Bucks complete sweep over Magic with ease; Davis stars as Lakers beat Warriors; Murray, Jokic drive Nuggets past Suns; Raptors withstand late charge to see off Nets
Sunday 9 February 2020 12:05, UK
The new-look Minnesota Timberwolves hit a franchise-record 26 threes to earn a resounding 142-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and end a 13-game losing streak.
The new-look Minnesota Timberwolves were a puzzle too difficult to solve Saturday, getting 24 points from Jordan McLaughlin and 23 from Malik Beasley to earn a resounding 142-115 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers and end a 13-game losing streak.
Three players were making their debut for a Timberwolves team that was busy in advance of Thursday's NBA trade deadline. One player who did not suit up was D'Angelo Russell, who was one of the biggest acquisitions on the final trading day.
Russell was nursing a right quad contusion but did take the microphone to speak to the crowd before the game to promise better things ahead. Results came sooner than expected.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points with 13 rebounds and nine assists. Beasley made a career-best seven three-pointers in his Wolves debut. McLaughlin's point total was a career-high. James Johnson added 15 points, also in his Minnesota debut. McLaughlin had 11 assists, and Beasley had 10 rebounds.
The Timberwolves set a franchise record with 26 three-pointers and shot 59.1 per cent from long distance.
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and Paul George added 21 for the Clippers, who looked slow to react to Minnesota's long-shooting strategy and did not have enough firepower to compete with it.
Brook Lopez highlighted a 23-point performance with five three-pointers as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks completed a four-game season sweep of the Orlando Magic with a 111-95 victory on Saturday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 18 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks, who have won 13 of their last 14 games overall and seven of their last eight versus Orlando.
While impressive numbers to be certain, a slow start and a primarily non-competitive contest led to the reigning NBA MVP seeing his five-game streak of at least 30 points, 16 rebounds and six assists come to a halt.
Khris Middleton recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds and Eric Bledsoe (18) and Wesley Matthews (12) also scored in double digits for Milwaukee.
Nikola Vucevic collected 21 points and 14 rebounds for his team-leading 26th double-double for the Magic, who have lost three in a row and eight of their last nine games.
Anthony Davis capped a big night at the foul line with three late free throws, helping the visiting Los Angeles Lakers hold off the new-look Golden State Warriors 125-120.
Davis shot 9-for-13 at the line en route to a team-high 27 points to complement 10 rebounds. Avery Bradley bombed in five three-pointers to account for a majority of his 21 points, and LeBron James chipped in with 22 points, eight rebounds and a team-high 11 assists for the Lakers, who won for the ninth time in their last 11 road games.
Andrew Wiggins, one of four players making their debut with the Warriors, had 24 points, and Marquese Chriss went for a season-high 26 for the Warriors, who lost at home for the eighth time in their last nine games.
Kyle Kuzma and Dwight Howard added 12 points apiece, Rajon Rondo had 11 and Danny Green 10 for the Lakers, who shot 52.4 per cent in their first regular-season game at the new Chase Center in San Francisco.
Wiggins, acquired Thursday from Minnesota with a 2021 first-round draft pick in exchange for D'Angelo Russell, made eight of his 12 shots and compiled five steals.
Chriss' 26 points came on 12-for-15 shooting and were one shy of his career-high. He also found time for a team-high nine rebounds. Jordan Poole also finished with 19 points, and Alen Smailagic 10 for the Warriors.
Jrue Holiday scored 17 of his game-high 31 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Indiana Pacers 124-117.
Holiday, who missed most of the second quarter while getting five stitches to close a cut above his right eye, added 10 assists to get his first double-double since December 13.
JJ Redick scored 23 points, Derrick Favors had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Lonzo Ball scored 15.
The Pelicans played without All-Star forward Brandon Ingram and rookie forward Zion Williamson, who both suffered ankle sprains in a 125-119 victory at Chicago on Tuesday.
Jeremy Lamb scored 26 points, T.J. Warren, returning from a three-game absence due to a concussion, added 22 points, Malcolm Brogdon scored 17, Domantas Sabonis had 16 and Myles Turner 10 to lead the Pacers, who lost their fifth consecutive game and fourth straight at home.
Pacers guard Victor Oladipo sat out the game because he has not been cleared to play both ends of back-to-back games while he recovers from knee surgery.
Jamal Murray scored 36 points, Nikola Jokic added 23 points, and the Denver Nuggets completed a season sweep of the Phoenix Suns, 117-108, at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Denver came into Saturday's matchup off two days rest, last playing Wednesday in a win at Utah. However, Phoenix - playing the second leg of a back-to-back - surged ahead in the first quarter.
The Suns were coming off a blowout Friday night of the Houston Rockets, in which Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a career-high 39 points. He followed up with 20 points against Denver, and cooled off significantly from three-point range. Oubre shot 3-of-11 from beyond the arc after going 7-of-9 on Friday.
The back-to-back, coupled with the starters playing extended minutes, seemingly wore on Phoenix. Both Oubre and Deandre Ayton - who finished with 28 points and 19 rebounds - logged 42 minutes. Devin Booker, who scored 21 points but shot just 5-of-16 from the floor, played 37 minutes.
Paul Millsap was back in the rotation for the Nuggets. He registered a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Denver also got significant minutes from Monte Morris, who scored 11 points and dished five assists. Murray was the driving force for the Nuggets offensively, though.
He shot a blistering 14-of-17 from the floor, including 6-of-8 from three-point range. Murray added five rebounds and five assists, as well for Denver, which has now won seven of its last nine games.
Fred VanVleet scored 29 points - 10 in the fourth quarter - and the Toronto Raptors held on to defeat the visiting Brooklyn Nets 119-118 to extend their franchise-best winning streak to 14 games.
Pascal Siakam made the winning free throw with 22.9 seconds to play and finished with 20 points for the Raptors, who have won 18 of their past 19 games against the Nets, including 10 straight at home. Toronto has won the first three meetings between the teams this season.
Terence Davis II added 20 points for the Raptors. Matt Thomas had a career-best 15 and Serge Ibaka scored 12.
Caris LeVert had 37 points for Brooklyn. Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 points and 11 assists, DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 14 rebounds, Taurean Prince had 17 points and Joe Harris 11 for the Nets, who had won five of their previous seven games.
The Raptors were without guard Kyle Lowry, who suffered whiplash in the third quarter against the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
Seth Curry returned to his hometown and poured in 26 points as the Dallas Mavericks ripped the host Charlotte Hornets 116-100.
Curry came off the bench and shot 10-for-14 from the field, making six of his eight three-point attempts.
Willie Cauley-Stein added 15 points and 10 rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 14 points, and Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson both had 13 points for the Mavericks. Boban Marjanovic provided 11 points.
Charlotte suffered its fifth consecutive loss. Devonte' Graham's 26 points led the Hornets, while Miles Bridges had 20 points, Malik Monk pumped in 19 points and Terry Rozier had 15.
Graham, who also had 10 assists, shot 10-for-20 from the field, but just 3-for-10 from beyond the arc.
Curry, the younger brother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, was in his second game in as many nights after missing the two previous games with a sore knee. He posted 20 points in Friday night's one-point loss at Washington.
The Mavericks improved to 3-3 in games without scoring leader Luka Doncic, who has been out with an ankle injury.
Buddy Hield hit nine of 10 from three-point range while scoring 31 points off the bench as the Sacramento Kings notched a 122-102 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Harrison Barnes recorded 25 points and seven rebounds as Sacramento won for the sixth time in the past eight games. Kent Bazemore and Nemanja Bjelica added 15 points apiece. De'Aaron Fox scored 13 points and Harry Giles III collected a career-best 12 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored 14 points in 30 minutes before being ejected midway through the fourth quarter as the Spurs dropped to 0-4 on an eight-game road trip.
Dejounte Murray had 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for San Antonio. Bryn Forbes scored 16 points, Derrick White added 13 off the bench and LaMarcus Aldridge contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
DeRozan was ejected for vehemently contesting a foul call and Barnes made both technical shots and two free throws to give Sacramento a 107-90 with 6:14 left. The Spurs never threatened again while falling to 8-18 on the road.
Julius Randle and Wayne Ellington had 17 points apiece and the visiting New York Knicks extended their season-best winning streak to four games by slipping past the Detroit Pistons 95-92.
Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis scored 11 points apiece and Elfrid Payton had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists for New York. The Knicks outrebounded Detroit 47-28, including a 16-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 20 points and nine assists. Christian Wood had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Tony Snell and John Henson contributed 12 points apiece. Henson was making his Detroit debut after being acquired from Cleveland on Thursday.
