Friday night wins for Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks
Saturday 24 November 2018 07:58, UK
Kawhi Leonard scores 27 points as Eastern Conference leaders the Toronto Raptors won their fourth straight game with a comfortable win over the Washington Wizards.
Kawhi Leonard had 27 points and 10 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors pulled away for a 125-107 victory against the visiting Washington Wizards, their fourth straight win.
Five other Raptors scored in double figures, led by Kyle Lowry and OG Anunoby, who finished with 15 points each.
Toronto, owners of the NBA's best record (16-4), shot 49.5 per cent, including 43.6 per cent (17 of 39) from three-point range.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 20 points. John Wall had 11 points and 11 assists but turned the ball over seven times, as Washington was unable to build on their stirring come-from-behind win over the Clippers on Tuesday night.
The Wizards pulled to within 103-93 early in the fourth quarter, but Delon Wright and CJ Miles hit back-to-back three-pointers. Washington got back to within 12, but Leonard's jumper with 3:55 followed by Serge Ibaka's hook shot later made it 118-99 with 3:13 remaining, and the lead grew to as many as 24 points.
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points and LeBron James added 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the visiting Utah Jazz 90-83 on to win their third straight game.
Los Angeles led 79-76 with 5:28 to play before grabbing momentum with a 9-3 run over the ensuing four minutes and taking an 88-79 advantage down the stretch. A bucket and two free throws from the Jazz's Alec Burks cut the lead to 88-83.
Ingram canned a pair of free throws with 19.7 seconds to play to cement the win.
The Lakers (11-7) have won seven of their past eight outings. The Jazz (8-11) have lost five of their past six games and nine of their last 13 but did snap a streak of allowing at least 113 points in their past four losses.
JaVale McGee added 12 points for the Lakers while Lonzo Ball took 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.
Burks led the Jazz with 17 points off the bench, while Joe Ingles scored 16, Rudy Gobert added 13 points, and Derrick Favors hit for 10 points in the setback.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was forced from the game early in the second quarter with a rib contusion and did not return.
Kevin Durant scored 14 of his game-high 32 points in a second-quarter burst as the Golden State Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak with a 125-97 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Klay Thompson was right behind with 31 points as the Warriors, who shot 56.5 per cent overall and 53.1 per cent on three-pointers, beat the Trail Blazers for the eighth consecutive time at home.
Portland led 29-24 in the second minute of the second period before Jonas Jerebko helped Golden State turn things around with back-to-back three-pointers.
Durant had a three-pointer and a three-point play among his 14 points in what turned out to be a 35-11 burst that produced a 59-40 lead late in the half.
The Warriors went on to lead by as many as 22 points in the third period before coasting home.
Golden State were once again without Stephen Curry (strained groin) and Draymond Green (bruised toe). Curry was in a car accident earlier in the day, but escaped uninjured.
Russell Westbrook narrowly missed a triple-double with 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder held on down the stretch for a 109-104 victory over the visiting Charlotte Hornets.
Westbrook hit four free throws in the final 11.2 seconds, after the Hornets got within one point on two different occasions.
Westbrook's two free throws with 11.2 made it 107-104 and were all the Thunder would need after Charlotte's Kemba Walker missed a tying three-point attempt with three seconds left.
Westbrook then tacked on two more insurance points with 2.4 seconds remaining.
The win was the Thunder's 12th in the last 14 games and came after a 28-point win at Golden State on Wednesday night. They also got 23 points from Dennis Schroder, 19 from Paul George, 13 from Steven Adams and 11 from Jerami Grant.
Walker led the Hornets with 25 points.
Reggie Jackson scored 10 points in overtime and Blake Griffin supplied 28 points for the game as the host Detroit Pistons topped the Houston Rockets 116-111 in overtime on Friday.
Jackson finished with 22 points and six assists. Griffin added nine rebounds and four assists and Andre Drummond powered for 23 points, 20 rebounds and five blocks.
James Harden led the Rockets, who had a five-game winning streak snapped, with 33 points and eight assists. Clint Capela had a career-high 29 points and 21 rebounds and Chris Paul supplied 20 points and nine assists for Houston.
The teams were playing the back end of a home-and-home set. Houston won on their home court 126-124 on Wednesday night.
Reggie Bullock made a corner three to give Detroit a 106-103 lead midway through overtime. Griffin then dunked after a Houston turnover and Jackson's bank shot with just over a minute left made the game safe.
Jamal Crawford connected on a free-throw line jumper with 0.8 seconds left to give the Phoenix Suns a 116-114 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, their first road win of the season in nine attempts.
Crawford's clutch basket capped a game-ending 8-0 run for the Suns, who snapped a three-game overall losing streak. Devin Booker registered 29 points and seven assists as one of seven Phoenix players in double digits.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 35 points on 14-of-16 shooting and collected 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who had a three-game winning streak halted.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points, Khris Middleton added 15 and Eric Bledsoe had 12.
The Suns were facing a six-point deficit before Trevor Ariza hit a three-pointer with 1:17 left, and TJ Warren converted a tying three-point play with 53.5 seconds remaining.
Booker later was looking to take the decisive shot but couldn't get free and passed the ball to Crawford. The 38-year-old dribbled forward and pulled up just outside the lane, then knocked down the shot over Brogdon to provide Phoenix with just its fourth victory of the season.
The New York Knicks rallied from a late seven-point deficit by scoring 12 consecutive points, overtaking the visiting New Orleans Pelicans for a 114-109 victory.
Emmanuel Mudiay scored 27 points and rookie Allonzo Trier came off the bench to add a season-best 25 for the Knicks, who trailed 103-96 with 3:58 to go after two free throws by the Pelicans' Julius Randle.
Mudiay got the New York flurry rolling with a three-pointer and capped it with a hoop with 34.1 seconds left that put the Knicks 108-103 ahead.
The Pelicans got within two on two subsequent occasions, the last time on an Anthony Davis dunk with 8.2 seconds left that closed the gap to 111-109.
But Mudiay made one free throw and Tim Hardaway Jr hit a pair from the charity stripe to close out New York's second straight win after six consecutive losses.
Mudiay's 27 points were his most since a career-high-tying 30 against Denver in November of 2016. He had 15 of New York's final 22 points.
Trier's 25 points surpassed his previous NBA best of 23 earlier this month at Dallas.
Aron Baynes led six double-figure scorers with 16 points as the visiting Boston Celtics broke their three-game losing streak with a 114-96 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
The loss was the 10th straight for Atlanta (3-16), who own the NBA's worst record and have not won since November 3. Boston (10-9) won in Atlanta for the third straight time.
Baynes was 5-for-7 from the field and added nine rebounds and four assists.
The Celtics also got double-digit scoring from Jayson Tatum (14), Kyrie Irving (13), Terry Rozier (12), Gordon Hayward (11) and Jaylen Brown (10). Marcus Smart had a team-high seven assists and three steals.
Atlanta was led by reserve point guard Jeremy Lin with 19 points and 10 assists. Alex Len added 17 points, and forward John Collins scored a season-high 16 points.
Boston played without center Al Horford, who sat out the game with a sore left knee.
Rodney Hood scored 25 points and Tristan Thompson added an 18-point 13-rebound double-double as the Cleveland Cavaliers earned a 121-112 road victory that ended the Philadelphia 76ers unbeaten home record.
Philadelphia went nearly five minutes midway through the fourth period without a field goal and the Cavs took full advantage.
Andrew Harrison came off the bench and made a lay-up before connecting on a 26-foot three-point jumper to put Cleveland 104-95 ahead with 5:12 remaining.
A Jordan Clarkson 27-foot jumper gave the Cavs a double-digit lead at 109-97 and Cleveland cruised to their first road win of the season.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jimmy Butler, in his sixth game since being traded from Minnesota, added 22 points. Redick added 23 and Ben Simmons scored 22.
Josh Richardson scored 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Miami Heat to a 103-96 win over the host Chicago Bulls.
Justin Holiday led Chicago with 27 points and 13 rebounds, both season highs.
Zach LaVine added 24 points and a game-high nine assists for the Bulls, who were trying to win two straight games for the first time this season.
The Heat, who led by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, had their advantage cut to just four in the fourth. Jabari Parker scored 17 of his 23 points in that fourth as Chicago's offense caught fire.
But Miami held on and snapped a three-game losing streak.
The Heat, playing their third straight game without starting point guard Goran Dragic, got strong post play from Hassan Whiteside - who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks - and Bam Adebayo, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds off the bench.
It was the first time this season that the duo had double-doubles in the same game.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored a game-high 33 points and added 14 rebounds for the San Antonio Spurs, who never trailed in beating the host Indiana Pacers 111-100 in Indianapolis.
The Spurs snapped a two-game losing streak with just their third win in the last 10 games. The Pacers have lost two straight, both of which they have played without star Victor Oladipo, who has missed three consecutive contests with a sore right knee.
The double-double was the 11th of the season for Aldridge. Rudy Gay also had a double-double for the Spurs with 11 points and 12 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan (16 points), Patty Mills (15 points) and Bryn Forbes (13 points) also scored at least 10 points apiece for San Antonio.
Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Pacers, who were led in scoring by Bojan Bogdanovic (21 points).
Trey Lyles scored a season-high 22 points off the bench and Nikola Jokic finished four points shy of a triple-double as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic 112-87.
Jamal Murray scored 16 points and Mason Plumlee had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Denver (12-7).
Terrence Ross led the Magic with 18 points and made his first seven shots - four from three-point range. Nikola Vucevic had 16 points for Orlando (9-10).
The Nuggets took control of the game with a strong second quarter. Like they did in the third quarter against Minnesota on Wednesday, they clamped down defensively and hit some key shots.
Denver led by just 40-37 after Vucevic had a putback layup with 4:06 to go in the first half, but Gary Harris hit a step-back jumper, Juancho Hernangomez drained a three-pointer and Harris hit another bucket to make it 47-37.
Hernangomez capped a 14-5 run to end the half with his second three-pointer and a 54-42 Nuggets lead at intermission.
Mo Bamba's three-pointer early in the fourth quarter got the Magic back within 11 but Mason Plumlee hit two lay-ups and Lyles a running lay-up to extend Denver's lead back to 90-73 with 8:46 left.
Malik Beasley's three-pointer off a steal and dunk with 5:08 left gave Denver a 29-point lead as the Nuggets cruised to a comfortable win.
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