Blazers outlast Nets but lose Nurkic to 'devastating' leg injury; Booker's 59 in vain as Jazz thump Suns; Thunder beaten in Memphis
Tuesday 26 March 2019 07:49, UK
Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 11 rebounds as the Orlando Magic took a major step in their push toward the playoffs with a 119-98 win at home over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 11 rebounds as the Orlando Magic took a major step in their push toward the playoffs with a 119-98 win at home over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Magic (36-38) went undefeated during their five-game homestand and are now just a half-game behind the Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The two teams play a pivotal game Tuesday night in Miami, the winner of which will take the lead in the playoff race and the Southeastern Division with eight games remaining for the Heat and seven for Orlando.
Evan Fournier chipped in 24 points and seven assists and Michael Carter-Williams, who signed his second 10-day contract with Orlando earlier in the day, had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Joel Embiid had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Tobias Harris added 15 points for the 76ers. Philadelphia point guard Ben Simmons did not play due to a stomach virus. The 76ers remain in the third seed with a two-game lead over the Indiana Pacers.
The game was deadlocked for the first 32 minutes. There were 22 lead changes up to that point, but Orlando took command of the game with an 11-0 run to close out the remaining four minutes of the third quarter.
That gave the Magic an 89-77 lead heading into the fourth, and they continued their momentum from there. Philadelphia went nearly 12 minutes without a field goal during the third and fourth quarters, and Orlando led by as much as 27 in the fourth.
Jusuf Nurkic scored 32 points and had a game-high 16 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 148-144 double-overtime victory against the visiting Brooklyn Nets.
But Nurkic suffered a serious left leg injury with 2:22 left in the second overtime when fouled while going for an offensive rebound. He was taken off on a stretcher and then to a local hospital.
Damian Lillard added 31 points and a game-leading 12 assists for the Blazers, who clinched an NBA playoff spot for the sixth year in a row. In reserve, Seth Curry scored 20 points and Rodney Hood 18 as Portland completed a homestand 4-0.
D'Angelo Russell scored 39 points and had nine rebounds and eight assists to pace the Nets. Spencer Dinwiddie led three New Jersey subs in double figures with 22 points.
After Nurkic's injury, Anfernee Simons came off the bench and made two free throws for a 136-132 lead. The Nets committed back-to-back turnovers, then missed a long three-point try.
Hood hit a three for a 139-132 lead with 59.1 seconds to go, and the Blazers nursed their lead the rest of the way.
Al-Farouq Aminu's two free throws with 19.1 seconds remaining gave Portland a 146-142 lead.
Joe Harris made two foul shots for New Jersey with 13.1 seconds left. Lillard converted a pair at the line with 8.7 seconds left for a 148-144 lead. New Jersey missed a three, and time ran out.
Bruno Caboclo scored a career-high 24 points to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 115-103 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Caboclo hadn't scored more than 16 points in any of his 60 previous NBA games over five seasons. He also tied his career high with 11 rebounds. Jonas Valancuinas added 18 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis.
Paul George led the Thunder with 30 points but was just 10-of-29 from the floor.
The difference in the game was the start of the halves. The Grizzlies scored the first nine points of the first and third quarters, first to build their lead and then to extend their advantage to 15 in the opening two minutes of the third period.
Caboclo scored five points during the early stretch to start the game. Tyler Dorsey did the same to begin the second half.
The Thunder battled back from the initial deficit, briefly taking a lead midway through the second quarter, but Memphis quickly popped off a 16-5 run to take control again.
Without Mike Conley, Memphis got a big boost from Dorsey, who scored 21 points to help lift the Grizzlies to just their second win in six games. The second-year shooting guard hadn't scored more than 11 points in any game this season before scoring 29 at Orlando on Friday.
The loss could prove to be costly for the Thunder, who are battling for playoff position in the Western Conference.
Oklahoma City entered the game in sixth place, tied with the Utah Jazz but holding the tie-breaker, and just a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for eighth place. The Thunder are now just 6-11 since the All-Star break.
Rudy Gobert scored a season-high 27 points and collected 10 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Gobert broke the NBA single-season dunk record while picking up his 59th double-double of the season. Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio added 18 points apiece for the Jazz. Utah won for the seventh time in eight games.
Devin Booker scored a season-high 59 points on 19-for-34 shooting to lead the Suns. Booker also went 16-of-17 from the free throw line. It wasn't enough to prevent Phoenix from losing for the seventh time in the last nine games.
Utah used a 10-0 run to surge ahead of Phoenix 20-14 late in the first quarter. Rubio sparked the run with a pair of free throws and a basket. Both teams shot 50 per cent from the field in the quarter, but the Jazz gained an edge after going 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Things spiralled out of control for the Suns during the second quarter. Utah opened the quarter on a 19-4 run highlighted by three-pointers from Mitchell, Kyle Korver and Jae Crowder. Mitchell finished off the run with back-to-back baskets that gave the Jazz a 45-25 lead.
Booker scored 18 of his team's 22 points in the second quarter. He helped the Suns cut the deficit to 49-38 at one point.
Joe Ingles drained a three-pointer and then Rubio and Gobert followed with back-to-back baskets to keep Phoenix from cutting the lead to single digits. Gobert's basket and free throw put the Jazz up 57-40.
Utah held onto their double-digit lead throughout the second half.
