Luka Doncic scores 29 points as Dallas Mavericks snap Oklahoma City Thunder's winning streak
Gordon drops 50 as Rockets stun Jazz; Kings rally to top T-Wolves in OT; Adebayo records first triple-double in Heat win
Tuesday 28 January 2020 07:10, UK
Luka Doncic scored 29 points as the Dallas Mavericks snapped the Oklahoma City Thunder's five-game winning streak on Monday night.
Dallas Mavericks 107-97 Oklahoma City Thunder
Luka Doncic scored 29 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 107-97 road win over Oklahoma City on Monday night, snapping the Thunder's five-game winning streak.
Doncic was just 2-of-8 from the field in the opening quarter but 8-of-16 the rest of the way. The Mavericks have alternated wins and losses over their past five games.
Dallas took advantage of the Thunder on the perimeter, hitting 19 three-pointers, the most Oklahoma City have given up all season. Doncic hit five to help the Mavericks stay in front of the Thunder in the Western Conference playoff race.
Tim Hardaway Jr added 15 points for the Mavericks while Kristaps Porzingis and Delon Wright scored 14 each. Wright added a season-high 12 rebounds.
For Oklahoma City, Dennis Schroder was forced into the starting line-up for the first time this season as Chris Paul missed the game one day after the death of his close friend, Kobe Bryant. Paul and Bryant played on two Olympic teams together.
As was the case around the NBA on Sunday and Monday, the teams started by taking violations to honour Bryant. The Mavericks started with an eight-second violation, with the Thunder following by taking a 24-second violation.
Paul has been a big reason for Oklahoma City's success late in tight games this season. He leads the league in clutch-time scoring, and in the previous meeting against the Mavericks, he scored 13 points in the final 4:31 to lift the Thunder to a come-from-behind victory.
But without Paul there was no comeback Monday. Oklahoma City trimmed a 16-point lead to five with a quick 11-0 run early in the third quarter, but two minutes later, the Mavericks' lead was back up to 14.
Schroder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were a combined 11-of-36 from the floor. Schroder led the Thunder with 21 points.
Houston Rockets 126-117 Utah Jazz
Eric Gordon scored a career-high 50 points and Danuel House Jr chipped in a double-double as the short-handed Houston Rockets pulled off a stunning 126-117 victory over the red-hot Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.
With James Harden (thigh), Russell Westbrook (rest) and Clint Capela (heel) all unavailable for the second game of a back-to-back set at altitude, Gordon carried Houston with a scintillating performance.
The veteran guard shot 14-of-22 from the floor, drilled 6-of-11 three-point attempts and hit 16-of-20 free throws to lead the way. His three-point play through a Rudy Gobert foul extended the Houston lead to 118-105 with 1:39 remaining and snuffed out the final hope Utah had at capping a comeback.
House was nearly as instrumental, pairing 21 points with 11 rebounds while adding five steals. His dunk of an offensive rebound off Austin Rivers' errant three-point attempt helped the Rockets maintain a 12-point cushion with 2:35 left after the Jazz worked frantically to cut what had been a 17-point deficit.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 36 points while Bojan Bogdanovic added 30 while making seven three-pointers. The Jazz had won 14 of their previous 15 games.
Rivers added 21 points for Houston while Gobert posted 12 points and 14 rebounds for Utah.
Gordon and House anchored a strong shooting start for the Rockets, posting nine points apiece in the opening quarter while Houston shot 47.6 per cent overall. However, after the Rockets carried a 28-20 lead into the second quarter, the Jazz began that period with a 13-2 run that featured seven points from Mitchell.
Conley lifted Utah to a 33-30 lead at the 8:43 mark, but the Rockets did not wilt, with Gordon again stepping forward to shoulder the offensive load for Houston. Gordon tallied 15 points in the period, leading Houston to a 59-46 lead by the intermission. Mitchell countered with 17 points by the break and seemingly fashioned a reply whenever Gordon and Houston threatened to pull away.
Sacramento Kings 133-129 Minnesota Timberwolves (OT)
Nemanja Bjelica broke the fifth tie of overtime with two free throws with 48.3 seconds left as the Sacramento Kings, after an improbable rally that forced the extra session, held off the host Minnesota Timberwolves 133-129.
Buddy Hield scored a career-high 42 points off the bench for the Kings, including 12 during a 21-4 regulation-ending flurry that erased a 17-point deficit in the final 2:49.
Andrew Wiggins scored 36 points, including seven three-pointers, for the Timberwolves, who set season highs for threes (23) and three-point percentage (50).
Bjelica's free throws gave the Kings a 131-129 lead, and Sacramento survived three subsequent Timberwolves bids to tie, including a Wiggins three-point attempt with four seconds remaining after De'Aaron Fox had added a free throw with 7.4 seconds left to create a three-point margin.
The Kings' Kent Bazemore iced the win with one foul shot with 3.6 seconds to go, allowing Sacramento to finish their five-game trip with two straight wins. The loss was the Timberwolves' 10th straight overall and seventh in a row at home.
After falling behind by many as 16 points in the first quarter, Sacramento still trailed 115-98 with just 2:49 to go after Wiggins' seventh three-pointer of the game. But the Kings scored 21 of the final 25 points in regulation, forging a 119-all tie that led to overtime.
The Kings got three 3-pointers and three free throws from Hield in an 18-4 burst that made it a three-point game with 30.9 seconds to play. After Wiggins misfired from 18 feet with 6.8 seconds left, the Kings rebounded and had a chance to tie.
The Timberwolves intentionally fouled Fox with 4.7 seconds left. After he made the first free throw to pull to 119-117, he intentionally missed the second, rebounded his own miss and nailed a shot that tied the score.
Karl-Anthony Towns then misfired on a buzzer-beating 17-footer, sending the game to overtime.
Fox finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, and Bjelica with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Kings, who shot 50 per cent from the field and 18-for-40 on threes.
Orlando Magic 92-113 Miami Heat
Center Bam Adebayo recorded the third triple-double of his career - 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists - as the host Miami Heat defeated the Orlando Magic 113-92.
The Heat also got 21 points from Duncan Robinson - he made 6-of-9 three-point attempts - and 19 points and seven assists from Jimmy Butler, who had left Miami's previous game with a sprained ankle.
With the win, the Heat tied the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers for best home record in the NBA (21-2). The Heat also improved to 10-1 this season when they have at least two days off before a game.
Orlando, were led by Nikola Vucevic's double-double - 13 points and 12 rebounds. Aaron Gordon added 13 points, but just two after half-time.
Miami made their first five shots and raced to a 12-5 lead and closed the first period with a 31-21 advantage. The Heat led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter, but the Magic cut their half-time deficit to 54-48.
Miami stretched their lead to 24 points midway through the third before settling for an 85-71 advantage by the time the quarter ended. The Magic were unable to make a serious run in the fourth.
San Antonio Spurs 109-110 Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to cap a 23-point effort and reserve guard Denzel Valentine added 16 points to lift the host Chicago Bulls to a 110-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan missed the second of two free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining and missed a putback try at the buzzer as the Spurs lost their third straight game.
Chicago relied on seven double-figure scorers to earn successive wins for the first time since December 18-21. LaVine scored 14 points in the final 12 minutes to help the Bulls erase a 10-point deficit.
DeRozan scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Patty Mills added 25 points off the bench for the Spurs, who were playing without forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who was sidelined because of a sprained right thumb.
The Bulls prevailed in a wild finish. DeRozan hit a jumper over Kris Dunn with 8.6 seconds left to tie the score at 108, but LaVine drew a foul against Jakob Poeltl on Chicago's next possession. Dunn fouled DeRozan when the Spurs got the ball back, but DeRozan hit only 1-of-2 foul shots.
Poeltl notched a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Trey Lyles chipped in 10 points. Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky added 13 points apiece for the Bulls, while Luke Kornet (12), Coby White (11) and Dunn (10) rounded out a balanced attack.
Cleveland Cavaliers 115-100 Detroit Pistons
Collin Sexton scored 23 points and Kevin Love supplied 20 first-half points as the Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a seven-game losing streak by thumping the host Detroit Pistons, 115-100.
Tristan Thompson had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Alfonzo McKinnie contributed 15 points off the bench for Cleveland. Larry Nance Jr added 10 points and Kevin Porter Jr, who had not played since January 5 due to a knee injury, chipped in nine points.
Cleveland outscored Detroit 65-49 in the second and third quarters.
Reggie Jackson topped the Pistons, who have lost three straight, with 16 points. Andre Drummond had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while Svi Mykhailiuk tossed in 13 points and Langston Galloway added 11 for Detroit. The Pistons rested point guard Derrick Rose, who had scored 20 or more points in the last 12 games.
Love knocked down six three-pointers in the first half, lifting the Cavs to a 53-45 half-time lead.
Detroit closed the gap to five points early in the third but when Porter made a steal and a dunk midway through the quarter, Cleveland's lead was up to 11, 71-60. Thompson went on a personal 5-0 run later in the quarter to give his team an 80-65 lead.
Thompson added another basket before the quarter ended to increase the Cavs' advantage to 19 points. Cleveland carried a 17-point lead into the fourth, 89-72, with the aid of a McKinnie three-pointer. Detroit didn't score in the first two minutes of the fourth as the Cavs upped their lead to 20.
