Kyrie Irving and James Harden star for surging Nets; LeBron James posts 98th career triple double to lead Lakers past Warriors while Clippers and Bucks land big wins
Tuesday 16 March 2021 07:36, UK
New York's basketball rivalry was alive and heated on Monday night as Kyrie Irving scored 34 points and James Harden posted his 10th triple-double of the season to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 117-112 victory over the Knicks.
It was clear from the noise in the seats, even with only about 1,600 fans in attendance and it was obvious from the emotion on the court, where Julius Randle had to be restrained by Knicks teammates after the buzzer following a call that went against him in the final seconds.
Harden finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in his first game against the Knicks since arriving in Brooklyn two months ago and turning the Nets into one of the NBA's best teams.
"I got a little taste of it tonight," Harden said afterwards.
"These New York fans, especially the Knicks fans, you can hear them. I don't know how many fans we have in the building total, but you heard a lot of Knicks fans."
Jeff Green scored 20 points as the Nets won for the 13th time in 14 games, even with Kevin Durant sitting out the last 12 of them with a strained left hamstring.
The Nets led by 18 late in the third quarter, but the Knicks had it down to 115-112 after a dunk by Randle and then got the ball back when coach Tom Thibodeau successfully challenged a foul called on RJ Barrett with 7.7 seconds remaining.
The Knicks won the ensuing jump ball but Randle was called for traveling and Harden closed it out with two free throws.
Randle had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, before a number of his teammates had to get off the bench to hold the All-Star forward back as he tried to get near the referees at midcourt.
He wouldn't comment on his intentions, or the traveling call with the Knicks down three and 3.2 seconds remaining.
"I was just frustrated," Randle said.
"Obviously we fought so hard to come back and try to win the game, so I was just frustrated and that was pretty much it."
The Nets agreed to the deal that brought Harden to Brooklyn on January 13, playing short-handed that night at Madison Square Garden in a 116-109 victory over the Knicks. That made them just 7-6, but they are 20-7 since Harden's arrival, including 19-4 when at least two of their three superstars play.
LeBron James recorded the 98th triple-double of his career, and Montrezl Harrell had 15 of his team-high 27 points in the second quarter Monday night, during which the visiting Los Angeles Lakers pulled away from the Golden State Warriors.
The win allowed the Lakers to win the season series 2-1 from their Pacific Division rivals, which is potentially significant in that the team that won the last six series between the two went on to reach the NBA Finals, claiming four championships.
James' triple-double, his fourth of the season, consisted of 22 points and game highs of 10 rebounds and 11 assists. He ranks fifth on the NBA's all-time list for triple-doubles, needing nine to catch Jason Kidd (107).
The Warriors, who were coming off an impressive home win over Utah one day earlier, could get no closer than 12 in the second half after an evenly contested first quarter gave way to a dominant second from the Lakers.
The game was tied 29-all in the first minute of the second period before Harrell helped the Lakers take command for good. First, he contributed two hoops and three free throws to a 13-3 burst that allowed the visitors to build their first double-digit lead at 42-32.
Later, he provided the first four points in a 17-8 finish to the quarter that turned a six-point game into a 65-50 halftime advantage.
Talen Horton-Tucker (18), Kyle Kuzma (17) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (14) also scored in double figures for the Lakers, who return home to face Minnesota on the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday.
Stephen Curry matched Harrell's 27 points to share game-high honours for the Warriors, who lost for the fifth time in their last six games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his third triple-double in as many games, as the Milwaukee Bucks held off a second-half surge to beat the host Washington Wizards, 133-122.
Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his third consecutive triple-double - fourth, including his Most Valuable Player-winning performance in the All-Star Game - and led three Bucks who scored at least 22 points.
Brook Lopez shot 8-of-12 from the floor for 22 points, and Khris Middleton added 23 points. The trio paced Milwaukee through a dominant first half which continued into the third as they built a 26-point lead.
However led by Bradley Beal, who scored 26 of his game-high 37 points in the second half, Washington whittled away at the deficit during a run that started late in the third quarter and stretched into the fourth.
The Wizards pulled within seven points with a little more than four minutes remaining, but they didn't get any closer as the Bucks put the game away over a stretch in the final three minutes when Antetokounmpo scored on back-to-back possessions, then found Lopez for his 10th and final assist.
Seven Bucks scored in double figures, with Jrue Holiday adding 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo netting 12. Bobby Portis notched 13 points off the bench, and Bryn Forbes made both of his 3-point attempts en route to 10 points.
Washington got 23 points and a game-high 17 assists from Russell Westbrook. Rui Hachimura, who produced a 29-point effort in Washington's 125-119 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday, followed up Monday with 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Kawhi Leonard racked up 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as a well-rounded Los Angeles Clippers used a balanced attack to defeat the host Dallas Mavericks 109-99.
With Patrick Beverley (knee) and Serge Ibaka (back) out, the Clippers tried a new look in their second game in two nights. Nicolas Batum came off the bench for the first time this season and scored 12 points as Los Angeles won for just the second time in the past six games.
Ivica Zubac (15 points, 11 rebounds) made his second start of the season for the Clippers while Marcus Morris Sr. (14 points) started for the third time.
Paul George had 15 points for Los Angeles while Lou Williams had 14 and Reggie Jackson added 12.
The victory avenged the worst loss in Clippers franchise history, a 51-point setback to the Mavericks on December 27 in the teams' third game of the season.
Luka Doncic produced 25 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks while Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points and seven rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr had 21 points off the Dallas bench.
The Mavericks pulled within four points on a 3-pointer from Hardaway with 3:15 remaining, but Leonard and George hit 3-pointers as the Clippers hit the final points of the game.
Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 14 rebounds, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr scored 20 points each as Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 121-106 - a game that got underway an hour later than scheduled due to a snowstorm.
JaMychal Green and Jamal Murray added 16 apiece for the Nuggets, who outscored the Pacers 34-15 in the fourth quarter.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points, Justin Holiday added 19, Caris LeVert had 17, Doug McDermott scored 12 and Domantas Sabonis had 10 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Indiana.
Denver International Airport had been closed from early Sunday until mid-afternoon on Monday, stranding the Pacers in Phoenix but they looked fresh in the third quarter when they fought back from nine down at halftime to take the lead.
The Pacers opened the period on a 17-7 run to move on top 73-72, their first lead of the game and the game see-sawed back and forth across the rest of the quarter until Denver made the crucial breakthrough to start the fourth.
Green hit a 3-pointer to start a 14-0 run to open the period, in contrast Indiana missed its first six shots and had four turnovers as Denver held onto their advantage to close out the win.
Terry Rozier had a big late-game stretch, including a go-ahead 3-point basket, to finish with 26 points as the Charlotte Hornets rallied to defeat the visiting Sacramento Kings.
Rozier pumped in nine points in the last 5:08, helping the Hornets win their fourth game in a row, hitting a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 54 seconds to play.
Gordon Hayward tacked on 25 points, LaMelo Ball had 16 points, Devonte' Graham posted 12 points and P.J. Washington and Miles Bridges both supplied 10 points for Charlotte.
From the time the game was tied 113-113, Charlotte scored the next seven points before Buddy Hield's 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds to play.
De'Aaron Fox racked up 29 points, Hield had 23 points, Richaun Holmes poured in 17 points to go with 15 rebounds and Harrison Barnes added 13 points for the Kings, who have lost the first two outings of a six-game road trip.
Dejounte Murray had 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the San Antonio Spurs bounced back from a lopsided loss the previous night by rolling past the host Detroit Pistons.
San Antonio, who were blown out 134-99 by Philadelphia on Sunday, grabbed the lead in the second quarter and held it the rest of the way.
Jakob Poeltl supplied 14 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and two assists, while Patty Mills tossed in 14 points off the bench.
Devin Vassell contributed 13 points, Lonnie Walker IV had 11 and Rudy Gay added 10 along with four assists as the Spurs' leading scorer, DeMar DeRozan, missed his third consecutive game due to a death in his family.
Josh Jackson's 15 points led Detroit, which has lost four straight. Jerami Grant had 14 points and Rodney McGruder added 13 in his first start this season. Frank Jackson and Isaiah Stewart chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Devin Booker recorded 27 points and five assists to help the Phoenix Suns roll to a 122-99 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
Chris Paul scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added seven assists and four steals as the in-form Suns won for the 18th time in the past 22 games.
Deandre Ayton registered 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for Phoenix. Jae Crowder tallied 14 points and Cameron Payne had 13.
Jonas Valanciunas had 24 points and 17 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season for the Grizzlies, who have lost three straight games and four of their past five.
Booker scored 11 points in the third quarter as Phoenix extended an eight-point half-time lead into a 19-point advantage and while there were flashes from Memphis they never looked light reducing the deficit.
Phoenix stretched the lead to 28 with just over five minutes left in the contest while cruising to the finish.
