Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors end skid with victory over Utah Jazz
Zion helps Pelicans rout Clippers; Sixers crush Spurs without Embiid; Butler dominates as Heat edge Magic; coverage of the NBA continues late on Monday night as the Brooklyn Nets host the New York Knicks, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Arena from midnight
Monday 15 March 2021 07:50, UK
Andrew Wiggins snapped out of a recent slump with a season-high 28 points and Stephen Curry chipped in with a game-high 32 on Sunday afternoon as the Golden State Warriors ended a four-game losing streak with a 131-119 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz in San Francisco.
Utah Jazz 119 - 131 Golden State Warriors
Wiggins, who had failed to score at least 20 points in a career-worst-tying nine straight games, connected on 12-of-16 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range in surpassing his previous season-high of 27, recorded December 29 at Detroit.
Curry, who had shot just 8 of 29 on three-pointers during the Warriors' four-game skid, made 6-of-9 against the Jazz, who had entered the game with the NBA's third-best defense against three-pointers.
Donovan Mitchell (24), Rudy Gobert (24), Mike Conley (23) and Jordan Clarkson (21) all topped 20 points for the Jazz, who have lost four of their last six.
Playing on his 33rd birthday, Curry also found time for nine assists and five rebounds for the Warriors, who won their fourth straight at home going back to February 15.
Draymond Green contributed an 11-point, 12-rebound, 12-assist triple-double in the victory, while Poole finished with 18 points off the bench and James Wiseman had 16.
Gobert snatched a season-best 28 rebounds to complete his third 20/20 game of the season for Utah, who had won their previous five games against the Warriors, including 127-108 at home in January.
Los Angeles Clippers 115 - 135 New Orleans Pelicans
Zion Williamson scored 27 points and Brandon Ingram added 23 as the hot-shooting New Orleans Pelicans routed the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 135-115.
Lonzo Ball scored 20, Jaxson Hayes had 17 off the bench for his second consecutive season-high, and Josh Hart and Kira Lewis Jr scored 13 each as the Pelicans finished a six-game homestand with their second consecutive dominant performance. They beat Cleveland 116-82 on Friday.
New Orleans shot 65.4 per cent from the floor, had 38 assists on 53 field goals and scored the most points by a Clippers opponent this season.
Kawhi Leonard scored 23, Reggie Jackson, starting in place of injured Patrick Beverley, had 18, Paul George and Luke Kennard added 15 each and Amir Coffey had 13 for the Clippers, who started a three-game road trip by losing for the fourth time in five games.
San Antonio Spurs 99 - 134 Philadelphia 76ers
Tobias Harris had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the host Philadelphia 76ers routed the San Antonio Spurs 134-99.
Seth Curry added 21 points, while Furkan Korkmaz and Danny Green each had 16 points for the Sixers, who won their fifth consecutive game. Ben Simmons returned from a two-game absence due to COVID-19 contact tracing and produced 14 points with nine assists.
It was the Sixers' largest margin of victory ever against the Spurs.
The Sixers cruised to the win despite playing without Joel Embiid, who has a bone bruise on his left knee. Embiid is expected to be out for a minimum of two weeks.
This was the first Sixers home game all season with fans, with about 3,100 in attendance.
Derrick White and Drew Eubanks led the Spurs with 17 points apiece, Lonnie Walker IV added 15 and Dejounte Murray had 14.
The shorthanded Spurs, who opened a five-game road trip, were without LaMarcus Aldridge, who's seeking a trade and will no longer play for the organization. DeMar DeRozan also missed the game following the death of his father.
Miami Heat 102 - 97 Orlando Magic
Jimmy Butler had 29 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and five steals, leading the Miami Heat to a 102-97 win over the host Orlando Magic.
The game came down to this: Orlando trailed 100-97 with 22 seconds left. After a timeout, Orlando missed twice before Butler came up with a steal and a layup to put the game away as Miami continued their run as one of the hottest teams in the NBA, going 10-1 since February 18.
Orlando, who have lost eight straight games, were led by Nikola Vucevic, who had 38 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He made 15-of-27 shots from the floor, including 6-of-13 on three-pointers.
The Magic's Terrence Ross, who had missed the two previous games due to a bruised knee, had a season-high 31 points. He made 10-of-19 shots from the floor, including 8-of-13 on three-pointers.
It was the first time in three years that the Magic has had two 30-point scorers in the same game. Still, Orlando's losing streak is the franchise's longest since the 2017-2018 season. It's also the longest active skid in the Eastern Conference.
Miami also got 22 points from Tyler Herro and 18 from Kelly Olynyk as the Heat won their fourth straight game without 2020 All-Star center Bam Adebayo (knee injury).
Boston Celtics 134 - 107 Houston Rockets
Jaylen Brown scored 24 points, Jayson Tatum added 23 and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 134-107 victory over the host Houston Rockets.
The Celtics, who have won five of six games, overcame an early eight-point deficit courtesy of Tatum and Brown passing the baton offensively.
Victor Oladipo had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Rockets while Kenyon Martin Jr added 21 points and four rebounds off the Houston bench. Kevin Porter Jr cooled considerably after a hot start and finished with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting plus seven assists.
With a loss on Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks, the Rockets would match the franchise record of 17 consecutive losses set during their inaugural season in San Diego in 1967-68.
The Celtics' dominance extended beyond Brown and Tatum. Kemba Walker scored 11 points over the first two minutes of the third quarter to help Boston extend its lead to 79-57. Tristan Thompson grabbed 13 rebounds. Robert Williams totalled 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks off the bench as the Celtics' reserves scored 63 points.
Portland Trail Blazers 112 - 114 Minnesota Timberwolves
Rookie Anthony Edwards scored a career-high 34 points to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 114-112 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Minneapolis.
Edwards made six three-pointers en route to eclipsing his previous season-high of 28 points, set in Minnesota's 112-104 setback to the Los Angeles Lakers on February 16.
Ricky Rubio celebrated his 600th career game by recording 15 points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who snapped a seven-game home losing skid. Jaylen Nowell scored 14 points off the bench and Karl-Anthony Towns collected 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the win.
Damian Lillard finished with 38 points for the Trail Blazers, who fell for the second time in six games and were thwarted in their bid for their first season sweep of the Timberwolves since the 2012-13 campaign.
Gary Trent Jr scored 21 points and Carmelo Anthony added 16 in the loss.
Toronto Raptors 95 - 118 Chicago Bulls
Patrick Williams scored a career-best 23 points - 11 in the third quarter - and the host Chicago Bulls used a balanced attack to defeat the depleted Toronto Raptors 118-95.
Chicago had nine players score in double figures.
The Bulls, who had lost their two previous games, extended the Raptors' losing streak to a season-long five games. The Raptors had won their previous 12 games against the Bulls.
Zach LaVine added 15 points for the Bulls. Coby White and Lauri Markkanen each had 13 points, Wendell Carter Jr had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Denzel Valentine and Otto Porter Jr each scored 11 and Thadddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky had 10 each.
Norman Powell had 32 points for the Raptors, who had lost to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. Kyle Lowry added 20 points before picking up his second technical foul late in the game and Chris Boucher scored 17 points.
The Raptors were without OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Patrick McCaw and Malachi Flynn because of health and safety protocols.
Memphis Grizzlies 122 - 128 Oklahoma City Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points to help the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder to a 128-122 win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
The Thunder scored 38 fourth-quarter points to wipe out a deficit and win for the third time in four games.
The Grizzlies led by 12 early in the fourth quarter before the Thunder made 9-of-10 shots during a 27-8 run to jump ahead by seven.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who has scored at least 30 points in three consecutive games, was 8-for-17 from the floor with four three-pointers in six attempts. Aleksej Pokusevski added a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The Thunder had just nine players available, with Luguentz Dort (left toe sprain), Theo Maledon (right ankle sprain), Darius Bazley (left shoulder contusion) and Al Horford (rest) all out.
The four Oklahoma City players who started alongside Gilgeous-Alexander had started a combined five games all season before Sunday, with center Moses Brown (13 points) and guard Ty Jerome (12 points) making their first career starts.
Ja Morant led Memphis with 22 points, but he was just 2-of-7 from the floor in the fourth after hitting 5-of-8 attempts through three quarters. The Grizzlies have dropped two consecutive games and three of their last four.
Cleveland Cavaliers 82 - 100 Atlanta Hawks
Rookie Nathan Knight scored a career-high 16 points to lead the short-handed Atlanta Hawks to a 100-82 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday to extend their winning streak to five games, pulling to within one game of .500.
Knight, a backup forward-center playing on a two-way contract, helped fill the void left in the middle by injuries. The Hawks were without starter Clint Capela (left heel pain) and rookie back-up Onyeka Okongwu (right adductor soreness).
Knight was 3-for-4 from the floor, 9-for-10 from the line and picked up a career-high nine rebounds while matching his career-best with two blocked shots before leaving to a standing ovation. He was part of a reserve group that scored 32 points.
The winning streak is the longest for the Hawks since January 2017. They have not lost since Nate McMillan (3-0) was named head coach on March 1.
Danilo Gallinari led the Hawks with 20 points and John Collins had 22 points and 13 rebounds. Trae Young played despite left quad soreness and scored 14. Cleveland was led by Collin Sexton with 15 points (on 5-for-17 shooting) and Darius Garland with 11 points and seven assists.
