Middleton drops 51 in Bucks romp; Hayward stars as Celtics top Heat; Zion quiet in Pelicans win over Cavaliers
Wednesday 29 January 2020 07:45, UK
Joel Embiid donned Kobe Bryant's No 24 as he returned from a nine-game absence to score 24 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers past the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Joel Embiid returned from a nine-game absence to score 24 points and grab 10 rebounds in leading the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Golden State Warriors, 115-104, on Tuesday night.
Embiid had been out with a dislocated ring finger on his left hand and came out wearing No 24 in memory of Kobe Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Embiid received permission from Bobby Jones, who previously wore No 24 for Philly and had his jersey retired by the team.
Raul Neto scored 19 points, Ben Simmons added 17, Tobias Harris contributed 14 and Al Horford had 12 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The Sixers improved to 22-2 at home.
D'Angelo Russell paced the Warriors with 28 points while Glenn Robinson III added 20 and Marquese Chriss had 15. Alec Burks scored 12 points and Draymond Green had nine points, nine rebounds and 12 assists. The Warriors have dropped 14 of their last 15.
Philadelphia opened the fourth quarter in aggressive fashion with seven quick points and moved ahead 93-82. After an empty possession by the Warriors, Embiid converted a jumper from the corner and was fouled by Eric Paschall, but missed the free throw for a 13-point advantage.
Russell came back with a trey to cut the lead to 95-85, though he missed a free throw for a potential four-point play and there was no way back for Golden State
Boston's Gordon Hayward tallied a game-high 29 points to lead the visiting Celtics to a 109-101 win over the Miami Heat.
Leading 80-76 after three quarters, the Celtics quickly doubled their lead by working the offensive boards and getting multiple scoring chances. They built an 11-point advantage on Marcus Smart's three-pointer with 7:39 to play and had an answer every time Miami got within single digits.
Boston shot 47 per cent from the field and were 13-of-36 from behind the three-point arc.
Jaylen Brown notched 25 points, Kemba Walker had 16, Smart scored 11 and Daniel Theis recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds. Goran Dragic led Miami with 23 points, Jimmy Butler had 20 and Bam Adebayo contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Miami shot just 9-of-37 (24.3 per cent) from behind the three-point line and lost for only the third time in 24 home games. The home side also had their 14-game home winning streak against Eastern Conference teams come to an end.
The Celtics used hot long-range shooting to lead from the outset against Miami's zone defense, and Boston's man-to-man approach at the other end of the court kept the Heat cold.
Jrue Holiday scored 28 points and Brandon Ingram added 24 as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 125-111.
Holiday added eight assists, four blocks and three steals as the Pelicans won for the seventh time in their last nine road games. JJ Redick scored 15 and rookie Zion Williamson had 14 points and fell one rebound short of his second consecutive double-double while playing a season-high 30 minutes. Nicolo Melli came off the bench to score 11 for the Pelicans.
Collin Sexton scored 24 points, Kevin Porter Jr added 21, Larry Nance Jr had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Kevin Love scored 12 for Cleveland.
The Cavaliers lost their eighth consecutive home game, and it came one night after ending an overall seven-game losing streak with a 115-100 win at Detroit. They have lost 13 of their last 16 games, and have lost their last four home games by an average of 14.5 points.
Ingram's basket and Holiday's three-pointer gave New Orleans an 85-71 lead early in the third quarter. A three-point play by Ingram pushed the lead to 19 midway through the period. The lead grew to 22 points on two occasions before Cleveland scored 12 straight points.
Nance made four straight baskets to help Cleveland pull within 108-100 before Melli made two three-pointers and Redick made a 17-foot jumper to help give New Orleans an 18-point lead with 4:57 left.
Khris Middleton scored a career-high 51 points, his team recorded a franchise-record 88 first-half points and the Milwaukee Bucks held off a second-half surge to beat the visiting Washington Wizards 151-131.
Despite playing without reigning Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed the contest to rest a sore right shoulder, Milwaukee burst to a season-best 42 first-quarter points.
The victory was the Bucks' ninth straight, and Milwaukee improved the best record in the NBA to 41-6. Washington fell for the sixth time in eight games.
The Bucks came into the match-up boasting the NBA's highest-scoring offense, and they dictated the tone early against a Washington defense that ranks last in the league in points allowed.
The 88 points smashed Milwaukee's previous season-high of 76 first-half points set just 12 days ago prior in a 128-123 defeat of the Boston Celtics, and it marked a league-high dating back to Houston's 90 on November 16, 2017. Milwaukee's 151 total points were a season-high and fell just seven points shy of the franchise's regulation record.
Eric Bledsoe complemented Middleton's scoring outburst with 34 points and 10 assists. Donte DiVincenzo and Robin Lopez scored 16 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. Middleton also had 10 rebounds and six assists.
Bradley Beal scored 47 points to pace the Wizards. Behind Beal's season-high tally, Washington chipped away at the gap over the course of the late second quarter and into the third and fourth.
A three-point play from Thomas Bryant, who finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, pulled Washington within seven points midway through the fourth quarter.
Milwaukee held Washington off down the stretch, pushing the lead back to 18 points in the final two minutes on back-to-back DiVincenzo three-pointers.
Devin Booker scored 32 points and Deandre Ayton added 31 as the Phoenix Suns got off to a hot start and then used a big third quarter to finish off a 133-104 road victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Kelly Oubre Jr scored 19 points and Mikal Bridges added 13 as the Suns won their fourth road game in their last five tries primarily due to a 48-point third quarter.
Luka Doncic scored 21 points for the Mavericks, who lost for the third time in their last five games and dropped their second consecutive home game. Willie Cauley-Stein scored four points in 12 minutes in his Mavericks debut. He was acquired from the Golden State Warriors in a trade on Saturday as inside presence after Dwight Powell was lost for the season on January 21 because of an Achilles injury.
Phoenix used a 12-2 run in the first quarter to take a 22-9 lead and opened a 32-19 lead after one period. The Mavericks cut the deficit to 60-55 by half-time, with Doncic scoring 14 points in half, and they appeared to have the Suns within their reach. But the Suns erupted for their 48 points in the third quarter to put the game away.
The 48 points were the Suns' most in a single quarter since 1990. It was also the most points the Mavericks allowed in a quarter in franchise history. Booker had 20 points in the third quarter on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range.
Phoenix extended the lead to as many as 39 points in the fourth quarter.
Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Dillon Brooks scored 24 points as the host Memphis Grizzlies beat the Denver Nuggets 104-96.
Ja Morant scored 14 points, Brandon Clarke had 12 and Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 10 points and seven blocked shots for the Grizzlies, who never trailed and have won 10 of 13 games in January. Memphis also ended a four-game skid against the Nuggets.
Nikola Jokic had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Jerami Grant scored 21 and Gary Harris had 10 points for short-handed Denver.
The Grizzlies opened up a 13-point lead in the first quarter after a slow start for both teams. Memphis closed the first on a 15-5 run to go ahead 31-18. The Nuggets got within 39-34 with 8:01 left in the second quarter, but the Grizzlies pushed the lead back to 13 at half-time.
Memphis quickly stretched the lead to a game high of 19 early in the third quarter on a bucket by Brooks. Denver was able to get within 13 on a couple of occasions but not any closer in the period and trailed 82-66 entering the fourth.
Jackson hit a three-pointer to open the final period, and it was 91-72 after Morant's lay-up with 9:18 left before Denver made a little run to get back into it and pulled within 91-80, the closest they had been since the first half.
Valanciunas ended the run with a floater in the lane and then split a pair of free throws. The Nuggets made one last push but ultimately ran out of time.
Serge Ibaka had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Pascal Siakam added 24 points and nine rebounds as the Toronto Raptors defeated the visiting Atlanta Hawks 130-114. The Raptors have won a season-best eight consecutive games.
Kyle Lowry had 12 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists to become Toronto's all-time leader in assists with 3,772, passing Jose Calderon (3,770). Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Raptors, Terence Davis scored 15 points and Marc Gasol had 10 points before leaving in the third quarter due to left hamstring tightness.
John Collins had 28 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta. Trae Young added 18 points and 13 assists, Cam Reddish had 18 points, and De'Andre Hunter contributed 15 points. Former Raptor Vince Carter, who received a video tribute and a standing ovation, scored 10 points.
The Raptors were in front by 18 points with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter after two consecutive layups by Siakam. Young reeled off six straight points, cutting the gap to 10 with 2:36 left. Toronto led 97-83 after three quarters then scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter to open a 28-point lead.
A pregame video tribute and 24 seconds of silence honoured Kobe Bryant, who was killed with his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
Terry Rozier scored 30 points as the Charlotte Hornets broke an eight-game losing streak by defeating the New York Knicks 97-92. The Hornets used a 10-0 run that concluded early in the fourth quarter to jump ahead and grasp control of the game.
Miles Bridges added 15 points, Malik Monk supplied 13 points, Willy Hernangomez had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Cody Zeller provided 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets.
Julius Randle pumped in 24 points and Marcus Morris Sr tallied 23 for the Knicks. Elfrid Payton added 10 points and eight assists.
The Knicks, who have lost three of their past four games, managed only 29 points across the first 22 minutes of the second half.
Rozier, who also pulled in 10 rebounds, made eight straight free-throw attempts in the final 41 seconds to help seal the outcome.
Charlotte guard Devonte' Graham, who had a pregame illness, logged just under 35 minutes but was 1-for-8 from the field and limited to five points, including one of two free throws with 21 seconds to play.
The Hornets won despite shooting 8-for-32 on three-pointers. Charlotte outscored the Knicks by 21-7 on free throws.
It was the first game for Charlotte since returning from Friday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Paris.
