Raptors notch 15th straight win; Dinwiddie strikes late to lift Nets past Pacers; Nuggets rally from 23 down to beat Spurs
Tuesday 11 February 2020 07:45, UK
Anthony Davis posted a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double to help the Los Angeles Lakers cruise to a blowout win over the Phoenix Suns.
Anthony Davis had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 23, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 125-100 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns, who played without center Deandre Ayton.
LeBron James had 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, but he also committed a game-high eight turnovers. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 13 points and Avery Bradley added 12 for the Lakers, who have won four of their last five contests. Dwight Howard contributed 14 points and 15 boards.
Mikal Bridges had 18 points and six rebounds for the Suns, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Cheick Diallo had 15 points, while Ricky Rubio and Jevon Carter chipped in 13 apiece.
Suns guard Devin Booker struggled, scoring 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting and missing all four of his three-point attempts. Kelly Oubre Jr also had an off night with 10 points.
A third-quarter surge allowed the Lakers to seize control. They turned a nine-point half-time edge into a 90-75 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Phoenix got no closer than 14 from that point on.
The Lakers, who have captured all three meetings against the Suns and clinched the season series for the third consecutive time, dominated the boards by outrebounding the Suns 59-29, including 16-3 on the offensive glass.
Pascal Siakam scored 34 points - 14 in the fourth quarter - as the Toronto Raptors extended their franchise-best winning streak to 15 games with a 137-126 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kyle Lowry added 27 points and 11 assists while OG Anunoby added a career-best 25 points and matched his career best with 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who have won 16 straight home games against the Timberwolves.
D'Angelo Russell, playing his first game for Minnesota after being acquired in a trade with the Golden State Warriors, scored 22 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Jarrett Culver, Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez each scored 15 as the Timberwolves shot 45.3 per cent from the field.
The Raptors took a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter, but James Johnson's three-pointer pulled the Timberwolves within two points with 9:10 remaining.
The Raptors pulled out to a 16-point lead on Siakam's three-pointer with 3:55 to play.
Eric Bledsoe and Khris Middleton each scored 28 points as the Milwaukee Bucks got off to a hot start to open the fourth quarter and finished off a 123-111 victory over the Sacramento Kings despite not having Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Brook Lopez added 20 points as Antetokounmpo missed the game for the birth of his son earlier on Monday. The Bucks improved to 5-0 in games in which the reigning MVP available was not available.
Harrison Barnes scored 23 points and De'Aaron Fox added 17 points with 11 assists as the Kings saw their three game winning streak come to an end.
The Bucks got off to a fast start without Antetokounmpo, taking a 14-point lead on multiple occasions in the first half. Milwaukee had a 38-24 lead after one quarter before the Kings got back into the game.
Barnes scored 13 points in the second quarter as Sacramento went on a 10-0 run just before the break to take a 58-57 lead at half-time. The Kings led 90-88 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Bucks already were starting their run to take over the game.
Milwaukee scored the final two points of the third quarter, then went on a 13-0 run to open the fourth to take a 101-90 lead. It was part of an overall 20-3 run for the Bucks. Milwaukee reached 100 points for the 77th consecutive game when Bledsoe hit a three-pointer with 9:45 remaining.
Sterling Brown had 11 points for Milwaukee, while Middleton had 11 rebounds. Donte DiVincenzo and Wesley Matthews had 10 points each for the Bucks. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica had 16 points each for the Kings.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 21 points and hit the go-ahead jumper with 5.2 seconds remaining as the visiting Brooklyn Nets rallied in the final minutes and pulled out a 106-105 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
The Nets rallied from a four-point deficit in the final 84 seconds and claimed their sixth win in the last nine games thanks to Dinwiddie.
Indiana held a 105-104 lead when Domantas Sabonis glided around DeAndre Jordan for a lay-up with 10.1 seconds remaining. The Nets called timeout to advance the ball and Caris LeVert inbounded the ball to Dinwiddie.
Dinwiddie took a few dribbles, then moved to the left wing and released a 21-foot step-back fadeaway over Malcolm Brogdon just inside the three-point line. The Pacers had one more chance at the win after calling a timeout, but the game ended when Brogdon missed a three-point try from the top of the key at the buzzer.
Before Brooklyn's victory, the Pacers missed numerous chances to secure the game. Indiana took three six-point leads during the fourth quarter but never put the game away. After taking a 103-99 lead on TJ Warren's finger roll with 84 seconds left, a lay-up and a three-pointer by Joe Harris put Brooklyn up 104-103 with 27.2 seconds left.
Dinwiddie scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter and shot 4-of-15 overall as the Nets beat Indiana for only the second time in 13 meetings. Harris added 15 points and eight rebounds, Taurean Prince contributed 14 and Jarrett Allen scored 13.
Sabonis recorded his fourth career triple-double with 23 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds but it was not enough as the Pacers dropped their season-high sixth straight game. Warren added 19 points while Myles Turner contributed 15 as the Pacers shot 48.9 per cent from the field.
Jordan Clarkson scored 25 points and dished out eight assists off the bench to lead the Utah Jazz to a 123-119 victory over the host Dallas Mavericks.
Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 apiece for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert chipped in 17 points and 16 rebounds. Utah won their third straight game overall and second consecutive road contest after shooting 59 per cent from the field.
Tim Hardaway Jr scored a season-high 33 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 28 to lead the Mavericks, who played without Luka Doncic for their seventh straight game and could not keep up with a potent Jazz offense in his absence.
Dallas had a tough time hanging with Utah when the Jazz offense really heated up in the second quarter. Clarkson hit three three-pointers to finish off a 15-5 spurt spanning the first and second quarters and give the Jazz a 42-29 lead. Then, Utah ran off six straight baskets during a 17-5 run to extend their lead to 63-41 with 4:06 left before half-time.
Momentum shifted in favour of Dallas during the third quarter. The Mavericks trimmed Utah's lead to 83-80 behind a 15-3 run. Hardaway punctuated the run with back-to-back baskets.
The Jazz pulled away again before the end of the quarter behind hot shooting from Clarkson and Emmanuel Mudiay. Both players scored three baskets apiece to form the bulk of a 19-4 run that gave Utah a 102-84 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Dallas made one final charge and cut the deficit to five behind a 17-3 run late in the fourth quarter. Seth Curry's three-pointer capped the run that trimmed Utah's lead to 119-114 with 2:41 remaining. Gobert and Mitchell made back-to-back baskets to help the Jazz preserve the lead down the stretch.
Jamal Murray scored 26 points and Paul Millsap had 22 points as the host Denver Nuggets rallied from a 23-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 127-120.
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, Monte Morris added 16 points off the bench, and Torrey Craig had 11 points and seven rebounds to help the Nuggets win their third straight and their eighth in 10 games.
LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers with 33 points, Derrick White scored 15, Dejounte Murray and Bryn Forbes scored 14 each, and Rudy Gay had 13 for the struggling Spurs. San Antonio have lost five straight games and eight of their last 10.
The Spurs led 67-53 at half-time. Aldridge hit a three-pointer and a couple of baskets as the Spurs increased their lead to 86-63 midway through the third quarter.
Denver came storming back, using a 26-7 surge in the last 6:33 of the period to cut the deficit to four. The Nuggets drained a trio of three-pointers to end the third, and then Millsap and Murray hit two more to tie the game at 95 with 11:16 left.
It was tied at 99 when Millsap gave Denver their first lead with a three-pointer, but San Antonio responded with eight straight points to retake the lead. Murray scored eight straight points for Denver, Gary Harris and Craig hit three-pointers, and Murray had another from deep to cap a 17-2 run and make it 119-109.
Jae Crowder made three three-pointers in a 16-0, second-quarter flurry that allowed the visiting Miami Heat to build a big lead en route to a 113-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Jimmy Butler returned from a two-game absence with 21 points, tying Crowder for team-high scoring honours, as the Heat won for the first time in four outings on their five-game Western swing.
Three-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala contributed two points and a plus-25 plus/minus rating in 17 minutes for the Heat after injured Warriors star Stephen Curry took the microphone and welcomed his former team-mate back in a crowd-pleasing pregame ceremony.
Damion Lee scored a career-high 26 points for the Warriors, who lost their third straight games.
Golden State only trailed 29-27 early in the second quarter before Crowder hit consecutive triples to trigger the Heat's big run. Duncan Robinson and Crowder added subsequent threes in the burst, which opened a 45-27 advantage with 7:37 remaining in the half.
The Heat went on to lead by as many as 24 points before the Warriors rallied within 73-69 on three free throws by Lee late in the third period. But Goran Dragic and Butler countered with hoops, helping Miami build an 83-75 advantage by the end of the quarter, and Golden State got no closer than seven in the fourth period.
Aaron Gordon scored 26 points to lead four Orlando players with 20-plus points as the Magic earned a 135-126 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on to snap their three-game losing streak.
Gordon shot 10-for-20 from the floor and added nine rebounds and four assists as the Magic beat the Hawks for the first time in three meetings this season. Orlando posted just their second victory in 10 games overall.
Nikola Vucevic added 24 points, making 10-of-15 shots, and had nine rebounds and nine assists for the Magic. Evan Fournier scored 22 points, and Terrence Ross came off the bench to score 21.
The Magic had a great night from the perimeter. They shot 18-for-38 (47.4 per cent) on three-point attempts, with Ross hitting five and Vucevic nailing four.
Atlanta got 29 points and nine assists from Trae Young. John Collins added 22 points and eight rebounds but saw his streak of seven consecutive double-doubles end. Dewayne Dedmon had 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
Orlando grabbed a seven-point lead when Fournier drove for a lay-up with 4:06 to go in in the third quarter. However, Atlanta came back to tie the game at 87-87 on Dedmon's three-point play, then took the lead on the next possession when Cam Reddish made a three-pointer.
The Magic outscored the Hawks 13-5 to start the fourth quarter and took a 106-101 lead on three consecutive dunks. Atlanta got to within one point four times but could never regain the lead.
Miles Bridges had 18 points and seven rebounds and Malik Monk supplied 17 points off the bench as the Charlotte Hornets snapped a five-game losing streak by pulling away to beat the Detroit Pistons 87-76.
Devonte' Graham piled up 14 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists as the Hornets completed a four-game sweep of the season series. Charlotte, who overcame a 37.5 per cent shooting night, have defeated Detroit 10 consecutive times.
Thon Maker had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons. Bruce Brown contributed 10 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and five assists, while Christian Wood added 10 points and eight rebounds and Markieff Morris chipped in 10 points off the bench.
The first three meetings were decided by a combined seven points, but the Hornets never trailed on Monday. Detroit shot 35.4 per cent and committed 21 turnovers, leading to 24 Charlotte points.
Charlotte were up 66-59 heading into the fourth. The Hornets took control with a 12-2 run early in the quarter. Graham set up Cody Zeller and Rozier for baskets to get it going. He also assisted on a Jalen McDaniels long ball, and then drilled a three-pointer of his own with 6:19 remaining to make it 78-63. A Bridges dunk with 3:25 left gave the Hornets an 82-66 lead.
