Monday night wins for Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves
Tuesday 18 December 2018 08:34, UK
James Harden scored a game-high 47 points to carry the Houston Rockets to a 102-97 victory over the Utah Jazz.
James Harden carried the load down the stretch as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to four games with a 102-97 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Harden scored a game-high 47 points and contributed six rebounds, five assists and five steals as Houston (15-14) climbed above .500 for the first time since November 23.
After Utah pulled even at 94-94 on a Rudy Gobert tip-in with 1:59 remaining, Harden sank a three-pointer when Ricky Rubio and Royce O'Neale dropped under a screen set by Chris Paul.
After Harden added two free throws, Utah cut the deficit to 99-97 on three Donovan Mitchell free throws with 35 seconds to go.
With 13.3 seconds left, Harden then buried another three-pointer with Rubio defending, producing the final margin.
Mitchell scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half. Gobert (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Jae Crowder (14 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for Utah, who have lost four of their past five games.
Rubio added 12 points but also committed seven turnovers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo powered for 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a triple-double from Blake Griffin to down the host Detroit Pistons 107-104.
Khris Middleton had 22 points and six assists and Eric Bledsoe contributed 17 points and nine assists. Tony Snell chipped in 12 points.
Griffin had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists but also committed 10 turnovers. Reggie Bullock supplied 24 points and Stanley Johnson contributed 20 points and six rebounds off the bench. Andre Drummond chipped in 10 points with 14 rebounds.
The Pistons scored the last 10 points of the third quarter to pull within four. Griffin made three assists and hit two free throws during the outburst, capped by an interior feed to Jon Leuer for a lay-up.
Sterling Brown's corner three midway through the corner gave the Bucks a 93-91 edge. Brook Lopez's long shot nudged the lead to four. Antetokounmpo's three-point play with 2:19 left made it 105-99.
Bullock's pull-up jumper cut Milwaukee's lead to three in the final minute before Griffin missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
Rudy Gay had 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and 10 rebounds as the host San Antonio Spurs routed the Philadelphia 76ers 123-96 to win for the fifth time in six games.
The Spurs led by 12 at half-time but broke open the game in the middle of the third quarter via a 15-0 run that expanded their advantage to 79-53.
Gay had 11 points in a period that allowed San Antonio to take a 93-71 cushion into the final 12 minutes.
DeMar DeRozan poured in 20 points and Davis Bertans added 16 for the Spurs.
JJ Redick and Ben Simmons led Philadelphia with 16 points each, while Joel Embiid added 13 points and 11 rebounds as the Sixers fell to their third loss in their past four games.
TJ Warren scored 17 of his 26 points in a dominant third quarter as the Phoenix Suns opened a five-game road trip by routing the New York Knicks in a 128-110 victory.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 38 points in his second game back from a hamstring injury, but it was Warren who helped the Suns turn things around after half-time.
DeAndre Ayton had a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Josh Jackson (14 points) and Richaun Holmes (13) also finished in double figures for Phoenix.
Emmanuel Mudiay led the Knicks with 32 points while rookie Kevin Knox added 13 of his 17 points in the first quarter.
Mario Hezonja (14 points), Enes Kanter (13) and Courtney Lee (12) also finished in double figures for New York, who were outscored 69-44 in the second half.
Paul George scored 24 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 121-96 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
George scored 16 points in the final 4:47 of the second quarter as the Thunder closed the half on a 23-7 run to seize control of the game.
Russell Westbrook had 13 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists for his 111th career triple-double as the Thunder won for the second consecutive game. Steven Adams added 19 points and Dennis Schroder 18.
Westbrook capped off the triple-double with his 10th assist with 6:33 remaining as he bounced a pass to Hamidou Diallo in the lane and Diallo finished with a reverse lay-up as he was fouled by Chandler Hutchison.
Lauri Markkanen led the Bulls with 16 points and a season-high 15 rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and eight other Minnesota players produced double-figure point totals as the Minnesota Timberwolves soundly defeated the visiting Sacramento Kings 132-105.
Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 17 points, and Derrick Rose, starting for the injured Jeff Teague, had 13 points and 11 assists.
Minnesota led by as much as 36 in the first half but then had to weather a Sacramento comeback attempt in the third period when Justin Jackson's three-pointer cut a 30-point half-time deficit to 77-65.
Robert Covington and Wiggins combined to score 17 points, igniting a 26-10 Minnesota run as the Timberwolves, who snapped a four-game losing skid, regained their composure and control of the game.
Less than a week after losing 141-130 in Sacramento, the Timberwolves held the Kings to just 44 first-half points on 35.4 per cent shooting from the field.
Damian Lillard scored 22 of his 39 points in the third quarter and backcourt mate CJ McCollum added 27 points as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers held on to earn a 131-127 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jusuf Nurkic contributed 20 points and seven assists for the Trail Blazers, who followed a victory over the NBA's top team, the Toronto Raptors, on Friday with the win over the high-scoring Clippers.
Tobias Harris scored a career-high 39 points including 11 free throws for the Clippers, who lost for just the fourth time in 13 home games this season.
Portland led 100-88 heading into the fourth quarter and were on top by as many as 18 points in the final quarter. The Clippers lost forward Montrezl Harrell with seven minutes remaining when the forward was ejected after elbowing Nurkic while battling for a rebound.
The Clippers cut the deficit to 127-126 with 18 seconds remaining after a three-pointer from Danilo Gallinari, but the Trail Blazers put the game away at the free-throw line in the closing seconds.
Stephen Curry scored 20 points and Andre Iguodala returned from a three-game absence to hit two second-quarter three-pointers, helping the Golden State Warriors pull away from the Memphis Grizzlies for a 110-93 victory in Oakland.
Kevin Durant had 23 points and Klay Thompson and Jonas Jerebko added 16 apiece for the Warriors, who won for the sixth time in their past seven games.
Omri Casspi, a member of Golden State's championship team last season, had a team-high 20 points for the Grizzlies, who found out shortly before game time that star point guard Mike Conley would be unavailable due to a sore hamstring.
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