LA Clippers light up Minnesota Timberwolves, while Damian Lillard goes for 51
LA Clippers beat Minnesota Timberwolves; Damian Lillard continues scoring rampage against Utah Jazz; Kyrie Irving goes off court with knee injury
Sunday 2 February 2020 09:03, UK
A good win for the LA Clippers showed how dangerous the combination of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can be for the home team, as they welcomed the Minnesota Timberwolves to Staples Center.
Minnesota Timberwolves 106-118 LA Clippers
The visitors were keen to avoid an 11-game losing streak, so the sight of George and Leonard in the line-up will have been a concern, especially after the last time the teams faced off with them both active: they each scored 40 points.
But the Timberwolves kept pace with the Clippers for much of the game, thanks in large part to 32 points from Karl-Anthony Towns.
However, the benefits of two MVP-calibre talents was too much. Leonard scored 31 - his ninth straight game passing the 30-point barrier - with 6 rebounds and 4 assists, and George looked strong while driving to the rim and healthy enough to stroke 3 of 6 shots from long range to finish with 21, 7 and 2, including 2 steals. The win set the team's record to 15-4 with George and Leonard on the roster.
There was a moment of concern for the Clippers when Montrezl Harrell went down with an injury. He left the floor but returned later in the game before re-aggravating it.
Despite this, the Timberwolves couldn't do enough. Nobody outside Towns scored more than 13, and because of injury, this extends the center's personal losing streak to 15 games.
Philadelphia 76ers 95-116 Boston Celtics
The legendary Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers rivalry looked less like a competition and more like a big brother toying with his younger sibling last night.
After being left out of the All-Star Game selection, Jaylen Brown showed why the coaches made a mistake and exploded for 32 points and nine rebounds.
This offensive display made up for the lack of Kemba Walker who was out with a left knee injury, but the team has more than enough pieces to pick up the slack.
This included big contributions from Jayson Tatum, with 25 points, and 16 points from Marcus Smart. Even fan-favourite Tacko Fall played a few minutes of garbage time, managing two points from his one shot.
For Philadelphia, Joel Embiid struggled, and managed just 11 points on 1 of 11 from the field. Ben Simmons did his best to keep the 76ers in the game, but his 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists wouldn't be enough.
New York Knicks 92-85 Indiana Pacers
This old-school rivalry delivered a scoreline to match it, which suited Marcus Morris just fine as he went off for 28 points and 6 rebounds in this win for the New York Knicks.
The Indiana Pacers' Victor Oladipo continued his returning from injury with a tough shooting night - scoring just 7 points on 2 of 14 shots. Domantas Sabonis did his best to keep pace, and scored a team-high 25 points, including a monster dunk, and the foul, over Morris, but the night would eventually belong to the Knicks.
TJ Warren left the game with a head injury after an awkward fall in a busy painted area, and he did not return. Warren will have undoubtedly helped Indiana in the rebounding department, which his team lost to New York 57-34.
Outside of Morris, the Knicks had help from Julius Randle, who managed a pedestrian 16 points but grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out 3 assists as his team righted a two-game losing skid.
Miami Heat 102-89 Orlando Magic
In a cross-state battle, Florida might have a new hero in Tyler Herro as the rookie continued his smooth shooting excellence.
His 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 6 of 10 from distance, helped power the Miami Heat to a lead that was never really threatened. Alongside Jimmy Butler's 24 points, as well as 18 from Meyers Leonard, who combined with Bam Adebayo for 28 rebounds, the visitors built a steady lead throughout the first half and good defense helped them keep Orlando's magic at bay.
That puts the Magic on a five-game losing streak and they are hanging on to the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference with a four-game cushion in the loss column.
Starters Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic did everything they could for Orlando in this one, but the bench mob from Miami helped with 41 points to secure a good win.
Brooklyn Nets 107-113 Washington Wizards
After going for 54 one day earlier, the eyes of the NBA were on Kyrie Irving to see what his encore would be as the Brooklyn Nets took on the Washington Wizards.
However, he required an early curtain call after managing 11 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists and getting into a battle for a loose ball in the fourth quarter with Bradley Beal. Irving's knee got bent beneath a falling Beal and the Nets guard laid on the flood in pain for several minutes.
After the game, he told the assembled media pack that it had been quite the rollercoaster week. He said: "I'm going to get an MRI, X-rays were negative, so we'll get home and see what's going on.
"I just wanted to make sure my ACL was fine because it was a weird fall. I felt a lot of stretching and tension afterwards. It was just a bad fall."
Nets head coach didn't speculate on the details but called the injury a right-knee sprain.
Without Brooklyn's closer, Washington went on a run behind a surge in scoring from Beadley Beal, who now has six straight games with 30 points or more. After his All-Star Game snub, Beal is showing his all-round game and even secured a key rebound and a foul with 30 seconds to go to secure victory.
Atlanta Hawks 100-123 Dallas Mavericks
No Luka Doncic? No Kristaps Porzingis? No problem for the Dallas Mavericks, as they reached the 30-win mark on the season, handing a loss to the visiting, and spiralling, Atlanta Hawks.
It was Vince Carter's final showing in Dallas after the 43-year-old NBA uber-veteran spent three years with the franchise, and he said goodbye in style with a Statue-Of-Liberty dunk. Mavericks legend and former teammate Dirk Nowitzki revved Carter up from the sidelines in celebration.
Good ball movement by Dallas and the likes of Jalen Brunson going off for 27 points and 8 assists, and Dorian Finney-Smith managing 22 points and 7 rebounds, almost made you forget that Doncic and Porzingis were out of the game. And they were ably supported by the likes of Maxi Kleber, who managed 18, and Seth Curry, who hit 5 threes off the bench for 15 points.
It would be three-point makes that made the difference in this one. With Atlanta's Trae Young missing all but one of his threes, the Hawks struggled and managed just 10 makes compared to the Mavericks' 20.
Golden State Warriors 131-122 Cleveland Cavaliers
In the ultimate fight to not be the worst team in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors improved to 11-39 on the season and handed a crucial loss to the Cavaliers in Cleveland, who fell to 13-37.
The visitors achieved victory by playing good team basketball based on the principles of their previous championship years, and it was the only healthy member of that core group, Draymond Green, who led the way in that regard.
Green recorded 16 assists to go with 7 rebounds and 8 points. He helped set up the likes of Glenn Robinson III, who scored 22, D'Angelo Russell with 19, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, and Damion Lee, who managed 18 points.
Meanwhile, Eric Paschall, Alex Burks and Omari Spellman scored 16, 15 and 12, respectively.
For Cleveland, Collin Sexton scored 23, and Kevin Porter Jr put up 19, but the team was outplayed by Golden State.
Charlotte Hornets 90-114 San Antonio Spurs
In the final game before the San Antonio Spurs head out on their annual Rodeo Road Trip against a number of top teams, head coach Gregg Popovich needed his team to pick up the win if they have aspirations of keeping the longest playoff streak alive.
That was made easier by facing the 16-33 Charlotte Hornets. While Michael Jordan's team has surprised some this season, the leadership on the roster is still shaky.
Devonte' Graham has had a big sophomore season, but he was held to just 8 points. This left the team with no big back-up scorer to support Miles Bridges' 25 points.
Cody Zeller led everyone in the game with 12 rebounds, but his team was still out-boarded by the Spurs 44-37.
Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan kept the scoreboard ticking over for the Spurs, with some held from Jakob Poeltl.
LA Lakers 129-113 Sacramento Kings
After finishing their first game back since Kobe Bryant passed away last weekend with a loss, the LA Lakers' focus was back as they visited the Sacramento Kings.
LeBron James was particularly effective, recording a triple-double and setting up six other players to reach double figures in scoring.
The Kings doubled Anthony Davis early and the Lakers big man managed 6 assists on the game, but when Sacramento switched the coverage, he went off.
De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield continued their good play and scored 24 and 22, respectively, but the balanced, passing offense of LA cut up the Sacramento defense.
After the game, James told NBA TV that continuing to play basketball, despite the heavy heart, is a form of therapy. He said: "It's therapeutic for us to be out there with your brothers.
"No matter what's going on in your life, there's always something that a rest haven to get away from everything, so you can focus on winning basketball games and have fun and enjoy what you're doing. It was great to do that tonight."
Utah Jazz 107-124 Portland Trail Blazers
You could have forgiven Damian Lillard for taking a night off after scoring 48 against the LA Lakers one day earlier, but his Portland Trail Blazers welcomed the Utah Jazz - one of the league's best defences - and he bettered that scoring output.
Lillard is locked in from distance and hit 9 threes for his 51 points against the Jazz, and has scored 47 points or more in five of the past six games. He also managed 12 assists on the night for his fourth straight double-double.
Utah made good efforts to shut down everyone else, but Hassan Whiteside's 21 rebounds, including 6 on the offensive end, helped Portland create more possessions.
Donovan Mitchell played well with 25 points, and Mike Conley is showing signs of being back to his form from last season after putting up 22 to match his teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic.
But nobody can stop Lillard right now, and he is on a mission to get his Trail Blazers back to playoff contention.
Lillard told the Portland Trail Blazers broadcast after the game: "I've never been in this type of rhythm in my life. Each year, you figure you the things that give you your best chance consistently, and I think I've just found that space."
