Kuzma hits last-second winner for Lakers; Raptors overcome Bucks; Mavs erase 22-point deficit; Suns extend winning run to six
Tuesday 11 August 2020 07:22, UK
Kyle Kuzma produced a last-gasp game-winner to help the Los Angeles Lakers to victory over the Denver Nuggets, while the Toronto Raptors came out on top in their clash with the Milwaukee Bucks at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Kuzma's three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left lifted the Lakers to a 124-121 victory over the Nuggets on Monday night.
LeBron James had 29 points and 12 assists for the Lakers, who snapped a three-game losing streak, while Anthony Davis finished with 27 points and Kuzma contributed 25.
Reserve guard PJ Dozier had 18 points to lead the Nuggets, who had eight players reach double figures. Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points on six of six shooting including three of three on three-pointers. Jamal Murray had 14 points, Paul Millsap scored 13 and Nikola Jokic chipped in 12 for Denver.
The loss dropped the Nuggets, who rested their starters for much of the fourth quarter, one-and-a-half games back of the Los Angeles Clippers for the No 2 seed in the Western Conference with two games remaining ahead of a meeting between the teams on Wednesday.
Two free throws by Davis cut Denver's lead to 119-118 with 1:13 remaining, before James' three-point play put Los Angeles up 121-119 with 45.7 seconds left.
Monte Morris, who had 14 points, made one of two foul shots to slice the margin to one with 31.3 seconds left. Dozier landed one of two free throws to tie the score at 121 with 4.8 seconds to play after James had missed a three-pointer, only for Kuzma to step up with the game-winner.
Both teams shot well, with the Nuggets hitting 58.4 percent of their shots to 54.3 percent for the Lakers.
Jerami Grant (knee), Will Barton (knee) and Gary Harris (hip) did not play for the Nuggets. The latter two have yet to play during the NBA restart. The Lakers played without guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ankle).
Chris Boucher had a career-best 25 points to go with 11 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 114-106 for the first time in three meetings this season.
Matt Thomas added a career-best 22 points for the Raptors, Norman Powell had 21 points and eight rebounds, Pascal Siakam provided 14 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 11 and Terence Davis 10 points, the latter fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Kyle Korver scored 19 points for Milwaukee, Khris Middleton had 17, George Hill netted 14, Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton scored 12 apiece and Eric Bledsoe added 11.
Connaughton left for the dressing room after falling to the court and bumping his head with 9:51 in the fourth quarter, while Giannis Antetokounmpo (dental surgery) was on the sidelines for Milwaukee, who have already sealed the No 1 seed in the East.
Toronto, who have locked down the No 2 seed, were meanwhile missing Kyle Lowry (lower back), Serge Ibaka (right knee) and Fred VanVleet (right knee).
The Raptors took a 13-point into the fourth quarter and stretched it to 22 with 9:39 to play after an 11-0 run. Milwaukee cut the lead to 10 with six minutes to play after a 10-0 run, before Bledsoe's layup cut the lead to six with 54 seconds left.
Tim Hardaway Jr. led Dallas with 27 points and Seth Curry added 22 to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 122-114 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Boban Marjanovic contributed 20 points and nine rebounds and J.J. Barea chipped in 18 for the Mavericks, who rallied from a 22-point deficit.
Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points to lead Utah, Rayjon Tucker added a career-high 17 points while Emmanuel Mudiay added 14 and Georges Niang 13 for the Jazz, who blew a late double-digit lead for a second straight game.
Both teams were missing key players, the Mavericks resting Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and Dorian Finney-Smith, and Donovan Mitchell sitting out for the Jazz.
The Jazz made a franchise-record nine first-quarter three-pointers and shot 60 percent from outside in the 12-minute stretch, in contrast to Dallas who did not attempt a three-point in the opening 10 minutes and went zero of one from outside.
Dallas found themselves down 70-54 at halftime following a 15-2 run from Jazz as they scored on eight of their final nine possessions in the second quarter.
Despite resting all five starters after the break, Utah produced a 8-0 spurt to lead 78-56 early in the third, to which Dallas responded by erasing the deficit with an 18-1 stretch in the fourth.
Curry eventually drained two three-pointers in a 40-second span late in the contest to help Dallas seal the win.
Devin Booker scored 35 points as the Phoenix Suns continued their surprising undefeated run through the NBA bubble, cruising to a 128-101 win over the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder.
Booker, who sat out the fourth quarter, notched his 90th career 30-point game and tied Suns legend Walter Davis for most 30-point games in franchise history.
Mikal Bridges and rookie Cameron Johnson added 18 points each for the Suns, who have won all six seeding games in the bubble and remain in the thick of the race for a postseason berth.
Darius Bazley's 22 points and 10 rebounds led the Thunder, who lost a 15-point lead in the first half,
Oklahoma were without several regulars. Center Steven Adams and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were held out with leg bruises, forward Danilo Gallinari rested his left ankle, center Nerlens Noel was out with a sprained ankle, and guard Dennis Schroder remains away from the team for personal reasons.
Suns center Deandre Ayton did not start the game because he missed his coronavirus test on Sunday, and had to be cleared Monday morning. He missed the first quarter.
The Thunder grabbed a 37-23 lead after one quarter after hitting five of eight three-pointers, but a flagrant foul gave the Suns' Cameron Payne three free throws which trimmed advantage to 60-58 with 3:14 left in the first half.
Ayton's hook shot down low gave the Suns a 76-66 lead with 9:32 left in the third quarter, and after Booker drilled a triple from 40 feet away, the Suns grabbed a 13-point lead. Phoenix took a 98-81 cushion into the final quarter and were never challenged.
Jimmy Butler, returning from a three-game injury absence, had game highs with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four steals to lead the Miami Heat to a 114-92 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Butler, who had been out with a sore right foot, also had five assists in 29 minutes to help the Heat take sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, with Miami having started the night tied with Miami.
The teams were also tied at halftime, but the Heat led by as many as 18 points in an explosive third quarter and cruised from there, cooling Pacers star T.J. Warren off along the way.
Warren entered Monday as the league's top scorer in the restart, averaging an impressive 34.8 points on 60.5-percent shooting from the floor and 55.6-percent shot-making on three-point attempts. But Miami held him to 12 points on five for 14 shooting, including two for six on three-point attempts. Victor Oladipo led Indiana with 14 points.
Miami guard Goran Dragic, who had missed the past two games due to a sprained left ankle, returned with 11 points and a game-high nine assists in 30 minutes.
The Heat, however, were still without starting guard Kendrick Nunn, who left the NBA bubble for personal reasons last week and will now have to quarantine for three more days.
Indiana continues to play without 2020 All-Star center Domantas Sabonis, who has not played in the restart due to a foot injury.
