Wins for the Bucks and Celtics while Jamal Murray has a night to remember for the Nuggets
Sunday 30 December 2018 09:17, UK
Klay Thompson stepped up with 32 points as the Golden State Warriors avoided a second-successive defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Klay Thompson stepped up with 32 points as the Warriors avoided a second three-game losing streak this season and avenged a homecourt defeat by the Blazers on Thursday.
Thompson hit four three-pointers on a 12-for-21 shooting night which saw his All-Star team-mates Steph Curry and Kevin Durant weigh in with 25 points apiece.
The Warriors won in Portland without Andre Iguodala for much of the game, the defensive star being ejected before half-time when he threw a ball into the stands.
Damian Lillard starred for Portland with 40 points, while Jusuf Nurkic added 21, but they trailed for just about the entire game.
Another day, another big performance for the force that is Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo made it three 30-point plus games on the bounce by scoring 31 in his third triple-double of the season which included 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
He helped the Bucks build a huge lead over the undermanned Nets and then stepped up with eight straight points down the stretch after Shabazz Napier inspired what, for a fleeting few seconds, looked like it might be an incredible Brooklyn comeback.
Napier led the Nets by tying a career-high with 32 points and their bench managed 80 points on a night when D'Angelo Russell and Ed Davis were rested.
Khris Middleton scored 29 points for Milwaukee despite a quad injury, while Brook Lopez added 24 on 7-of-15 shooting from the three-point arc.
Jamal Murray ignited a 46-point performance with a pair of early three-pointers on a Saturday night when the Nuggets never trailed but had to hold on for victory.
Murray's total was his second-highest of the season, after a 48-point game last month against Boston, but his team almost managed to throw away a 25-point lead.
The Suns were inspired by rookie DeAndre Ayton's 33-point haul, a career high which saw him bury 16 of his 20 shots and also secure 14 rebounds.
They made it as close as 113-110 when T.J. Warren and Mikal Bridges converted consecutive three-pointers but Murray hit two free throws and Nikola Jokic hit a short jumper to stretch the lead to seven, which proved enough.
Murray connected on a career-best nine three-pointers and was 16-for-24 overall for the Nuggets, who won their second game in two nights after having disposed of San Antonio 102-99 on Friday.
Kyrie Irving scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half as the Celtics erased a 19-point deficit to beat the Grizzlies.
Memphis defended Irving beautifully in the first 24 minutes, the point guard only able to attempt four shots, but that all changed after half-time with Boston quickly going on an 11-2 run.
Memphis then managed to miss 15 of its next 16 shots and, by the time they found their rhythm again, the Celtics had already taken the lead.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 26 points, while Dillon Brooks added 19. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marc Gasol finished with 15 points apiece.
But Irving received strong support from Marcus Morris, who scored 22 points, while Gordon Hayward contributed 14 off the bench in their victorious effort.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored a season-high 38 points and keyed a mid-third quarter run that cemented the game and helped propel visiting San Antonio to a road victory.
Both teams were playing the second games of a back-to-back but it was the Clippers who ran out of energy at Staples Center and were out-scored by 20 points in the key third period.
All five Spurs starters contributed double figures, with Aldridge ably assisted by DeMar DeRozan, who stuffed the box score with 25 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Danilo Gallinari scored 21 points for the Clippers, and Montrezl Harrell matched that off the bench.
Trevor Ariza stepped up in John Wall's absence, scoring 24 points for the Wizards as they claimed victory on the day they learned their star point guard will not play again this season.
Wall will have surgery to correct issues with his left Achilles but the Wizards somehow managed to fight through that and deny the Hornets on a day when Kemba Walker exploded for 47 points.
It was a true team effort from the Wizards, who had seven players score in double figures and managed to win even though leading scorer Bradley Beal struggled with his shot.
Beal had 19 points but was eclipsed by Ariza's 24-point haul, which included four three-pointers, 21 from Thomas Bryant and 20 from Wall's replacement Tomas Satoransky.
Walker was almost unguardable, hitting 18 of his 29 shots, including six threes, but the Hornets led only once in the game, just after half-time.
Rudy Gobert and Dante Exum combined to great effect as the Jazz routed the Knicks in Salt Lake City.
Exum had 13 points on only his fifth start of the season, with Ricky Rubio absent, but it was Gobert on the end of many of his 13 assists as he piled up 25 points and only missed two shots.
It was the first double-double of Exum's career and Gobert said: "I always love to play with Dante. He's a very good passer and tonight he was great. Really gave us the spark we needed during the game."
Utah led 30-14 after the first period and the struggling Knicks trailed by as many as 40 points before half-time had even arrived.
Tim Hardaway, Jr. scored 18 points and Luke Kornet added 14 in his second start for the Knicks. New York lost its seventh straight game. The Knicks have one win in their last 13 games overall.
The ageless Vince Carter came off the bench to score 21 points and inspire Atlanta to a fifth win in six games.
Carter, at 41 years, 337 days, became the oldest player in NBA history to lead (or tie for the lead) his team in scoring.
He had been tied with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at 41 years, 331 days, after he had a season-high 18 points on December 23 against Detroit.
Cleveland tied the score at 106 when Collin Sexton made a pair of free throws with 57.9 seconds remaining but John Collins reclaimed the lead for Atlanta when he scored on a putback with 47.9 seconds left and they were not headed after that.
James Harden joined Oscar Robertson in the NBA record books with another sensational display in New Orleans.
Harden posted 41 points and six assists in Saturday night's game, becoming only the second player to post more than 35 points and five helpers in seven straight games - he also pulled down nine rebounds.
Despite Harden's scoring heroics the Rockets still had to hold on for victory, almost throwing away a 15-point lead they held with six minutes remaining.
New Orleans, led by Julius Randle and Anthony Davis, went on a 13-2 run to close almost within a shot, but P.J. Tucker made two free throws with 12 seconds remaining and the Rockets (20-15) made it four wins on the bounce.
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