Simmons posts triple-double in Sixers' win over Clippers; Rockets snap Celtics' seven-game win streak; Beal hits 30 as Wizards beat Bulls
Wednesday 12 February 2020 07:29, UK
Rookie Zion Williamson had a career-high 31 points and Josh Hart scored 12 of his 17 points in a pivotal third quarter as the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 138-117 on Tuesday night.
Rookie Zion Williamson had a career-high 31 points and Josh Hart scored 12 of his 17 points in a pivotal third quarter as the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 138-117 on Tuesday night.
Williamson, returning from a one-game absence due to a sprained ankle, added nine rebounds and five assists. Hart started in place of All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, who missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained ankle.
The Pelicans trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, but pulled within two at half-time and outscored the Blazers 41-21 in the third quarter.
For New Orleans, JJ Redick had 20 points off the bench, Jrue Holiday had 16 points and 10 assists, Frank Jackson scored 13 and Nicolo Melli had 10.
CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard scored 20 points each to lead the Blazers, but Lillard fell well short of his league-best 40.3-point scoring average for the previous 12 games. He made just 6-of-16 shots from the field and missed all four of his three-point attempts.
Hart scored seven points as New Orleans turned a two-point deficit into a 73-70 lead early in the third quarter. Williamson had three baskets during a 13-3 run that gave the Pelicans an 88-78 lead midway through the period.
Lillard made two free throws before New Orleans put together a 16-6 run to take a 104-86 lead at the end of the quarter.
Ben Simmons had 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the host Philadelphia 76ers past the LA Clippers 110-103.
Simmons' sixth triple-double of the season helped the Sixers win their third game in a row. The Clippers fell to 1-2 on their four-game road trip.
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, who received some criticism from the fan base for some social media tweets and posts, added 26 points and nine rebounds. Josh Richardson scored 21 points, and Tobias Harris added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to a league-best 25-2 at home.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 30 points and nine assists while Landry Shamet added 19 points and Marcus Morris Sr and Lou Williams had 13 apiece. Paul George contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Philadelphia held an 81-77 advantage after the third quarter. Williams dribbled around a pick-and-roll and dished to Montrezl Harrell who scored to cut the deficit to 87-84 with 9:20 remaining.
Richardson drained a deep trey from the top of the key for a 94-90 Sixers advantage with 7:19 left.
The Clippers stayed aggressive, and when Leonard scored, the deficit was 99-94 with 5:02 to go. However, on the Sixers' next possession, Richardson dropped in a three-pointer to quickly extend the Sixers' lead back to eight.
Richardson then completed a three-point play, and the Philadelphia advantage was 105-94 with 3:37 remaining.
Embiid and Morris received a double technical after a minor scuffle with 2:48 left.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined for 78 points as the host Houston Rockets snapped the Boston Celtics' seven-game win streak with a 116-105 victory.
Harden produced 42 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Westbrook chipped in 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Harden scored 31 points in the second half, including 19 in succession for Houston in the third quarter en route to his 19th 40-point game on the season.
With the Rockets clinging to a 96-94 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Harden and Westbrook sparked a 17-4 run. Harden scored six points during that stretch at the free-throw line and teamed with Westbrook to finish 27-of-31 at the charity stripe. The Celtics went 20-of-25 from the line.
Gordon Hayward led Boston with 20 points and six assists, and he added eight rebounds. Jaylen Brown chipped in 19 points despite battling bothersome ankles. Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum combined for 29 points on 10-of-32 shooting. That duo finished 1-of-13 from three-point range.
Walker spurred the Celtics to a 12-0 run with seven points, and when Tatum closed the half with a dunk, Boston carried a 49-47 lead into the break.
The Celtics went quiet to open the second half, though, going more than four minutes without a field goal as Houston countered with a 10-1 spurt. It wasn't until Brown drilled a three-pointer at the 7:42 mark that Boston got their offense on track.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Dejounte Murray scored 25 points each as the visiting San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-106. The win snapped the Spurs' five-game losing streak and sent San Antonio into the All-Star break on a winning note.
Murray was nine of 12 from the floor as the Spurs shot 48.8 per cent overall and hit 25-of-27 free throws. Patty Mills added 20 points to help the Spurs bench outscore Oklahoma City's 42-19.
Chris Paul led the Thunder with 31 points, hitting five three-pointers and shooting 12-of-18 overall including 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 17 points for Oklahoma City.
San Antonio led 30-16 with 11:12 left in the second quarter. Oklahoma City battled back to tie it on the opening possession of the fourth quarter when Hamidou Diallo finished an alley-oop pass from Dennis Schroder.
San Antonio then reeled off nine consecutive points, thanks in part to two Aldridge jumpers, to regain control. The game never again was within one possession.
Aldridge added 14 rebounds as San Antonio outrebounded the Thunder 46-35. The Spurs played without DeMar DeRozan, who missed his second consecutive game with back spasms.
Bradley Beal scored 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting as the Washington Wizards held on for a 126-114 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls.
Rui Hachimura finished with 20 points for Washington, who won for the fourth time in the past six games. Ian Mahinmi and Shabazz Napier contributed 15 points apiece.
Zach LaVine scored a game-high 41 points on 15-for-21 shooting, drilling 8-of-11 three-point attempts in a losing effort for the Bulls. Tomas Satoransky had 19 points and eight assists as Chicago dropped their sixth straight game.
The Bulls opened the fourth quarter on a 13-3 run to trim their deficit to 103-95. LaVine made back-to-back shots to cap the run, including a step-back jumper from 18 feet and a three-pointer from 29 feet, which led Washington to call timeout.
The short break worked, as Beal made a tip-in lay-up to increase Washington's lead to double digits with 5:23 to go.
The Bulls pulled within six points twice in the final three minutes, but Washington responded once again, this time with a three-pointer by Ish Smith with 1:39 remaining. That gave the Wizards a 117-108 advantage, and Moritz Wagner followed with a layup to push the lead to 11.
