It was a night for the young guns in the NBA as Mikal Bridges shines for the Phoenix Suns, De'Aaron Fox crowns Kings win over Clippers and LaMelo Ball revitalises the Charlotte Hornets
Monday 8 February 2021 07:39, UK
Donovan Mitchell flirted with his first triple-double, scoring 27 points with 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 103-95 win over the Pacers in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. The Jazz have now won four straight and 15 of their last 16 games.
Rudy Gobert contributed 16 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots as the Jazz capped an undefeated, three-games-in-four-days Eastern Conference road swing, which began with back-to-back wins in Atlanta and Charlotte.
Former Pacers standout Bojan Bogdanovic didn't have a great shooting game, making 5 of 14 shots from the field, but still ended up scoring 18 points and grabbing five rebounds against his old team.
Jordan Clarkson added 17 points off the bench, and Joe Ingles chipped in seven points and nine rebounds as he helped to fill in for Mike Conley. The Jazz's starting point guard tweaked a hamstring on Friday in Charlotte.
Domantas Sabonis totalled 20 points and nine rebounds to lead Indiana before fouling out. Doug McDermott added 18 points and Malcolm Brogdon netted 15.
This was the second close home loss in as many games for the Pacers, who have now dropped five of six overall.
De'Aaron Fox scored 10 of his 36 points in the final 5:16 to help the visiting Sacramento Kings hold off the Los Angeles Clippers 113-110.
Buddy Hield added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who have won seven of their past eight games.
Tyrese Haliburton scored 13 points off the bench, Richaun Holmes had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Harrison Barnes (12) and Marvin Bagley III (10) also reached double figures in rebounds for Sacramento.
Lou Williams scored 23 points off the bench for the Clippers, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Marcus Morris Sr. contributed 16 points off the bench and Reggie Jackson finished with 14 points for Los Angeles, which played without two starters.
Paul George missed his second straight game with a bone marrow edema in his right big toe, and Patrick Beverley missed his eighth straight game with a sore knee.
Leonard twice made baskets in the final 1:15 to pull the Clippers within one point, but Holmes scored on a dunk to push the lead back to 111-108 with 31 seconds remaining and Williams and Nicolas Batum missed game-tying 3-pointers on the other end.
Mikal Bridges led a balanced attack with 19 points Sunday afternoon that lifted the host Phoenix Suns past the short-handed Boston Celtics 100-91.
Devin Booker (18 points), Cameron Johnson (17), Deandre Ayton (16) and Chris Paul (15) all made major contributions to a Suns offense that outshot the Celtics 48.8 percent to 35.5 percent.
Jayson Tatum had a game-high 23 points for Boston, which was without injured starters Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart.
Up just 52-49 at the break, the Suns never trailed in the second half, building as much as a 17-point lead at 76-59 on a floater by E'Twaun Moore with 2:09 remaining in the third period.
Boston got within five on two occasions in the fourth quarter, the second time when Kemba Walker drained a 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining to keep the Celtics alive at 91-86.
But Johnson countered 29 seconds later with a three of his own, giving the Suns breathing room down the stretch.
Phoenix needed the cushion, as a 30-foot bomb by Payton Pritchard closed the gap to 94-91 with still 1:04 to play.
Booker then connected on a jumper for the Suns, who pulled away at the end thanks to a pair of free throws apiece by Johnson and Paul.
Booker dished out a game-high 11 assists and Ayton collected a team-high 11 rebounds to complete double-doubles for the Suns, who have won five of their last six.
Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward combined for 51 points to lead the Charlotte Hornets' 119-97 rout of the visiting Washington Wizards.
Rozier finished with 26 points, four assists and three rebounds and Hayward totalled 25 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals as Charlotte bounced back emphatically after consecutive losses to the Sixers and Jazz at home earlier in the week.
Bradley Beal returned to form scoring a game-high 31 points and collecting six rebounds a game after his dismal seven-point outing on Friday against the Miami Heat when he shot 1-for-14 from the field. Beal, who didn't make his first shot against Miami until the third quarter, hit his first shot in the opening minute and went 11-for-22 from the field and 3-for-9 from 3-point range.
The Hornets countered with six players scoring in double figures even without Devonte Graham, who sat out with a groin injury. Charlotte used a 23-5 run to take a 21-point lead with 3:01 left in the second quarter and eventually led by as many as 29 points in the second half. The Hornets scored 102 points over the first three quarters.
LaMelo Ball keyed the early offensive surge as he finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Cody Zeller totalled 16 points and seven rebounds and Miles Bridges finished with 14 rebounds and 11 points as each helped the Hornets outrebound the Wizards 59-48 and outscore them 48-38 in the paint and 19-7 in second-chance points.
Malik Monk had 11 points and seven rebounds. P.J. Washington returned to the lineup after missing two games with a foot strain, and had five rebounds, four assists and three points in 28-plus minutes.
Jimmy Butler scored eight points in the fourth quarter and hit the tie-breaking jumper with 4:18 left as the visiting Miami Heat held off the New York Knicks in a 109-103 win.
Butler (17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists) just missed a triple-double while Bam Adebayo (24 points and 11 rebounds) also had a double-double for the Heat, which has won two straight for just the second time this season.
Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro each scored 16 points while Kelly Olynyk (15 points) and Duncan Robinson (12 points) each got into double digits.
Julius Randle had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, whose two-game winning streak was snapped. Reggie Bullock hit seven 3-pointers on his way to 21 points while Alec Burks had 13 points off the bench.
