Thunder defense dominates Jazz; Williams sets NBA record as Clippers blow out Celtics; Ibaka and Chriss ejected as Cavaliers shock Raptors
Tuesday 12 March 2019 08:34, UK
James Harden scored 28 points and Clint Capela dominated the paint as the Houston Rockets stretched their winning streak to nine games with a 118-106 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
James Harden scored 28 points and Clint Capela dominated the paint as the Houston Rockets stretched their winning streak to nine games with a 118-106 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
Capela paired 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting with 15 rebounds and controlled the interior as the Rockets produced a 55-39 rebounding advantage against the Hornets, who opted to space the floor on offense and use half-court traps defensively in an attempt to offset their numerous injuries.
That plan nearly worked, thanks to a terrific shooting performance from Kemba Walker.
Charlotte trailed 91-63 following a pair of free throws from Rockets guard James Harden before Walker engineered a 17-2 rally that closed the third quarter. The Hornets cut the deficit to 10 points on Miles Bridges' dunk with 3:22 remaining before Harden answered with a three-point play.
Walker finished with a game-high 40 points on 14-of-20 shooting. He shot a combined 11-of-11 in the second and third periods, pouring in 31 points during that stretch. Walker added 10 rebounds and seven assists - also making all six of his attempts from three-point range -- but the deficit was too large for Charlotte to erase.
The Hornets were without veterans Marvin Williams, Nicolas Batum, Tony Parker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Frank Kaminsky scored 15 points off the bench, while Dwayne Bacon added 13 points and Bridges 12 as starters.
Harden led the Rockets with 28 points and 10 assists. Eric Gordon chipped in 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Chris Paul also recorded a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) for Houston, who received 16 points and nine boards from Kenneth Faried, who returned following a five-game injury absence.
Despite a sluggish start from Harden, who missed his first six shot attempts, the Rockets darted to a 38-19 lead entering the second quarter. Walker scored nine consecutive points for the Hornets during one stretch in the second quarter, but Charlotte still trailed 57-35 before Faried and Austin Rivers combined for nine points during a 14-5 run that upped the lead to 29 points.
Dennis Schroder scored 24 points and Russell Westbrook had 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 98-89 in Salt Lake City.
The win was just the third in nine games for the Thunder, who beat the Jazz for the fourth time this season to sweep the season series. Utah lost for the third time in the past four games overall.
Schroder put up his best scoring total since February 1, when he had 28 points at Miami. However, it was Oklahoma City's defense that made the difference on Monday, holding Utah to just 36.4 per cent shooting from the floor.
The Jazz scored just 37 first-half points as the Thunder built their lead early.
A game after attempting a franchise-record 48 three-pointers, the Jazz tried 24 in the first half. Throughout much of the second quarter, Utah didn't attempt much inside at all. After Donovan Mitchell's jumper with 7:42 left before half, Utah's next 11 shots came from behind the three-point arc. The Jazz made just two as Oklahoma City extended their lead from four to 13 before half-time.
Utah's next shot from inside the arc came with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half.
The Jazz cut what had been a 17-point Thunder lead to six with less than nine minutes remaining but Utah couldn't get any closer. Mitchell had 25 points to lead the Jazz.
Paul George struggled offensively yet again for the Thunder, though he finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. George missed all three of his three-point tries and attempted a season-low eight field goals, making two.
Lou Williams scored 34 points to become the most prolific bench scorer in NBA history as the Los Angeles Clippers continued their charge toward the playoffs with a 140-115 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics.
Danilo Gallinari scored 13 of his 25 points in the opening quarter and Montrezl Harrell added 20 points as the Clippers won their fifth consecutive game and improved to 9-3 since their roster was restructured at the trade deadline.
With the victory, Los Angeles moved into sole possession of sixth place in the Western Conference.
Williams, who leads the NBA in points off the bench this season, passed Dell Curry as the highest scoring player off the bench of all time and now has 11,154 as a reserve in his career. Curry had 11,148 points as a reserve. It was Williams' eighth game of the season with at least 30 points.
Terry Rozier scored 26 points for the Celtics, who saw their three-game winning streak end. Boston went 3-1 on a four-game road trip, all against California teams. Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, and Kyrie Irving added 18 and 11 assists for the Celtics.
Los Angeles led 25-19 after one quarter and had a 62-49 lead at half-time after shooting 72.2 per cent from the field in the second quarter. The Clippers shot 61.6 per cent from the field for the game as seven players scored in double figures.
Ivica Zubac had 14 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 12 for the Clippers, who tied their longest winning streak of the season. Patrick Beverley and Landry Shamet added 11 each for Los Angeles.
Marcus Morris had 11 points and Al Horford added 10 for the Celtics. The Celtics were playing without forward Jayson Tatum, who missed his first game of the season because of right shoulder soreness.
Bradley Beal scored 27 points and Bobby Portis added 17 points and 13 rebounds as the Washington Wizards defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 121-115.
Jabari Parker scored 18 points and Tomas Satoransky had 17 as Washington started a crucial five-game homestand by ending a two-game losing skid. Beal added nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals.
Jeff Green's two free throws gave Washington the lead for good with 2:16 remaining.
The Wizards, 11th in the Eastern Conference, are three-and-a-half games behind the eighth-place Miami Heat.
De'Aaron Fox led seven Kings in double figures with 23 points. Nemanja Bjelica had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, who sits ninth in the Western Conference.
Washington took the lead early in the second half, with Green's three-point play making it 76-68 with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
Alec Burks' driving lay-up pulled the Kings within 95-89 with 10:09 left in the game and Corey Brewer's 19-footer cut the Wizards' lead to 104-101 with 6:41 remaining.
Bjelica's three-pointer whittled Washington's lead to two points, but Beal knocked in a corner three to make it 111-106 with 4:47 remaining. Sacramento responded with six straight points, taking the lead on Buddy Hield's lay-up.
Green's free throws at 2:16 put the Wizards up 113-112. After three more Washington free throws and Beal's driving lay-up with 52 seconds left made it 118-112, Fox's three-point play got the Kings within three.
After a Wizards miss, Hield missed and Satoransky got the rebound and was fouled. He made both with 13.6 seconds remaining and Sacramento missed a pair of shots before Beal added a late free throw.
Collin Sexton scored 28 points and all five Cleveland starters scored in double figures in the Cavaliers' 126-101 win over the Toronto Raptors in Cleveland.
Kevin Love, with 16 points and 18 rebounds, recorded his ninth double-double in 14 games this season. Love also was a force on the defensive end, drawing four offensive fouls.
Cedi Osman added 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Ante Zizic compiled 17 points and seven boards.
Kawhi Leonard led the Raptors with 25 points and nine rebounds. Pascal Siakam added 15 points, and Kyle Lowry scored 14 for the Raptors, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Toronto's Serge Ibaka and Cleveland's Marquese Chriss were ejected for throwing punches near the end of the third period.
Ibaka and Chriss collided while going for a full-court pass near the Raptors' basket. Chriss appeared to say something as Ibaka got up. Ibaka grabbed Chriss by the throat and punches were thrown by both players. None of the punches landed.
Cleveland took a 91-77 lead into the fourth quarter. The lead grew to 108-88 on Osman's lay-up and free throw.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 19 points as the Brooklyn Nets seized control late in the first half and claimed the head-to-head tie-breaker with the visiting Detroit Pistons with a lopsided 103-75 win.
In their final game before a season-long seven-game road trip that starts on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, the Nets won their fourth straight.
Brooklyn (36-33) won two of three meetings with Detroit (34-32) to get the tie-breaker. The Nets moved one-half game ahead of the Pistons, who had their five-game winning streak stopped.
Brooklyn took the lead two-and-a-half minutes into the game and never relinquished it. They gained control by making 11-of-13 shots in a 28-8 burst over the final 6:28 of the first half, ballooning a 33-27 lead into a 61-35 half-time advantage.
During the decisive run, Dinwiddie scored 10 points by hitting two free throws, converting a three-point play, getting a floater and hitting a three-pointer.
The Nets never led by fewer than 18 the rest of the way and were up by as many as 31.
Allen Crabbe added 14 for the Nets. Rookie Rodions Kurucs added 13 points and also effectively helped defend Blake Griffin, who finished with 10 points on 1-of-10 shooting.
Joe Harris and Caris LeVert contributed 12 points while Jarrett Allen and D'Angelo Russell added 11 apiece.
Andre Drummond recorded his career-high 19th straight double-double by posting 13 points and 20 rebounds but Griffin was held under 15 points for the sixth time this season. Starting point guard Reggie Jackson was held to six points and appeared to injure his groin with about five minutes left in the first half before returning.
