NBA roundup: Luka Doncic has 9th triple-double of season, Mavs rout Warriors
SAN FRANCISCO – Luka Doncic had 31 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds in his ninth triple-double of the season and the Dallas Mavericks routed the Golden State Warriors 141-121 on Saturday night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 25 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 18 and Seth Curry added 17 off the bench for the Mavericks. They snapped the Warriors’ four-game winning streak.
D’Angelo Russell had 30 points and eight 3-pointers in the first half but injured his neck after falling and colliding with Dwight Powell during the third quarter. Russell returned for the start of the fourth, but the Warriors were down by 19 at that point. He finished with 35 points and six assists and shot 13 for 21.
The Mavericks pulled away when Russell was out, outscoring the Warriors 45-24 in the third quarter. Hardaway made a deep 3 with 6:55 left in the third to give the Mavericks an eight-point lead that would only grow as the game went on.
Heat 117, 76ers 116 (OT)
MIAMI – Jimmy Butler made the second of two free throws with 2.3 seconds left in overtime, giving Miami a wild victory over Philadelphia.
Butler finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to help improved its NBA-best home record to 15-1 and move back into second place in the Eastern Conference. He was fouled by Al Horford as he tried a jumper for the lead, missed the first foul shot and then connected on the second.
Tobias Harris had a good look at a 3-pointer as time expired, but his shot from the right corner hit the rim and bounced away.
Miami got a one-point win for the second straight night, after topping Indiana at home Friday. Philadelphia lost by one for the second straight night, after falling at Orlando on Friday – the first time the 76ers have lost consecutive games by a single point since Jan. 25 and 27, 1995.
Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia.
Lakers 128, Trail Blazers 120
PORTLAND, Ore – Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points, LeBron James had 21 points and 16 assists, and Los Angeles Lakers snapped a season-long four-game losing streak.
Kuzma highlighted a strong performance by the Lakers’ reserves, who provided 72 bench points. Portland’s bench scored 36 points.
Anthony Davis added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.
Damian Lillard had a game-high 31 points for Portland, which dropped its third straight. Hassan Whiteside had 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Raptors 113, Celtics 97
BOSTON – Kyle Lowry scored 30 points, Serge Ibaka had 20 and Toronto snapped Boston’s five-game winning streak.
Patrick McCaw and Fred VanVleet each added 18 points to help defending champion Toronto avenge a loss on Christmas and send Boston to its second loss in 15 games at home this season.
Kemba Walker led the Celtics with 30 points, and Jaylen Brown had 17.
Playing their first game since losing by 16 to the Celtics on Wednesday – the first NBA game in Canada on Christmas – the Raptors never trailed in breaking a two-game losing streak.
Toronto was without two of its top four scorers due to injuries – Pascal Siakam (groin) and Norman Powell (left shoulder subluxation). The Raptors also were missing center Marc Gasol (left hamstring). All three were injured Dec. 18 at Detroit.
Rockets 108, Nets 98
HOUSTON – James Harden had 44 points and 10 rebounds and Houston built a big early lead and withstood a late rally from Brooklyn.
Houston has won five of six games, with its only loss coming against Golden State on Christmas.
Russell Westbrook and the Nets’Taurean Prince were both ejected with about 20 seconds to go when they started yelling at each other after Prince fouled Westbrook.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 17 points and 11 assists.
Bucks 111, Magic 110
MILWAUKEE – Khris Middleton scored 21 points and NBA-leading Milwaukee overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence for the second straight night.
Antetokounmpo, the NBA MVP last season, also missed the Bucks’ victory Friday in Atlanta because of back soreness.
Middleton also had seven assists and five rebounds to help the Bucks improve to 29-5 overall and 16-2 at home. Ersan Ilyasova, starting in place of Antetokounmpo, had 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Evan Fournier led Orlando with 23 points.
Nuggets 119, Grizzlies 110
DENVER – Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 31 points and had 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season and 35th overall, leading Denver past Memphis.
Will Barton added 20 points and Jamal Murray and Mason Plumlee each had 15 to help the Nuggets win for the eighth time in nine games. Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 20 points.
Bulls 116, Hawks 81
CHICAGO – Lauri Markkanen had 25 points, Zach LaVine added 19 and Chicago nearly led wire-to-wire against short-handed Atlanta.
Battling an illness and questionable until a few hours before the game, Markkanen was 8 for 14 from the field, making 4 of 9 3-pointers. The Bulls have has won three of four.
John Collins had 34 points for the NBA-worst Hawks. They have dropped 10 straight for the second time this season.
Pelicans 120, Pacers 98
NEW ORLEANS – Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, Jrue Holiday added 20 and New Orleans won its third straight.
JJ Redick scored 15 points, and Lonzo Ball added 13 for New Orleans. Aaron Holiday scored 25 points for Indiana.
Knicks 107, Wizards 100
WASHINGTON – Julius Randle scored 30 points and equaled a season high with 16 rebounds, Bobby Portis added 17 points and New York.
It was the Knicks’ second straight victory, just the second time this season they’ve won two straight. Both wins have come on the road. Isaiah Thomas and Jordan McRae each scored 20 points for Washington.
Spurs 136, Pistons 109
SAN ANTONIO – DeMar DeRozan had 29 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points and 12 rebounds and San Antonio hit a season-high 18 3-pointers.
San Antonio was 18 for 35 from 3-point range, including a career-high five by Aldridge. San Antonio set a season-high with 42 points in the third quarter, fueled by a 25-9 run.
Andre Drummond had 21 points and 18 rebounds for Detroit.
Suns 112, Kings 110
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Devin Booker had 32 points and 10 assists and Phoenix held off Sacramento to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Kelly Oubre Jr. added 20 points and 16 rebounds, and Ricky Rubio had 21 points and eight assists.
Buddy Hield scored 23 points for Sacramento. The Kings have lost six straight.
Cavaliers 94, Timberwolves 88
MINNEAPOLIS – Darius Garland and Collin Sexton each scored 18 points and Cleveland overcame an NBA season high-tying 29 turnovers to hold off Minnesota.
Tristan Thompson added 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Jeff Teague scored 18 points for Minnesota.
Jazz 120, Clippers 107
LOS ANGELES – Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Jordan Clarkson added 19 points in his second game with his new team, and Utah beat the Clippers.
Clarkson, who was acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, came off the bench to shoot 7 of 13 from the field. The Jazz shot 48.6% from 3-point range to win for the seventh time in eight games.
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Paul George added 19 for the Clippers.
The Jazz scored the last 11 points of the game to seal the victory, holding the Clippers scoreless over the final 3:35. The Clippers made just four field goals in the fourth quarter.