Oladipo hits clutch trey in Pacers return; Dinwiddie strikes late as Nets beat Pistons; DeRozan shines as Spurs stun Jazz
Thursday 30 January 2020 07:37, UK
Damian Lillard posted a 36-point triple-double to the Portland Trail Blazers to an impressive 125-112 home win against the Houston Rockets.
Damian Lillard had 36 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his first career triple-double as the Portland Trail Blazers spoiled James Harden's return after a two-game absence, beating the Houston Rockets 125-112 on Wednesday night.
Lillard scored 30-plus points for his sixth straight game, a franchise record.
CJ McCollum had 22 points and Trevor Ariza, playing in just his third game as a Blazer after a trade with Sacramento, matched his season-high with 21. Portland led by as many as 20 points in the second half.
The crowd roared at the Moda Center and gave Lillard a standing ovation when he got his final rebound with just under a minute left.
Russell Westbrook led the Rockets with 39 points, extending his streak of games with 20-plus points to 21, and 10 rebounds. Harden, who was leading the league with 36.1 points a game this season, had 18.
Harden was questionable for the game but started after missing two games with a thigh contusion.
Danuel House Jr had a three-pointer that gave the Rockets an early 16-8 lead, but Portland's 8-0 run, capped by Lillard's lay-up and free throw, closed the gap.
Already beset by injuries this season, Portland got a scare in the opening quarter when center Hassan Whiteside was kneed and went to the locker room. He returned to the game.
Westbrook's pull-up jumper and driving lay-up gave Houston a 46-38 lead. Portland used a 12-2 run, capped by a dunk by Ariza, to take a 61-50 lead.
Portland closed the half with dunks by Ariza and Whiteside to take a 71-60 lead into the break. Lillard led all scorers with 25 points, while Westbrook had 19.
McCollum's wide open three-pointer midway through the third quarter gave the Trail Blazers an 83-67 advantage. Lillard's triple from just inside the pinwheel logo at midcourt made the lead 97-82.
TJ Warren scored 25 points and Victor Oladipo drilled a clutch three-pointer to force overtime in his return from injury as the host Indiana Pacers posted a 115-106 victory over the Chicago Bulls.
In his first action in more than a year after recovering from a right knee injury, Oladipo scored nine points on 2-for-8 shooting in 21 minutes. He delivered the biggest shot of regulation, tying the game at 100 with a deep triple with 10.3 seconds left.
The Bulls led by as many as seven down the stretch but were held scoreless over the final 4:11 of regulation and managed just six points in overtime.
Chicago's Zach LaVine missed a pull-up jumper in the closing seconds of regulation, although replays showed that Oladipo appeared to commit a foul as LaVine drove to the basket.
Domantas Sabonis amassed 15 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana while Malcolm Brogdon (15), Justin Holiday (13), Jeremy Lamb (10) and Goga Bitadze (10) also scored in double figures.
Chicago's Chandler Hutchison scored a career-high 21 points and LaVine added 20 as the Bulls saw their two-game winning streak snapped. The Pacers boast eight consecutive regular-season victories against the Bulls and have won 11 of 12 against their Central Division rivals.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Brooklyn Nets pulled away for a 125-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons on in New York.
Dinwiddie helped the Nets end a four-game home losing streak and win for only the fourth time in their last 17 games. After changing his number from No 8 to No 26, Dinwiddie shot 8-of-13 and scored his second-most points as a reserve this season.
The Nets took the lead for good in the final seconds of the first half and held a 99-93 lead into the fourth before Dinwiddie helped Brooklyn pull away.
After hitting a turnaround jumper for a 101-95 lead with 10:37 left, he hit two three-pointers and a lay-up to up the lead to 111-97 with 8:33 left.
Detroit drew within 118-109 on a three-pointer by Derrick Rose with 3:40 left but a trhee-pointer by Joe Harris with 2:14 left finished it off for Brooklyn.
Taurean Prince added 22 points for the Nets and Kyrie Irving added 20 points after sitting out Sunday's loss to the Knicks. Reggie Jackson scored 23 points for the Pistons. Rose added 22 points, marking his 13th straight game with at least 20 points, and Christian Wood contributed 20.
Nerlens Noel converted lob passes from Dennis Schroder into dunks on consecutive possessions during a second-quarter flurry, propelling the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-100 victory over the host Sacramento Kings.
Schroder finished with a game-high 24 points to go with nine assists and rookie Luguentz Dort surprised the Kings with a career-best 23 points, helping the Thunder win for the sixth time in their last seven games.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had a team-high 23 points for the Kings, who saw a two-game winning streak end.
Oklahoma City never trailed in the game but were up just 45-40 past the midpoint of the second period before a 14-3 run put them in command the rest of the way.
Schroder had a hand in 12 of the 14 points in the burst with five points and three assists, one on a 3-point hoop by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder went on to lead 59-47 at half-time and never saw the advantage shrink to fewer than seven in the second half.
Danilo Gallinari chipped in with 19 points, Gilgeous-Alexander 17 and Noel 12 for Oklahoma City, which shot 50 per cent from the field. Chris Paul, who had missed the Thunder's previous game to remain in Los Angeles following Kobe Bryant's death Sunday, returned and contributed nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high 10 assists in 26 minutes.
De'Aaron Fox had 19 points, Buddy Hield 13 and Harry Giles III 10 for the Kings, who were beginning a stretch of five of six at home.
DeMar DeRozan poured in 38 points and Patty Mills added 18 off the bench as the short-handed San Antonio Spurs surprised the visiting Utah Jazz 127-120.
San Antonio continue to be one of the NBA's most unpredictable teams, losing on the road to the Chicago Bulls on Monday but rebounding two days later to beat the Jazz, who have been the hottest team in the league over the past month.
The Spurs held just a four-point lead entering the final period but expanded their advantage to 110-99 on a finger-roll layup by Dejounte Murray with 7:25 to play. Utah never got closer than five points the rest of the way, going the final 2:23 with just one field goal.
Murray added 16 points for the Spurs, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Rudy Gay, Marco Belinelli and Derrick White scored 10 points apiece for San Antonio, who played for the second straight game without forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who sustained a thumb injury against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 31 points while Jordan Clarkson added 20, Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert scored 17 points each and Mike Conley tallied 12 for Utah, who have dropped two games in a row. Gobert also grabbed 19 rebounds.
Jae Crowder scored 10 points during a decisive run to open the second half on Wednesday night as the visiting Memphis Grizzlies climbed to .500 for the first time this season by beating the New York Knicks 127-106.
Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 27 points to lead seven players in double figures for the Grizzlies, who have gone 11-3 this month to improve to 24-24. With the surge, Memphis has moved into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Ja Morant (18 points, 10 assists) and Jonas Valanciunas (12 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles for the Grizzlies. Crowder contributed 18 points, Brandon Clarke scored 17 points off the bench, and fellow reserve Tyus Jones added 12 points. Starter Jaren Jackson Jr (10 points) also got into double figures.
Marcus Morris Sr scored 17 points while Julius Randle (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Elfrid Payton (15 points, 11 assists) each had double-doubles for the Knicks, who have the third-worst record in the NBA and lost for the 12th time in 15 games. Reserves Damyean Dotson and Mitchell Robinson scored 15 and 10 points, respectively.
A brawl nearly broke out with 48.1 seconds left when Crowder stole an inbounds pass by Randle intended for Payton, the latter of whom shoved Crowder as he went up for a three-pointer. Payton was charged with a flagrant 2 and was ejected along with Crowder and Morris. Dotson and Valanciunas were also issued technical fouls.
The Grizzlies opened the third quarter with a 26-11 run. Crowder capped the sequence with a basket that gave Memphis their biggest lead at 85-63. The Knicks got within 12 points several times later in the third and pulled within 96-86 on a pair of free throws by Wayne Ellington 40 seconds into the fourth. However, the Grizzlies never allowed the lead to fall back into single digits.
