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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NBA Capsules: DeMarcus Cousins’ triple-double, Anthony Davis’ 30 power Pelicans past Cavs

New Orleans Pelicans forward DeMarcus Cousins, left, challenges Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love as he goes to the basket during Saturday’s game. (Gerald Herbert / Associated Press)
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS – DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans pulled away for a convincing 123-101 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Anthony Davis added 30 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks to help New Orleans win for the third time in four games. New Orleans’ All-Star frontcourt tandem had help from the backcourt, too, with Jrue Holiday scoring 29 points and E’Twaun Moore 24 as the Pelicans made better than 53 percent off their shots.

Kevin Love had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, who were without Derrick Rose and trailed for most of the game. LeBron James had 18 points and Dwyane Wade 15 for Cleveland, which has lost three of four.

Grizzlies 103, Rockets 89

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Chandler Parsons finally gave Memphis fans what they’ve waited for, scoring 24 points on accurate shooting to lead the Grizzlies over Houston.

Parsons, who has struggled and battled injuries since signing with the Grizzlies last season, was part of a Memphis bench effort that dominated the Rockets’ reserves. By the time Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni cleared his bench with just under 4 minutes left and Memphis leading by 19, the Grizzlies held a 62-15 advantage in bench points.

That wasn’t the only shortcoming for the Rockets, who shot 38 percent for the game, were 14 of 38 from outside the arc (37 percent) and committed 19 turnovers, leading to 24 points.

Ryan Anderson led the Rockets with 22 points, while James Harden added 20 points and eight assists, but was 6 of 19 from the field, including 2 of 9 from 3-point range. Clint Capela had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets.

Celtics 96, Heat 90

MIAMI – Kyrie Irving scored nine of his 24 points in the final 2:03, and Boston extended its winning streak to four games after holding on late to beat Miami.

Jayson Tatum scored 20 and Marcus Smart added 16 for the Celtics, who beat Miami for the eighth consecutive time.

It was Irving’s eighth time playing at Miami – and the first time he was part of a win. Miami cut Boston’s lead to two on a pair of occasions late, and Irving answered with a basket both times to give the Celtics some breathing room.

He sealed the win with 57 seconds left, connecting on a 3-pointer for a 93-86 lead.

Goran Dragic scored 22 points for Miami, which got 16 apiece from Josh Richardson and James Johnson. Former Boston forward Kelly Olynyk had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Heat, who were 7 for 31 from 3-point range.

Thunder 101, Bulls 69

CHICAGO – Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and Paul George had 20 to lead Oklahoma City over Chicago.

Russell Westbrook added 12 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third triple-double of the season. He has now recorded a triple-double against every league opponent in his career. Steven Adams and Raymond Felton had 12 points apiece for the Thunder, who won their first road game in three attempts after losing three of their last four games overall.

Lauri Markkanen scored 15 points to lead the rebuilding Bulls, who were coming off their first win in four games this season after beating the Atlanta Hawks 91-86 on Thursday. Justin Holiday added 11 points and Robin Lopez had 10 for Chicago, which shot 28.6 percent from the field.

76ers 112, Mavericks 110

DALLAS – Ben Simmons had 23 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds as Philadelphia outlasted Dallas for its second win of the season.

Joel Embiid added 23 points and nine rebounds as the 76ers won in Dallas for the first time since Jan. 29, 2005.

Dallas had a chance to tie the game and force overtime with 0.2 seconds remaining with Yogi Ferrell at the free throw line, but the guard missed the first attempt and Dallas couldn’t score on a rebound after he intentionally missed the second.

Simmons won the battle of rookie point guards with Dallas’ Dennis Smith Jr, who countered with 12 points and eight assists, but struggled with six turnovers.

Jazz 96, Lakers 81

SALT LAKE CITY – Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 22 points and Utah held to beat Los Angeles.

The victory broke a two-game losing streak for the Jazz.

The Jazz jumped out to a 21-7 lead thanks to a 16-3 run highlighted by a floater from Mitchell after he pump-faked Lonzo Ball.

Ricky Rubio scored a season-high 21 points, had seven rebounds and four assists for the Jazz while Derrick Favors had his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 16 points and Jordan Clarkson put up 15 off the bench. Ball, the No. 2 overall draft pick, finished with nine points, two rebounds and four assists – the rebounds and assists were season lows.

Trail Blazers 114, Suns 107

PORTLAND, Ore. – Damian Lillard scored 25 points, C.J. McCollum had 23 and Portland outlasted persistent Phoenix.

Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Pat Connaughton scored 13 points off the bench for Portland.

Phoenix (2-4) lost for the first time since Jay Triano took over as interim coach. Earl Watson was fired on Oct. 22, following an 0-3 start.

Devin Booker hit 11 of 19 shots and scored 33 points for Phoenix.