Kawhi Leonard completed a tiebreaking three-point play with two seconds remaining to lift the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to a 105-102 comeback victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Leonard scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead the rally from a 15-point deficit. His spinning fadeaway came despite a foul from Jae’Sean Tate and gave the Clippers their final lead in a back-and-forth closing period. Tari Eason missed a corner 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Rockets.
Leonard, who added a team-high 12 rebounds plus a game-high four steals, paced six Clippers in double figures. Kris Dunn and Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points apiece for Houston, which committed 21 turnovers while seeing a two-game winning streak end.
Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 21 points while Reed Sheppard added 17 points and five 3-pointers off the bench. Jabari Smith Jr. chipped in with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Alperen Sengun posted 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Jazz 121, Kings 93
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 23 points while Lauri Markkanen added 19 points and seven rebounds to lead Utah past Sacramento in Salt Lake City, handing the Kings their 14th consecutive loss.
The Kings equaled the franchise-worst skid, first done by the Cincinnati Royals in 1959-60 and matched by the Royals in 1971-72.
Isaiah Collier tallied 12 points and 14 assists to help the Jazz win their second straight game, and Brice Sensabuagh chipped in 19 points off the bench. DeMar DeRozan led Sacramento with 20 points and Devin Carter added 19.
Nuggets 122, Grizzlies 116
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to counter his nine turnovers, Jamal Murray finished with 23 points, and host Denver held off Memphis.
It was Jokic’s 20th triple-double this season and 184th of his career. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21, Christian Braun had 14, Julian Strawther contributed 11 and Bruce Brown had 10 for Denver, which enters the All-Star break third in the Western Conference.
GG Jackson scored a season high with 21 points, Ty Jerome added 19 points, Jaylen Wells scored 17, Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 14 points and Taylor Hendricks 10 for Memphis, which has lost four in a row.
Spurs 126, Warriors 113
De’Aaron Fox led a balanced attack with 27 points, five reserves combined for 57 points on the second night of a back-to-back, and San Antonio rallied from 16 down to overtake Golden State in San Francisco.
Victor Wembanyama backed Fox with 26 points for the Spurs, who swept the Los Angeles Lakers and the Warriors on consecutive nights to take a six-game winning streak into the All-Star break. Wembanyama also found time for a team-high nine rebounds and four assists.
Draymond Green, De’Anthony Melton and Moses Moody had 17 points apiece for the Warriors, who lost despite outscoring the Spurs 48-30 from beyond the arc. Fifteen of Melton’s points came on five long-range hoops.
Bucks 116, Magic 108
Cam Thomas scored 34 points off the bench as visiting Milwaukee snapped Orlando’s three-game winning streak.
Kevin Porter Jr. paired 18 points with 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who earned their fourth win in five games. Ousmane Dieng contributed 17 points and Jericho Sims posted a career-high 17 points to go with 11 rebounds.
The Magic’s Desmond Bane scored 31 points while equaling his career best with eight 3-pointers. Paolo Banchero added 17 points, and Jalen Suggs combined 16 points with 10 assists.
Thunder 136, Suns 109
Jalen Williams scored 19 of his 28 points in the third quarter and Oklahoma City routed short-handed host Phoenix for the second time this season.
Reserve Isaiah Joe had 21 points, tying a season high with six 3-pointers, and Kenrich Williams added 15 points off the bench for the Thunder, who built a 29-point lead in the second quarter and led 103-66 late in the third.
Dillon Brooks scored 23 points and Royce O’Neale scored 12 on four 3-pointers for the Suns, who have lost four of six. Williams, playing his second game after missing the previous 10 with a hamstring injury, was 11 of 12 from the field and had five assists and four rebounds.
Celtics 124, Bulls 105
Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score a game-high 26 points and Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead Boston to a victory over visiting Chicago.
Vucevic was traded to Boston last week in a deal that sent Anfernee Simons from the Celtics to the Bulls. Simons had seven points and five rebounds in the loss. Pritchard added eight assists and five rebounds for Boston, which shot 51.6% from the field. The Celtics, who shot 40% (18 of 45) from 3-point territory, received 24 points from Jaylen Brown.
Rob Dillingham scored a team-high 16 points for the Bulls. Chicago’s Matas Buzelis had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Collin Sexton tossed in 15 and Guerschon Yabusele finished with 13 for Chicago, which was outrebounded 48-34.
Pistons 113, Raptors 95
Cade Cunningham scored 18 of his 28 points in the second quarter and visiting Detroit defeated Toronto.
Cunningham, who hit 6 of 11 3-point attempts, added seven rebounds, nine assists and three steals for the Pistons, who have won three straight and eight of their last 10. The Pistons never trailed as Paul Reed added 22 points and four blocked shots and Tobias Harris had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Duncan Robinson posted 13 points.
Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points for the Raptors, who ended a 3-2 homestand. Scottie Barnes scored 17, RJ Barrett had 16, Brandon Ingram added 13 and Gradey Dick chipped in 10. Toronto’s Jakob Poeltl played for the first time since Dec. 21 after being out with a strained back and scored nine points with six rebounds.
Cavaliers 138, Wizards 113
Sam Merrill scored a career-high 32 points and made nine 3-pointers, and Donovan Mitchell had 30 points as Cleveland led from wire to wire in a victory over visiting Washington.
James Harden posted 13 points and 11 assists in his home debut for Cleveland, which won its fifth straight and is 10-1 since Jan. 21 to move into fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Jarrett Allen added 21 points and made all eight of his field-goal attempts.
Kyshawn George scored 17 points and Jamir Watkins had 16 for the Wizards, who have lost three in a row and 14 of their last 18. Sharife Cooper came off the bench with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Knicks 138, 76ers 89
Jose Alvarado made eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 26 points as visiting New York rolled to a victory over Philadelphia in both teams’ final game before the All-Star break.
Mikal Bridges added 22 points for New York, which led by as many as 52 in closing the first half of the season with its 10th win in 12 games. Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks.
With Joel Embiid (knee) and Paul George (suspension) sitting out, Tyrese Maxey was the lone star on the court for Philadelphia. He scored 32 points, while VJ Edgecombe added 14 for the Sixers, who fell to 1-3 in their last four games.
Pacers 115, Nets 110
Rookie Kam Jones hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left as Indiana stormed back from an 18-point deficit and earned a victory over Brooklyn in New York.
The Pacers eked out their second straight close victory and improved to 9-9 in their past 18 following a 6-31 start. Jarace Walker led Indiana with 23 points, 14 of them in the second half, and Micah Potter added a career-high 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Rookie Noah Traore led the Nets with 20 points while Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams contributed 19 apiece. Brooklyn was unable to match a season best with a third straight win.
Timberwolves 133, Trail Blazers 109
Julius Randle scored 41 points on 14-for-24 shooting, and Minnesota pulled away for a win over Portland in Minneapolis.
Jaden McDaniels added 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting for Minnesota, which enters the NBA All-Star break with back-to-back victories. Rudy Gobert finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Anthony Edwards scored 14 points.
Jrue Holiday scored 23 points and made five 3-pointers to lead Portland, ending their three-game winning streak. Scoot Henderson added 18 points, and Vit Krejci contributed 17 points.
Heat 123, Pelicans 111
Bam Adebayo scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as visiting Miami continued its dominance over New Orleans.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 23 points off the bench and Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which has won four straight against New Orleans and 11 of the past 12 meetings. Simone Fontecchio scored 15 points and Kasparas Jakucionis had 11.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 25 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Trey Murphy III added 19 points and six assists before exiting late in the third quarter with right shoulder soreness. Jeremiah Fears had 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Hornets 110, Hawks 107
Brandon Miller scored 31 points and short-handed Charlotte defeated visiting Atlanta in the final game for both teams prior to the All-Star break.
LaMelo Ball provided 24 points and six assists as the Hornets won for the 10th time in 11 games. Kon Knueppel contributed 18 points and PJ Hall, who hadn’t played in an NBA game in more than a month, turned in 11 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes as Charlotte won despite sputtering on offense over the final 5 1/2 minutes.
Dyson Daniels led the Hawks with 21 points, Jalen Johnson posted 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, Onyeka Okongwu had 18 points and CJ McCollum supplied 17 points.
–Field Level Media
Comments