Kawhi Leonard hits a 3-point play with 2 seconds left as the Clippers beat the Rockets
HOUSTON (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and his three-point play with two seconds remaining lifted the Los Angeles Clippers to a 105-102 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Leonard, who had 12 rebounds, scored 19 points in the fourth quarter to extend his career-best streak of 20-point games to 33.
The Clippers led by four points when Kevin Durant made one of two free throws before a layup by Alperen Sengun cut the lead to 102-101 with 43 seconds left. Leonard missed a 3-pointer and Jabari Smith Jr. grabbed a rebound to give Houston the ball.
Sengun shot 1 for 2 from the line with 7.2 seconds left to tie it and Leonard got the rebound before the Clippers called a timeout. Leonard then made a fadeaway jumper as he was fouled and hit the free throw to make it 105-102.
Houston had a chance to tie it, but Tari Eason’s shot was off.
Durant led the Rockets with 21 points and Reed Sheppard added 17 points off the bench.
CAVALIERS 138, WIZARDS 113
CLEVELAND (AP) — Sam Merrill scored a career-high 32, Donovan Mitchell added 30, and Cleveland rolled to a victory over Washington in James Harden’s first home game wearing wine and gold.
Harden had 13 points and 11 assists in 28 minutes for his second double-double in three games since being traded by the LA Clippers to the Cavaliers on Feb. 4. He was only 1 of 4 from the field, but went 10 of 12 from the foul line.
Cleveland has won five straight and 10 of its last 11. It was the fifth time this season the Cavaliers haven’t trailed in a game.
Mitchell, fifth in the league in scoring at 29.0 points per game, had his 28th 30-point game. Jarrett Allen had 21 points and nine rebounds.
Kyshawn George had 17 points and Jamir Watkins 16 for Washington, which has dropped three straight and four of five.
HORNETS 110, HAWKS 107
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Miller had 31 points and nine rebounds, LaMelo Ball made seven 3s and scored 24 points and Charlotte held on to beat Atlanta, just hours after two of of its starters were suspended by the NBA for fighting.
Kon Knueppel added 18 points on four 3s, and Miller hit five 3s as the Hornets finished 19 of 51 from beyond the arc for their 10th win in 11 games.
Dyson Daniels scored 21 points for Atlanta. Jalen Johnson added 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
The NBA suspended Hornets forwards Miles Bridges and Moussa Diabate for four games for their role in a fight on Monday night against the Detroit Pistons.
The short-handed Hornets didn’t get much out of replacements Ryan Kalkbrenner and Grant Williams, but G League call up PJ Hall had 11 points and 10 rebounds. And Charlotte got contributions from scoring leaders Miller, Ball and Knueppel, who combined for 10 3-pointers in the first half as the Hornets opened a 17-poiint lead.
CELTICS 124, BULLS 105
BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 26 points and Boston rolled past Chicago in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Jaylen Brown added 24 points. Nikola Vucevic finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won six of their last seven games.
The Celtics carried a 28-point into halftime, taking advantage of a Chicagos team that was missing several top contributors. Boston’s lead rose as high as 33 in the second half.
Rob Dillingham had 16 points and seven assists to pace Chicago, which has lost six straight. Matas Buzelis added 15 points and eight rebounds.
Vucevic and Chicago’s Anfernee Simons played against their former teams for the first time since being swapped in a trade deadline deal last week.
It was Vucevic’s second double-double in three games with the Celtics. Simons finished with seven points. It marked his first time being under 15 in his four consecutive starts for the Bulls.
BUCKS 116, MAGIC 108
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cam Thomas scored 34 points in his second game with Milwaukee and Kevin Porter Jr. added 18 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over Orlando.
Jericho Sims and Ousmane Dieng scored 17 points apiece for Milwaukee. Sims added 11 rebounds, leading the Bucks to a 47-30 advantage on the boards.
Desmond Bane led the Magic with 31 points. Paolo Banchero added 17 and Jalen Suggs had 16 points, 10 assists and four steals.
Thomas, who signed with the Bucks as a free agent on Sunday, made 12 of 20 shots and hit four 3-pointers in 39 minutes. He went 4 for 6 from 3-point distance.
Porter had the fifth triple-double of his career.
PISTONS 113, RAPTORS 95
TORONTO (AP) — Cade Cunningham scored 28 points, Paul Reed had 16 of his 22 in the first quarter and Detroit beat Toronto in the final game before the All-Star break for both teams.
The Eastern Conference-leading Pistons won for the sixth time in seven games despite playing without centers Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren. The two began serving suspensions handed down earlier in the day for their roles in a fight Monday in a win at Charlotte.
Duncan Robinson scored 13 points and Tobias Harris added 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Pistons improved to 18-7 on the road. Detroit never trailed in posting its seventh consecutive victory over Toronto.
Toronto’s Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points and Scottie Barnes added 17 . RJ Barrett had 16 points and Brandon Ingram 13.
The Pistons outscored the Raptors 50-34 on points in the paint and had 46 rebounds to Toronto’s 35.
Cunningham finished with seven rebounds and nine assists, and matched a season-high by making six of 11 attempts from 3-point range. His career-high is seven, set last season.
KNICKS 138, 76ERS 89
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jose Alvarado scored a season-high 26 points and Mikal Bridges added 22 points as New York beat Philadelphia.
The Knicks bounced back from an overtime home lost to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night for their 10th win in 12 games. Two of those victories have come against the Sixers. The teams split their four-game season series.
Alvarado, acquired last week from New Orleans, shot 8 for 13 from 3-point range and finished with five steals.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 11 rebounds. Mohamed Diawara scored 14 points. Jalen Brunson, who scored 40 points against the Pacers, scored eight on Tuesday.
Tyrese Maxey led the way with 32 points in three quarters for the 76ers, who played without center Joel Embiid, who sat due to right knee soreness. VJ Edgecombe added 14 points, and Dominick Barlow scored 13.
The 76ers, who lost their second straight and for the third time in four games, were held to a season-low point total, just their third game under 100 points this season.
PACERS 115, NETS 110
NEW YORK (AP) — Jarace Walker had 23 points, Kam Jones secured the victory with a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, and short-handed Indiana beat Brooklyn.
Micah Potter had 19 and Ethan Thompson had 15 for the Pacers, who won for the second straight night after winning in overtime over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night to end a four-game losing streak.
Potter shot 6 of 8 from the field and 6 for 8 from the line. He scored 14 in the second half.
Nolan Traore had 20 points to lead the Nets, who had won two in a row. Day’Ron Sharpe had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Ziaire Williams also had 19.
The Pacers played without eight key players, including T.J. McConnell (right hamstring soreness); Andrew Nembhard (lower back injury management); Aaron Nesmith (lower back soreness); Pascal Siakam (left hamstring soreness); and Ivica Zubac (left ankle sprain).
HEAT 123, PELICANS 111
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 27 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks and short-handed Miami beat New Orleans in the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.
Miami used only nine players, with Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Pelle Larsson and Andrew Wiggins sidelined. Herro missed his 15th straight game.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 23 points, Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 12 rebounds and Simone Fontecchio scored 15 points. Eighth in the Eastern Conference, the Heat improved to 29-27. Miami has won 11 of its last 12 against New Orleans
Zion Williamson had 26 points for New Orleans. He has played a career-high 30 straight games and 40 of 56 this season. In his first six seasons, he played 214 of 472 games and never had more than 25 in a row.
Trey Murphy III added 19 points before leaving late in the third quarter because of soreness in his right shoulder. The Pelicans dropped to 15-41. They had won two in a row.
TIMBERWOLVES 133, TRAIL BLAZERS 109
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Julius Randle had 41 points and Minnesota beat Portland to end its winning streak at three.
Randall, who also had seven rebounds, capped his night with a windmill dunk that put the crowd at the Target Center on its feet. Jaden McDaniels added 21 points for the Timberwolves, playing their final game before the All-Star break.
Jrue Holiday scored 23 points for the Trail Blazers, who trailed by 28 points and were hurt by 25 turnovers. Scoot Henderson, playing just his third game back since missing the first half of the season because of a hamstring injury, finished with 18 points.
Minnesota scoring leader Anthony Edwards was listed as questionable going into the game because of an illness but he started and finished with 14 points.
THUNDER 136, SUNS 109
PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Williams scored 28 points, Isaiah Joe added 21 and hot-shooting Oklahoma City cruised to a victory over Phoenix.
Oklahoma City led by at least 20 points for the entire second half, pushing the advantage to 37 in the third. Williams shot 11 of 12 from the field and added five assists and four rebounds. Joe made 6 of 8 3-pointers.
Kenrich Williams added 15 points and Chet Holmgren had 13. The defending champion Thunder — who have won four of six — shot 58.4% from the field and got 74 points from players coming off the bench.
Dillon Brooks led the Suns with 23 points. Royce O’Neale and Jordan Goodwin both added 12.
The Thunder jumped to a 75-52 lead by halftime, shooting 11 of 18 (61.1%) from 3-point range. Joe came off the bench to lead the Thunder with 15 points before the break. Brooks led the Suns with 14.
Despite the lopsided loss, the Suns go into the All-Star break with a 32-23 record, which is much better than most anticipated after the franchise traded 15-time All-Star Kevin Durant to the Rockets during the summer.
JAZZ 121, KINGS 93
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr scored 23 points in his home debut to lead Utah to a victory over Sacramento.
Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points to help the Jazz win their second straight game. Isaiah Collier added 12 points and 14 assists. Brice Sensabaugh added 19 points off the bench.
Utah shot 54.7% from the field and made 15 3-pointers. Jackson and Markkanen combined for 15 baskets over three quarters.
Demar DeRozan led Sacramento with 20 points and Devin Carter added 19. The Kings lost their 14th straight game after trailing by double digits over the final 40 minutes.
Utah outscored Sacramento 25-6 in fastbreak points and 58-42 in the paint.
NUGGETS 122, GRIZZLIES 116
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray warmed up for their appearances in the NBA’s All-Star festivities by teaming up to help Denver hold off Memphis.
Jokic had the 184th triple-double of his career with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. Murray added 22 points and was 4 for 4 from the foul line in the final 11.7 seconds.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 21 points for the Nuggets, who head into the break at 35-20 despite an injury-riddled season that has seen all five starters miss time and six of their top rotation players go out for significant stretches.
The Grizzlies, losers of 10 of 12, erased a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, largely with Jokic on the bench, but never could take the late lead.
Jokic reached the triple-double when he assisted Hardaway on a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in the third quarter for a 93-81 lead.