Nikola Jokic scores career-high 47 points as Denver Nuggets outlast Atlanta Hawks
Doncic delivers triple-double in Mavs' win over Bulls; Spurs hand Bucks shock loss; Sixers snap Thunder's win streak
Tuesday 7 January 2020 07:50, UK
Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 47 points and Will Barton added a season-high 28 to help the visiting Denver Nuggets outlast the Atlanta Hawks 123-115 on Monday night.
Denver Nuggets 123-115 Atlanta Hawks
Nikola Jokic scored a career-high 47 points and Will Barton added a season-high 28 to help the visiting Denver Nuggets outlast the Atlanta Hawks 123-115 on Monday night.
Jokic was 16-for-25 from the field, with four of the made baskets coming from three-point range, and surpassed his career previous high of 41 set against the Brooklyn Nets in 2017. His best previous output this season was 31 points against Memphis on December 28. Jokic also had eight rebounds and five assists.
Barton went 12-for-20 from the field, including three three-pointers, to eclipse his season-best 22 against Phoenix on November 24. He also added nine rebounds and five assists. Jokic and Barton combined to go 7-of-14 from three-point range.
The victory broke Atlanta's two-game winning streak against the Nuggets as the teams split their season series. The Nuggets are 2-2 on their current five-game road trip.
Trending
- Man City latest - Pep: We're at risk of missing out on Champions League
- PL Predictions: Forest to turn up heat on stubborn Ange
- Transfer Centre LIVE! Bayern want Dortmund's English winger Gittens
- Liverpool latest: Slot says it's 'so hard' to win a league
- Man City vs Everton preview: Pep coy on availability of Ederson, Stones
- Chelsea vs Fulham preview: Lavia still missing for west London derby
- Newcastle vs Aston Villa preview: Can Isak continue rich vein of form?
- Kelce breaks record as Chiefs beat Steelers to clinch No 1 seed
- N Forest vs Tottenham preview: Will Nuno stick to three at the back?
- Wolves vs Man Utd preview: Pereira backs Amorim for Premier League success
Atlanta got as close as 108-106 in the fourth quarter when Trae Young hit a three-pointer with 4:25 left, but never again got any closer than three points.
Young paced Atlanta with 29 points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range, and added 12 assists for his 11th double-double. Kevin Huerter added 22 points, going 6-of-8 from three-point range, and added eight rebounds. John Collins scored 17 points.
Chicago Bulls 110-118 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic registered a triple-double for the second straight game, contributing 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to boost the host Dallas Mavericks to a 118-110 victory against the Chicago Bulls.
Doncic scored a career-high 21 points in the third quarter, capping the flurry with a deep three-pointer. The home crowd serenaded him with chants of "M-V-P!" as he shot free throws in the final minute of the game.
Dwight Powell (16 points), Tim Hardway Jr (15) and Dorian Finney-Smith (11) followed in double figures for the Mavericks.
Lauri Markkanen scored 26 points to lead six Bulls in double figures. Tomas Satoransky (11 points, 14 assists) notched a double-double for Chicago, who have lost four straight to fall a season-low 11 games below .500.
Dallas led 61-55 at half-time and 88-82 after three quarters before gaining separation to start the fourth. After a Thaddeus Young lay-up brought the Bulls to within 88-84 with 10:54 to go, the Mavericks responded by scoring of 15 of the game's next 23 points.
Bulls center Wendell Carter Jr left the game with a right ankle sprain midway through third quarter. Carter was driving to the basket when he landed on Powell's foot and rolled his ankle. The second-year player writhed in pain for a few moments before a small group including trainer Jeff Tanaka helped him off the floor. X-rays were negative, the Bulls reported.
Milwaukee Bucks 104-126 San Antonio Spurs
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Patty Mills added 21 off the bench as the San Antonio Spurs waltzed past the visiting Milwaukee Bucks, snapping a two-game losing streak.
The game was the second in a home-and-away, back-to-back, two-game set between the two teams. Milwaukee won the first game, on Saturday, 127-118.
The Spurs (15-20) led by 10 points after three quarters and ran their advantage to 16 points early in the final period. Milwaukee closed to within 100-89 with 8:12 to play but never made a serious run down the stretch.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay scored 17 points each for the Spurs, with Dejounte Murray scoring 13 points and Trey Lyles pulling down 12 rebounds. San Antonio connected on a season-high 19 three-pointers (on 35 attempts) in the win.
The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for Milwaukee (32-6). It was the first time this season the Bucks have dropped a game to a team with a record below .500 and their biggest losing margin of the year.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 24 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists but missed all five of his three-point attempts. Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points, George Hill and Khris Middleton had 15 apiece, and Wesley Matthews had 12 points for the Bucks.
Oklahoma City Thunder 113-120 Philadelphia 76ers
Josh Richardson scored 23 points and Ben Simmons added 17 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists as the host Philadelphia 76ers held off the Oklahoma City Thunder 120-113.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points and Joel Embiid had 18 points, nine rebounds and a season-high eight assists for the Sixers, who improved to 17-2 at home and also snapped a four-game losing streak. Al Horford scored 13 points.
Steven Adams led the Thunder with a season-best 24 points to go along with 15 rebounds while Dennis Schroeder added 21 points. Chris Paul and Danilo Gallinari had 18 points each for the Thunder, who had their five-game winning streak broken.
There were some anxious moments for the Sixers as Embiid went to the locker room twice in the first quarter. The result was a dislocated finger on his left hand, which was taped by athletic trainer Kevin Johnson. Embiid was able to return to the game.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the basket and closed the Thunder within 101-99 with 6:18 left in the fourth. Mike Scott responded with a three-pointer on the next Philadelphia possession to expand the lead back to five.
After Embiid made a jumper, Gallinari came back with a trey to cut the Sixers' lead to 106-104 with 3:58 remaining. Harris later threw down a dunk for a 110-106 lead with 2:06 left. The Sixers then scored the next five points to seal the win.
Utah Jazz 128-126 New Orleans Pelicans
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 35 points as the visiting Utah Jazz won their sixth straight game, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 128-126.
The Jazz, who won for the 11th time in their last 12 games, held the Pelicans scoreless for the final 1:27. Rudy Gobert, who finished with 19 rebounds, disrupted Brandon Ingram's attempted tying lay-up with one second left.
Joe Ingles added 22 points and Donovan Mitchell scored 19, including a tie-breaking jumper for the game's final points with 1:12 to play. Jordan Clarkson scored 16 for the Jazz.
Ingram had 35 to lead the Pelicans, who played without second-leading scorer Jrue Holiday, who has a left elbow contusion. JJ Redick added 23, Lonzo Ball had 21 and E'Twaun Moore came off the bench to score 13.
Ingram scored 12 points as New Orleans finished on a 24-13 run to take a 97-95 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Georges Niang and Ingles both made a three-pointer apiece as the Jazz took a 105-103 lead early in the fourth quarter. Utah kept the Pelicans at bay until Ball's triple tied the score at 121 with 3:15 left.
Ingles broke the tie by making a pair of free throws, and the Jazz pushed the lead to five before Ingram's three-pointer capped a 5-0 run. Mitchell's jumper put the Jazz back on top with 1:12 left, and neither team scored again.
Boston Celtics 94-99 Washington Wizards
Ish Smith scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Washington Wizards defeated the visiting Boston Celtics 99-94.
Jordan McRae added 19 points for Washington and Isaiah Thomas scored 17 against his former team. The undermanned Wizards won their second straight game and have posted home wins against the Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets and Celtics in an eight-day span.
Jaylen Brown had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, who never led as they searched for its ninth win in 10 games. Jayson Tatum had 17 points and Gordon Hayward finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Boston's Kemba Walker (flu) and Washington's Bradley Beal (lower right leg soreness) each missed their third straight game.
The Celtics trailed 74-72 to start the fourth quarter and Brown hit a three-pointer to tie the score at 80 with 8:01 remaining but Smith scored eight straight points.
Boston closed within 93-87 on Grant Williams' lay-up. Tatum's dunk made it 93-89 with exactly two minutes remaining. Troy Brown Jr rebounded a Smith miss and Anzejs Pasecniks hit two free throws with 43.6 seconds left. Marcus Smart made one of two free throws for Boston and Troy Brown hit both of his, giving the Wizards a 97-90 lead with 30.9 seconds remaining.
Hayward scored with 16 seconds left to bring the deficit to 97-92 but McRae made one of two free throws and the Wizards held on.
Indiana Pacers 115-104 Charlotte Hornets
TJ Warren helped ignite a big third quarter and finished with 36 points as the Indiana Pacers defeated the host Charlotte Hornets 115-104, winning for only the second time in their last six games.
Warren, a forward playing in his home state, posted 13 points in Indiana's 37-point third quarter, the team's most points in a quarter this season. That was considered a major offensive surge after the teams scored 15 points apiece in the second quarter.
Overall, Warren shot 15-for-24 from the field and 6-for-6 on free throws. Domantas Sabonis racked up 18 points and 12 rebounds, Myles Turner had 15 points and Jeremy Lamb added 11 points.
Charlotte guard Terry Rozier poured in 28 points (aided by 9-for-9 on free throws) and Devonte' Graham's late offense allowed him to end up with 22 points. Miles Bridges had 18 points and Cody Zeller chipped in with 14 points. The Hornets had a two-game winning streak snapped, but now they've lost seven of their last nine games.
Brooklyn Nets 89-101 Orlando Magic
Markelle Fultz scored 12 of his career-high 25 points in the fourth quarter as the Orlando Magic made all the plays down the stretch to record a 101-89 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
Fultz posted his second career game with at least 20 points, surpassing his previous career-high of 20 points on December 3 at Washington. He shot 11-of-20 from the floor and made a handful of dynamic plays down the stretch.
The Magic missed 11 straight shots bridging the final 4:17 of the third and the first five minutes of the fourth before Fultz's lay-up snapped a 78-78 deadlock with 6:58 remaining. He hit another lay-up and drained a corner three to make it 85-78 with 6:09 remaining.
Fultz then finished off the win by converting a three-point play with 2:31 left for a 94-82 lead.
Reserve DJ Augustin added 16 points for Orlando, Wes Iwundu contributed 12, while Nikola Vucevic went scoreless until midway through the third quarter but finished with 11 points and 24 rebounds.
Spencer Dinwiddie and Joe Harris scored 16 points apiece to lead the Nets, who continued to struggle in fourth quarters. After getting outscored 38-22 in the final 12 minutes of Saturday's loss to Toronto, the Nets shot 7-of-23 in the fourth.
Golden State Warriors 98-111 Sacramento Kings
DeAaron Fox had 21 points and seven assists and Buddy Hield also scored 21 as the Sacramento Kings thumped the Golden State Warriors 111-98.
Trevor Ariza added a season-high 18 points and six rebounds for the Kings, and Harrison Barnes scored 18 as well. Sacramento led by 31 on the way to winning for only the second time in 11 games, allowing coach Luke Walton to rest most of his starters in the fourth quarter.
It was the Kings' second lopsided win over the Warriors this season, having beaten Golden State 100-79 on the road on December 15.
Glenn Robinson III had 16 points and five rebounds for Golden State. Omari Spellman added 13 points and six rebounds. The Warriors, who played without Draymond Green and D'Angelo Russell, have lost five straight after a season-high four-game winning streak.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was ejected late in the second quarter after getting hit with consecutive technical fouls by referee Jason Goldenberg. Kerr appeared initially upset about a continuation call that went the Kings' way, then erupted after Golden State did not receive a similar call. Kerr angrily walked onto the court after the second technical and yelled at Goldenberg before leaving.
Ariza shot 7-of-9 after coming off the bench. He made five of his first six shots, including a pair of three-pointers and two dunks to get the Kings off to a quick start. Barnes added a three that put Sacramento ahead 44-28. Hield and Corey Joseph hit back-to-back threes and Harry Giles followed with a floater to make it 83-52 in the third.
