Christian Wood scored 19 points, total in the second half, while John Wall made a double as the Houston Rockets captured their 20-game climb losing streak with a 117-99 victory over Toronto Raptors visiting Monday.
Wood scored 12 points in the third period, lifting his floor at the Houston 3:08 mark to an 86-73 lead. However, Toronto closed out the third with a 13-2 run that included two Fred VanVleet 3 points and a Chris Boucher three-point play. The Raptors pulled within 88-87 on a free throw early in the fourth, but Houston didn’t pack.
Wall finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while Houston’s Jae’Sean Tate added 22 points, six boards and five assists. Sterling Brown added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who were without Victor Oladipo, Kevin Porter Jr., Eric Gordon and David Nwaba.
VanVleet led the Raptors with 27 points. Pascal Siakam added 21 points and 10 rebounds, Norman Powell added 19 points and Kyle Lowry 17. Toronto dropped the ninth game in a row.
Los Angeles Clippers 119 – Atlanta Hawks 110
Led by his second unit, the Los Angeles host battled back from a 22-point deficit in the second half to stop an Atlanta-winning streak at eight games.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue pulled his starters halfway through the third quarter, and the Hawks’ lead reserve cut to eight points at the end of the third quarter with a half – court loss by Luke Kennard. Kennard finished 8 for 8 for the field, with 20 points in total, seven rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 25 points, while Terance Mann added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Trae Young finished with 28 points and eight assists in leading the Hawks. John Collins had 23 points and seven rebounds, while Clint Capela scored 14 rebounds and 12 points.
Utah Jazz 120 – Chicago Bulls 95
Rudy Gobert had 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine high-scoring hits, while Utah pulled away to beat Chicago.
Donovan Mitchell won by a high of 30 points for Utah, which sparked a five-game road trip with a 3-2 record. Joe Ingles (17 points), Jordan Clarkson (16) and Mike Conley (15) also won in double numbers for the league-leading Jazz.
Zach LaVine finished with 27 points to lead the Bulls. Thaddeus Young scored 14 points and nine rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 132 – Boston Celtics 126 (OT)
Ja Morant scored 29 points and scored nine assists to help Memphis visit Boston in overtime.
Morant hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds of extra time to help Memphis earn third place in four games. Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and a 19-point high for the Grizzlies.
Playing without Jayson Tatum, who sat out due to illness, and Kemba Walker, on the sidelines due to left-knee injury management, the Celtics dropped to 2-5 from an All-Star break. Jaylen Brown scored 27 points.
Milwaukee Bucks 140 – Indiana Pacers 113
Jrue Holiday recorded season highs of 28 points and 14 assists and hosting Milwaukee extended his best climbing streak to seven games with a convincing victory over Indiana.
The Bucks played without a two-time NBA dominance of the most valuable player Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) but did not lose their star while picking up 83 points in the first half. Khris Middleton recorded 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Pat Connaughton added 20 points and nine rebounds to help Milwaukee win for the 12th time in the last 13 games.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, who dropped for the ninth time in the last 13 games. Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points, Doug McDermott added 20 and Caris LeVert had 19.
Thunder Oklahoma City 112 – Minnesota Timberwolves 103
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points to beat Oklahoma City over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Svi Mykhailiuk, playing in his third game with the Thunder after getting in a trade earlier this month, warmed up in a 15-2 run early in the fourth quarter. The promotion helped Oklahoma City stretch their lead to an 18-point high at the game and take control for good.
Ty Jerome shot at Oklahoma City 5-for-5 from a 3-point range and injured with 15 points, while Aleksej Pokusevski scored 13 points and 10 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 33 points and 10 boards while Anthony Edwards scored 16 points.
Charlotte Hornets 100 – San Antonio Spurs 97
Gordon Hayward scored 27 points and Terry Rozier scored 24, 17 of those in the second half, when Charlotte visited on the inning to beat San Antonio.
Malik Monk and Bismack Biyombo each added 11 points for the Hornets, which ended a three-game losing streak, while PJ Washington finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan finished with 28 points for San Antonio. White won 21, while Mills and Rudy Gay beat for 10 apiece. Jakob Poeltl stopped the Spurs with 11 rebounds.
Sacramento Kings 119 – Cleveland Cavaliers 105
De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points, Tyrese Haliburton scored a superb 28 points on an 11-of-15 shooting and Sacramento completed the six-game road trip at the Eastern Conference with a win over Cleveland.
JaVale McGee led the way for the Cavaliers with 18 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
The Kings used the controlling third quarter, including a 14-1 run over a further six minutes, to get a break in the second half. They held the Cavaliers to just 17 points in that time.
–Field Media Level