NBA roundup: With Kawhi Leonard, Paul George playing, Clippers edge Celtics in OT
LOS ANGELES – Lou Williams scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 42 points in their first game together for the Clippers, and Los Angeles rallied to edge the Boston Celtics 107-104 in overtime Wednesday night.
George scored 25 points. Leonard added 17 and blocked Kemba Walker’s potential tying 3-point attempt after injury and rehab had prevented them from playing in the same game over the season’s first 14 games.
The Clippers improved to 9-1 at home after rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points and Marcus Smart and Brad Wanamaker added 14 apiece.
Williams hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. After a timeout, Tatum hit a 3-pointer with George falling down defending him to tie it 97-all with 13 seconds left.
Mavericks 142, Warriors 94
DALLAS – Luka Doncic scored 33 of his 35 points in the first half and had yet another triple-double to help Dallas rout short-handed Golden State.
Doncic fell a point short of matching Dirk Nowitzki’s team record set Nov. 3, 2009, against Utah. In just 17 minutes, Doncic was 10 for 11 from the floor, making 6 of 7 3-pointers, and hit 7 of 8 free throws.
The second-year star from Slovenia had 22 points, five assists and five rebounds in the first quarter alone. He played only 25 minutes total, but still managed 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Doncic was coming off a 40-point triple-double Monday night against San Antonio, and has an NBA-best seven triple-doubles in 14 games this season.
The Mavericks never trailed and tied a franchise record with 22 3-pointers while sending Golden State to its worst loss since a 1973 playoff game.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 20 for Dallas. Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth-straight double-double. Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 22 points.
Nuggets 105, Rockets 95
DENVER – Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Denver played smothering defense on James Harden and the Nuggets snapped Houston’s eight-game winning streak.
Harden had 27 points, ending his string of eight consecutive games of 36 or more. He was 8 of 16 from the floor as the Rockets were held under 100 points for the first time this season. Denver is 7-0 this season when keeping an opponent below 100.
Russell Westbrook scored 25 points on 8-of-22 shooting for Houston, and Clint Capela had 21 rebounds.
76ers 109, Knicks 104
PHILADELPHIA – Ben Simmons hit the first 3-pointer of his career and had 18 points and 13 assists to lead Philadelphia past New York.
Mike Scott’s fourth 3-pointer with 1:29 left stretched the Sixers’ lead to 99-95 and they held on after New York’s Marcus Morris hit a pair of 3s in the final 10 seconds. Joel Embiid had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Scott scored 12 points.
Simmons did the improbable when he fired a 24-footer from the corner in front of the 76ers’ bench, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Simmons received a lengthy standing ovation for the first 3-pointer after 17 misses (and one more miss in the postseason).
Morris led the Knicks with 22 points.
Raptors 113, Magic 97
TORONTO – Fred VanVleet scored 24 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Toronto snapped Orlando’s winning streak at three.
Orlando lost center Nikola Vucevic and forward Aaron Gordon to right ankle injuries in the second quarter.
Raptors rookie Terence Davis scored a career-high 19 points, Norman Powell had 15 points, and Chris Boucher added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Defending champion Toronto improved to 6-0 at home.
Evan Fournier scored 21 points for Orlando.
Heat 124, Cavaliers 100
MIAMI – Duncan Robinson set Miami records for 3-pointers in a quarter and a half on his way to 29 points and Miami beat Cleveland to remain unbeaten at home.
Playing in front of his college coach – the Cavs’ John Beilein, who had Robinson at Michigan – the second-year guard was 9 for 15 from the field, with all those shots coming from behind the arc. Robinson set team marks with seven 3-pointers in the second quarter and eight in the first half.
His flurry helped Miami tie a franchise mark with 75 first-half points.
Tyler Herro added 22 points for Miami. Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland.
Bucks 135, Hawks 127
ATLANTA – Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 11 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe scored 28 points and Milwaukee beat Atlanta for its fifth straight victory.
Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA MVP, has had at least 30 points and 10 rebounds an NBA-best nine times this season. The Bucks have won nine of 10 and improved to an NBA-best 8-2 on the road.
Atlanta rookie De’Andre Hunter had a career-high 27 points. Trae Young added 25.
Jazz 103, Timberwolves 95
MINNEAPOLIS – Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points, Donovan Mitchell added 26 and Utah beat Minnesota to split a home-and-home series.
Bogdanovic and Mitchell each hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Bogdanovic was 6 of 11 from 3-point range, and Mitchell 5 of 10 to help Utah rebound for a home loss to Minnesota on Monday night.
Andrew Wiggins had 22 points for Minnesota after missing three games because of personal reasons and an illness. Karl-Anthony Towns was held to 14 points and struggled with foul trouble most of the night.
Wizards 138, Spurs 132
WASHINGTON – Bradley Beal shot 9 for 9 in a 21-point third quarter and finished with 33 to help Washington hand San Antonio its seventh consecutive loss.
Davis Bertans, acquired by Washington from San Antonio in the offseason, scored 21 points, and so did Ish Smith.
DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points for San Antonio. The Spurs fell to 5-10.
Nets 101, Hornets 91
NEW YORK – Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 17 rebounds in Brooklyn’s victory over Charlotte.
Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points apiece. Brooklyn was without Kyrie Irving for the third straight game because of a right shoulder injury.
Terry Rozier had 18 points for Charlotte.
Bulls 109, Pistons 89
CHICAGO – Lauri Markkanen scored 24 points to bust out of a slump, Wendell Carter Jr. had 12 points and 15 rebounds and Chicago beat Detroit.
Derrick Rose had 18 points and Blake Griffin – in his third game of the season – added 16 for Detroit.