Westbrook hits 40 in Rockets win over Clippers; Mitchell fires for 30 as Jazz beat Hawks; Mills shines as Spurs rally past Nets
Friday 20 December 2019 09:13, UK
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points with 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks bounced back from the end of their winning streak in emphatic fashion with a 111-104 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points with 11 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks bounced back from the end of their winning streak in emphatic fashion with a 111-104 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
In a battle of the teams with the best record in the NBA, the Bucks made their statement as George Hill added 21 points and Khris Middleton scored 15. Just one game earlier, the Bucks saw their 18-game winning streak come to an end with a defeat to the Dallas Mavericks.
Anthony Davis scored 36 points with 10 rebounds and LeBron James had a triple-double for the Lakers, who were also returning to the court after the end of their winning streak last time out. James had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists one game after Los Angeles' run of 14 consecutive road victories ended Tuesday at Indiana.
The James/Davis duo started slowly but combined to go 19-of-44 from the field. James' first field goal did not come until nearly two minutes into the second quarter. Davis' first basket came in the final minute of the first quarter. The Bucks led 23-17 after one quarter in the Lakers' lowest-scoring opening period of the season.
A 14-2 run midway through the second period gave the Bucks a 43-24 lead, and they led 65-46 at the break by shooting 50 per cent from the field and 43.5 per cent from three-point range. Milwaukee had a 25-4 advantage in bench points at half-time.
The Bucks still led by 19 at 80-61 with 6:10 left in the third quarter before the Lakers made a push, coming to within eight at 89-81 heading into the final period. The Lakers pulled to within five at 109-104 with under a minute remaining but lost on a night when they committed 19 turnovers.
Wesley Matthews scored 13 points and Brook Lopez added 10 for the Bucks, who improved to 14-2 at home. Antetokounmpo delivered his 25th double-double.
Danny Green scored 21 points, all coming on seven three-pointers in 12 attempts, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 18 for the Lakers, who have another marquee match-up on Christmas Day against the LA Clippers.
Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 40 points and had 10 rebounds as the Houston Rockets rallied in the second half for a 122-117 victory over the host LA Clippers.
James Harden, who entered the contest as the NBA's leading scorer at 38.9 points per game, added 28 points and 10 assists for the Rockets, who have won eight of their last 11 games. Clint Capela finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Paul George had 34 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who lost for only the second time in 16 games at home. Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and nine rebounds, while Montrezl Harrell scored 19 points.
An 11-2 burst to open the fourth gave the Rockets their biggest lead at 101-89 after a three-pointer by Westbrook less than three minutes into the quarter. But the Clippers rallied with a 22-4 run for a 111-105 edge. However, the Rockets outscored the Clippers 15-2 in less than three minutes to seize control.
The Rockets used a 27-15 run to open the third quarter and close their deficit to 84-81 after a floater by Harden with 3:09 remaining in the quarter. Two free throws by Westbrook and a three-pointer by Danuel House Jr with one second left in the quarter gave the Rockets a 90-87 advantage heading into the fourth.
Clippers guard Lou Williams, who finished with only six points, was ejected after drawing two technical fouls less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Williams was angered after being called for a foul on Westbrook.
The Rockets extended their streak of at least 10 three-pointers to 84 consecutive contests. They converted 14-of-37 three-pointers (37.8 per cent) compared to 16-of-37 (43.2 per cent) for the Clippers.
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including a reverse lay-up that put Utah ahead down the stretch, and helped the visiting Jazz to a 111-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.
Atlanta had tied the game at 99-99 when Kevin Huerter drained a three-pointer with 5:03 left, but Mitchell scored after Royce O'Neale rebounded a missed shot by Atlanta's Trae Young and started the other way.
Mitchell's go-ahead basket came with 3:46 left, and the Jazz outscored the Hawks 12-7 to end the game. Utah outscored Atlanta 28-22 in the final quarter. The win was the fourth straight for Utah. Atlanta suffered their sixth straight loss.
It was Mitchell's eighth 30-point game of the season. He was 12-for 22 from the field, only one of them a three-pointer, and added five rebounds and five assists. Mitchell is averaging 28 points over the last five games and has scored 30 in the last two games.
The Jazz also got 20 points and 13 rebounds from Rudy Gobert. Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points and nine rebounds and Joe Ingles scored 14.
Atlanta got 30 points from Young, who was playing with a right thigh contusion. Young was only 9-for-28 from the field, but added eight assists. It was his 15th game with at least 30 points.
Jabari Parker scored 23 points, 11 in the first period, and had nine rebounds. Huerter scored 17 and rookie Cam Reddish added 14 points.
Atlanta's Vince Carter moved into fourth place on the NBA's career list with 1,505 games.
Patty Mills scored a season-high 27 points off the bench and led rallies at the end of the third and fourth quarters as the San Antonio Spurs roared from behind to beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 118-105 in the Alamo City.
Mills scored 11 points over the final three minutes of the third quarter to shoot the Spurs into the lead and then nailed a pair of three-pointers and two free throws in the game's last 3:37 to allow San Antonio to hold on for the win. He was 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in the game.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and 10 rebounds in the victory for the Spurs, with Derrick White and Dejoiunte Murray scoring 13 points each, DeMar DeRozan hitting for 12, and Marco Belinelli contributing 11 points.
Spencer Dinwiddie poured in a career-high 41 points for Brooklyn in the loss. He has scored 20 or more points in six straight game.
Jarrett Allen added 19 points and 13 rebounds, Garrett Temple scored 10 points, and DeAndre Jordan grabbed 11 rebounds for the Nets.
San Antonio used their bench strength late in the third quarter, scoring the period's final 12 points to sweep to an 83-81 lead heading into the final 12 minutes. Mills had eight of the Spurs' points in that stretch.
Brooklyn went five-and-a-half minutes without scoring (from the 2:07 mark of the third quarter to 8:28 of the fourth), missing seven shots and committing three turnovers during that stretch.
