Kawhi hits clutch game-winner as Raptors end Blazers winning run; Celtics snap losing streak; Bucks punish Lakers late
Saturday 2 March 2019 11:01, UK
Zach LaVine poured in 47 points as the Chicago Bulls smashed their franchise scoring record in an epic 168-161 four-overtime win over Atlanta Hawks.
Lauri Markkanen was perfect on a three-shot foul in the fourth overtime to put Chicago ahead for good and help the visiting Bulls earn a 168-161 quadruple-overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.
The Bulls set a franchise record for points, topping a 156-155, four-overtime win at Portland on March 16, 1984.
Markkanen was fouled by Atlanta's Alex Len on a three-point attempt with 1:59 remaining in the final overtime and made all three. It was part of a 7-0 Chicago run that enabled the Bulls to post their second straight victory and their fifth in six games.
Markkanen finished with 31 points, his 12th straight game with 20-plus points. He added 17 rebounds to secure his fifth straight double-double, a career best.
Chicago's Zach LaVine scored a career-high 47 points and was 6-for-14 on three-point attempts while adding nine rebounds and nine assists. Otto Porter Jr had 31 points, sinking seven treys, and 10 rebounds.
Atlanta got a franchise-rookie-record 49 points from Trae Young, who was 17-for-33 from the floor with six three-pointers, 16 assists and eight rebounds. Young became the first rookie since Earl Monroe to produce a game with at least 49 points and 10 assists. Monroe achieved the feat for the Baltimore Bullets against the Detroit Pistons on February 24, 1968.
Len added 24 points and 10 rebounds but was only 4-for-9 from the foul line. Dewayne Dedmon had 14 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks before fouling out.
The Hawks appeared to have the game won in regulation when Young made a straightaway three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left to give them a three-point lead. However, with 0.4 seconds left, Dedmon was whistled for foul on Porter's three-point shot, and Porter made all three free throws to tie the game at 124 and force overtime.
Atlanta couldn't hold onto a four-point lead in the first overtime and trailed 140-138 when Wayne Selden made one of two free throws with 36.8 seconds left. The Hawks forced a second overtime when Young made a lay-up with one second remaining.
The Bulls overcame a five-point deficit in the second overtime and tied the game at 147-147 on a three-pointer by Ryan Arcidiacono with 25.1 seconds left.
Both teams had subsequent chances, with Vince Carter missing for Atlanta and Porter missing for the Bulls at the buzzer.
In the third overtime, LaVine tied the game with a three-pointer with 1:06 left. Both teams turned the ball over, and Len missed a long three at the buzzer, leaving the game tied 155-155 before Markkanen settled the outcome in the fourth extra session.
LeBron James showed visible frustration as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks scored 15 of the game's final 17 points to post a 131-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Eric Bledsoe converted a three-point play with 2:25 remaining to give Milwaukee the lead for good. The win allowed Milwaukee to become the first NBA team to clinch a playoff berth this season.
Bledsoe finished with 31 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks, who won their seventh straight game.
LeBron James had 31 points and 10 assists for the Lakers, who have followed each of their past six wins with a loss.
In a fourth quarter that featured seven lead changes and six ties, James gave the Lakers their last lead at 118-116 by sinking a three-pointer with 3:11 left. The Bucks dominated the rest of the game.
After Bledsoe's three-point play, Malcolm Brogdon expanded Milwaukee's lead with two free throws with 1:54 to play and a three-pointer 13 seconds later, and the Bucks eased clear for the victory.
Kawhi Leonard made the winning jump shot in the final seconds to finish with 38 points as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 119-117.
Marc Gasol added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Toronto ended Portland's season-high five-game winning streak. The Raptors have won nine of their last 10 games.
Pascal Siakam added 16 points, Kyle Lowry had 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds and Danny Green had 11 points.
CJ McCollum led Portland with 35 points while Damian Lillard had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Toronto led by as many as 16 points during the third quarter but Portland pulled to within one point on Lillard's three-pointer with 6:47 remaining. The Raptors, who missed 12 straight shots over eight minutes, led by five after Leonard's bank shot with 4:03 left. Lillard's three-pointer tied the game with 3:28 to go.
The game was tied at 113 after Green made a three-pointer with 57 seconds to play.
After Portland took a one-point lead, Lowry's floater in the lane gave Toronto the lead with 35 seconds remaining. Leonard made two free throws with 17 seconds left and Toronto led by three.
Lillard tied the game with three free throws with 13 seconds left, but Leonard made a 12-foot, baseline jumper that bounced on the rim before dropping for the winning points with three seconds left.
On a night that required balanced scoring, rookie Landry Shamet had 20 points and Danilo Gallinari had 19 as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers withstood a physical game between playoff contenders and earned a 116-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
Lou Williams scored 17 points as the Clippers solidified their hold on a playoff spot in the Western Conference with a month remaining in the regular season.
Buddy Hield scored 23 points despite 6-for-19 shooting and Willie Cauley-Stein added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who entered just outside of playoff qualification at two games behind the Clippers, but they could not take over down the stretch in their own arena.
As late as the final minute of the third quarter, Williams was stuck on four points as he struggled from both the field and the line despite being one of the better free-throw shooters in the NBA at 89.6 percent. Williams, who entered with a team-leading 19.9 points per game, scored 10 in the final quarter.
Gallinari took a key charging foul on Harrison Barnes with nine seconds remaining to preserve the victory.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Montrezl Harrell each scored 15 for the Clippers, while JaMychal Green had 11 rebounds. Barnes and Harry Giles each had 15 for the Kings, while De'Aaron Fox had 12 points and 12 assists.
Al Horford led seven players in double figures with 18 points as and the Boston Celtics defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 107-96 on Friday night to snap a four-game losing streak.
Kyrie Irving had 13 points and 12 assists for the Celtics, who picked up their first win since the All-Star break. Marcus Morris had 17 points and Marcus Smart added 16.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Green and Tomas Satoransky added 15 points each for Washington, who rallied from an abysmal start to briefly take the lead.
Boston led by four at half-time and by eight after Horford's basket with 5:17 left in the third quarter, but the Wizards outscored Boston 10-4 to close the quarter down 82-81. Jabari Parker's basket gave Washington its first lead, 83-82, with 11:34 remaining in the game.
Jaylen Brown's two free throws gave the Celtics an 87-86 lead at the 10:05 mark and his basket capped an 8-0 run to make it 99-88. Satoransky scored the Wizards' first field goal in more than four minutes to make it 99-90 with 3:51 remaining.
Smart's three-pointer put the Celtics up 102-90, and his dunk made it 106-93 with 1:47 remaining.
Julius Randle, Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore each scored more than 20 points as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Phoenix Suns 130-116.
Randle finished with 22 points, Holiday had 21, Moore came off the bench to add 20 and Cheick Diallo had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Pelicans continued to restrict the minutes for All-Star forward Anthony Davis in the wake of his recent trade demand.
Davis finished with 17 points in 21 minutes, but went to the bench for good in the third quarter for the third consecutive game.
Devin Booker scored 26, Kelly Oubre Jr added 19, Deandre Ayton had 16, Troy Daniels had 15 and Richaun Holmes 10 for the Suns, who missed an opportunity to win consecutive games for the first time since a four-game winning streak in mid-December.
Phoenix led the entire first half, but by just one point at half-time and New Orleans turned the game in the third quarter.
Davis' basket started the second-half scoring and gave the Pelicans their first lead of the game. Randle scored seven points during a 12-2 run that gave the New Orleans a 77-66 lead.
Holiday scored his team's last seven points of the period as the Pelicans rebuilt the lead to 94-84 at the end of the third quarter.
The Suns pulled within 101-94 on Daniels' 3-pointer, but Moore answered with a three-pointer. Moments later Darius Miller added a triple for a 111-98 lead. New Orleans led by double figures the rest of the way.
Kemba Walker scored 25 points as the Charlotte Hornets took control in the second quarter and recorded a 123-112 road victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Walker led seven players in double figures as Charlotte avenged last Saturday's home loss to the Nets and prevented Brooklyn from clinching the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Hornets moved a half-game ahead of idle Orlando into eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Walker made 12-of-20 shots and hit eight straight shots at one point. He scored 10 points and went 5-for-5 in the second quarter when Charlotte outscored the Nets 37-18 and seized a 68-50 lead by half-time. The Hornets briefly let the lead slip under double digits in the fourth quarter before finishing it off.
Reserve Jeremy Lamb added 22 for the Hornets while Nicolas Batum scored all 17 of his points after half-time.
D'Angelo Russell scored 22 points with nine assists but the Nets lost for the ninth time in 14 games and fifth time in their last eight. Russell shot 9-of-24 and missed six of seven three-point attempts.
DeMarre Carroll added 20 and Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 15 in his return from missing 14 games with a right thumb injury.