Friday 4 January 2019 09:47, UK
DeMar DeRozan produced a triple-double against his former team as the Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors in Kawhi Leonard's return to San Antonio.
DeMar DeRozan finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 125-107 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors to win their third straight game.
The contest marked the return to San Antonio by forward Kawhi Leonard and guard Danny Green, who were moved to the Raptors in the offseason after Leonard demanded a trade from the Spurs.
In return, San Antonio received DeRozan and center Jakob Poeltl. DeRozan was disappointed at being traded from Toronto, and he let his former team-mates and the Raptors' management see his displeasure in his first game against them, racking up 19 points and 10 rebounds in the first half.
The Spurs' LaMarcus Aldridge poured in a game-high 23 points, with Bryn Forbes adding 20 points, Derrick White recording 19, Rudy Gay scoring 13 points and Patty Mills hitting for 12 in San Antonio's win, its 10th straight against the Raptors at home.
Leonard was loudly jeered and booed when he was introduced and every time he touched the ball. He finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Delon Wright scored 15 points for the Raptors, while Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell added 14 each, Fred VanVleet and Greg Monroe tallied 12 points apiece, and Pascal Siakam chipped in 10 points.
The Spurs jumped on Toronto from the start, leading by 19 points after the first period and by 26 early in the second before the Raptors cut the deficit to 67-51 at intermission.
Any chance of a Raptors' comeback died early in the third quarter as the Spurs forged a 9-0 run over the first four minutes of the period, and canned five of their six treys in the period.
San Antonio carried a 96-75 lead into the final quarter and cruised to a comfortable win.
Jamal Murray scored 34 of his game-high 36 points in the second half as Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets rallied in the second half to beat the host Sacramento Kings 117-113.
Buddy Hield scored 29 points and Nemanja Bjelica had 17 for the Kings. Sacramento have been a strong fourth-quarter team, but for the second straight game, they faltered in the final 12 minutes.
Murray gave Denver the lead for good with a three-pointer and Malik Beasley scored on a jumper to give the Nuggets an 89-84 lead.
Bjelica's three-pointer cut the deficit to 90-89, but Paul Millsap answered with a three-pointer from the top of the arc to spark a 10-1 Denver run that made it 100-90 midway through the fourth.
The Kings cut the lead in half on Willie Cauley-Stein's dunk and a steal and 3-pointer by Hield, which forced a Nuggets timeout. After Gary Harris dunked, Hield hit another three-pointer to make it 102-98 with 3:40 left.
Murray scored off an offensive rebound and Hield hit another three-pointer to make it 104-101. After Jokic fed Mason Plumlee for a dunk, De'Aaron Fox's three-point play made it 108-106 with 1:24 left.
Murray then took over, hitting two three-pointers in the final 1:01 to help the Nuggets close it out.
James Harden capped his second consecutive triple-double by sinking a 25-foot three-pointer with one second remaining in overtime on Thursday night, giving the Houston Rockets a 135-134 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
After Stephen Curry put Golden State up by two with an 18-footer with 23.1 seconds to go, the Rockets got possession after a kicked-ball violation on the Warriors with 5.5 seconds left.
The ball was inbounded to Harden, who was able to get off and make a heavily-contested three-pointer to provide the game-winning points and cap a game-high 44-point night.
Kevin Durant's desperation 40-footer cannoned off the rim at the buzzer, allowing the Rockets to win their sixth straight game and 11th in their past 12.
In scoring 40 or more points for the fifth consecutive game, Harden also found time for 10 rebounds and a game-high 15 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season. He turned the ball over seven times.
Curry led the Warriors with 35 points.
The Rockets forced the extra session by scoring the last six points of the fourth quarter on a three-point play by Clint Capela with 1:03 to go and a three-pointer by Harden with 51.4 seconds left.
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