De'Aaron Fox scores 44 as Sacramento Kings crush Golden State Warriors
Danny Green lifts Sixers past Lakers; Damian Lillard sinks Heat with clutch free-throws; Clippers go back-to-back against Spurs; coverage of the NBA continues on Friday night as the Boston Celtics visit the Milwaukee Bucks, live on Sky Sports Mix from 11:30pm
Friday 26 March 2021 07:17, UK
De'Aaron Fox exploded for a career-high 44 points and Tyrese Haliburton easily won his rookie duel with James Wiseman as the Sacramento Kings thumped the visiting Golden State Warriors 141-119.
Golden State Warriors 119 - 141 Sacramento Kings
A third straight Kings win, coupled with a third consecutive Warriors defeat, allowed Sacramento to move within two games of Golden State in their bid to make the Western Conference playoff field.
Fox's point total was one more than his previous career-best, recorded on January 17 against the New Orleans Pelicans. He was coming off consecutive 30-plus-point efforts, including a 37-pointer in a narrow home win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Playing against a Warriors team missing not only Stephen Curry (bruised tailbone) but also Draymond Green, who apparently had an adverse reaction to a COVID shot, the Kings seized command in the second quarter and pulled well clear in the third.
The 141-point total was 13 more than their previous season-high, set January 6 against the Chicago Bulls.
Fox shot 16-of-22 for the Kings, who successfully avenged a 137-106 shellacking at the hands of Golden State at San Francisco on January 4.
The winner of the season series will be determined when the northern California rivals meet one final time on April 25 in San Francisco.
Sacramento's Richaun Holmes chipped in with 25 points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds while Haliburton had 21 points, Kyle Guy 17 and Buddy Hield 16. The Kings will aim for a fourth straight win Saturday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The 12th pick of the 2020 draft, Haliburton outscored No 2 overall selection Wiseman 21-6.
Andrew Wiggins had 26 points and a team-high 10 rebounds for the Warriors, who were playing the first night of a back-to-back. They host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. Kelly Oubre Jr and rookie Nico Mannion finished with 19 points apiece for Golden State while Jordan Poole had 17 and Juan Toscano-Anderson scored 15.
Philadelphia 76ers 109 - 101 Los Angeles Lakers
Danny Green shot 8-for-12 from three-point range and scored 28 points to help the visiting Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-101 win against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Green was awarded the NBA championship ring that he won with the Lakers last season before the game.
Seth Curry returned after missing the past three games with a sprained left ankle and scored 19 points, and Tobias Harris finished with 17 points for Philadelphia, who have won 10 of their last 11 games to remain atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Kyle Kuzma had 25 points and nine rebounds, Dennis Schroder finished with 20 points and 11 assists, and Montrezl Harrell scored 20 off the bench for the Lakers, who have lost four in a row to match their longest losing streak of the season.
The Lakers continued to be without their top two scorers and rebounders.
LeBron James missed his third straight game with a high ankle sprain, and Anthony Davis has been sidelined since mid-February with a calf strain.
The 76ers led by 18 at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Lakers chipped away and cut the deficit to single digits with 5:06 left.
Kuzma made 1-of-2 free throws with 51.4 seconds left to make it a three-point game, but Green nailed a three-pointer on the next possession to make it 107-101 with 30.6 seconds remaining.
The 76ers played their seventh straight game without leading scorer and rebounder Joel Embiid (left knee injury).
The other center on the roster, Dwight Howard, was ejected at the start of the second quarter after receiving back-to-back technical fouls. Howard was also awarded the NBA championship ring he won with the Lakers last season.
Portland Trail Blazers 125 - 122 Miami Heat
Damian Lillard made three free throws with one second left, leading the visiting Portland Trail Blazers to a 125-122 win over the Miami Heat.
With the score tied, Miami's Trevor Ariza made slight contact on Lillard's right forearm on an air-ball three-point attempt, leading to the whistle. Miami, out of timeouts, did not get a shot off on their final possession.
The Blazers earned the win despite trailing by 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Portland's CJ McCollum scored 21 of his game-high 35 points in a sizzling first quarter, but he had just six points in the second half.
Lillard, scoreless in the first quarter, finished with 22 points and nine assists. He entered the game second in the NBA in scoring at 30.1 points per game.
Portland's Enes Kanter had 18 points and 16 rebounds, including nine on the offensive glass, and Carmelo Anthony added 20 points.
The Heat tied a season-worst run with their fifth straight loss while completing an 0-4 homestand.
Miami was led by Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, each with 29 points. Adebayo added nine rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. Herro had eight assists, and Kendrick Nunn contributed 22 points.
The Heat competed with just nine players. Jimmy Butler, the team's top player, sat out due to a stomach ailment, and the Heat are 4-11 this season without him.
Miami also were without Goran Dragic (back spasms) for the third straight game, and the team's new trade arrivals had not yet been activated. Miami dealt four players on Thursday to get Victor Oladipo and Nemanja Bjelica.
Portland were without Zach Collins (ankle), Jusuf Nurkic (calf), Gary Trent Jr and Rodney Hood, with the latter two traded to the Toronto Raptors for Norman Powell.
Los Angeles Clippers 98 - 85 San Antonio Spurs
Reggie Jackson scored a season-high 28 points and Paul George scored 24 points and took down 13 rebounds to help the shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers to a 98-85 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the second game of a back-to-back between the two teams in the Alamo City.
The win was Los Angeles' fourth straight and fifth in their past six games. The Clippers are now 12-4 in back-to-backs this season, and 8-0 in the second game, including 6-0 on the road.
The Clippers beat San Antonio 134-101 in Wednesday's game, handing the Spurs their worst home loss in franchise history. But Los Angeles played the second game without Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Morris, who missed the game with foot and thigh injuries, respectively; the pair combined for 45 points in the first game of the back-to-back.
George, Jackson and Terance Mann (10 points and 12 rebounds) were more than up to the task, taking turns helping the Clippers overcome a six-point half-time deficit despite shooting just 38.2 per cent from the floor. Los Angeles made up for their shooting woes by outrebounding the Spurs 64-43, including a 14-3 edge on the offensive glass.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 23 points, with Dejounte Murray adding 18 and Derrick White and Jakob Poeltl hitting for 11 points each. San Antonio have lost four straight games.
Washington Wizards 102 - 106 New York Knicks
Alec Burks scored 27 points and RJ Barrett added 24 as the host New York Knicks overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Washington Wizards 106-102.
The Knicks swept the two-game series by overcoming multiple 17-point deficits and dominating the final minutes of the fourth quarter. New York outscored Washington 39-24 in the fourth and 21-11 over the final 5:28.
Burks shot 8-of-18 from the floor and also hit nine free throws. Barrett finished 7-of-22 from the field but added 10 rebounds and hit eight free throws.
Rookie Immanuel Quickley scored 16 points for the Knicks, who shot 36.6 per cent overall and misfired on 21-of-28 three-point attempts.
Julius Randle was held to 13 but hit two big jumpers down the stretch after getting treatment for his right leg earlier in the fourth.
Bradley Beal scored 26 for the Wizards, who dropped to 1-8 in their past nine games. Beal shot 8-of-23 and also committed six turnovers.
Rui Hachimura added 21 and Garrison Mathews chipped in 16 for Washington, who shot 46.2 per cent.
Russell Westbrook nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, but he also committed eight turnovers and was 3-of-15 from the field.
