lillard was fouled while making a driving lay-up with 26 seconds remaining, and his free throw made it 111-110.
The Suns held possession and played for the game's final shot, but Rubio's three-pointer from the left-wing rimmed out.
Chris Paul scored 30 points to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 109-106 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
The Thunder trailed by as many as 26 points before launching a comeback that tied the biggest in franchise history and is the biggest in the NBA this season.
Paul fuelled the fourth-quarter portion of the comeback, going 5-for-5 from behind the three-point line and scoring 19 in the final frame. The other 26-point comeback in Thunder history came last season against the Houston Rockets.
The Thunder steadily chipped away at Chicago's lead, tying it on Danilo Gallinari's three-pointer with a little more than five minutes remaining. About a minute later, Paul gave the Thunder their first lead since the opening minute of the game with a three-pointer. Steven Adams put the Thunder ahead for good with his free throw with less than five seconds remaining.
Gallinari added 22 points in the win while Dennis Schroder came off the bench for 18. Paul narrowly missed a triple-double, with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The blown lead spoiled Zach LaVine's game-high 39-point performance for Chicago.
Bradley Beal poured in 35 points and dished out 10 assists as the Washington Wizards snapped a four-game losing streak by pulling away from the hosts Detroit Pistons 133-119.
Isaiah Thomas, who missed the previous five games with a calf strain, supplied 23 points. Davis Bertans contributed 17 points off the bench while Ish Smith had 10 points and seven assists. Troy Brown Jr added 10 points and six rebounds for Washington.
Markieff Morris had 22 points and five rebounds for the Pistons. Derrick Rose contributed 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists, while Bruce Brown had 20 points. Luke Kennard added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Detroit's frontcourt stars missed the game. Andre Drummond, the league's leading rebounder, sat out for the second straight game due to left eye inflammation related to an allergic reaction. Blake Griffin was sidelined by left knee soreness. He has appeared in only 14 of the team's 27 games.
Beal scored 21 first-half points as Washington led 67-61 at half-time. Washington increased the lead to 10, 89-79, with 3:33 left in the third quarter on Admiral Schofield's three-pointer.
Rose scored seven points late the quarter to cut Washington's advantage to 96-91 entering the fourth. He hit a lay-up with 8:18 remaining made it 102-99. Beal hit two free throws with 5:20 remaining to increased Washington's lead to six, 114-108.
Beal hit a jumper with less than four minutes to go to make it 119-111. He dunked with 3:16 left for a 121-113 Wizards lead. Bertans converted a four-point play moments later, extending Washington's lead to 12 points.
