Russell Westbrook scores 41 points to lead Houston Rockets to road win over Los Angeles Lakers
Written by News on 07/02/2020
Russell Westbrook erupted for a game-high 41 points to lead the Houston Rockets to their fourth straight win, a 121-111 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Houston Rockets 121-111 Los Angeles Lakers
Russell Westbrook scored 41 points and Robert Covington added 14 as the Houston Rockets’ small-ball lineup proved effective again in a 121-111 road victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
Covington made a pair of big three-pointers in the last three minutes while making his Rockets debut after he was acquired in a four-team trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Covington made a three-pointer with 2:40 remaining for a 115-111 lead and added another with 1:27 remaining for a 120-111 advantage.
James Harden scored just 14 points for the game on 3-of-10 shooting as the Rockets went on a 16-3 run down the stretch to put the game away and win their fourth straight.
Anthony Davis scored 32 points with 13 rebounds while playing through a right index finger injury, while LeBron James added 18 points, 15 assists and nine rebounds.
Houston were competitive again with their new small line-up that did not include a starter taller than 6ft 6in. The Lakers held a slim 29-28 lead after one quarter, but the Rockets pulled even at 63-63 at half-time.
The Rockets led 97-93 after three quarters and were up 102-95 in the fourth before the Lakers went on an 11-0 run to take a 106-102 lead on a James tip-in with 6:01 remaining. Davis had four points in the stretch.
The Rockets went on their own 8-2 run to take a 110-108 lead with 3:56 remaining on a 3-pointer from Eric Gordon and were up 112-108 with just over three minutes remaining, putting the game away from there.
Gordon had 15 points for the Rockets, while PJ Tucker added 11. Danny Green and Avery Bradley had 15 points each for the Lakers, while Alex Caruso had 12.
The Lakers finished with a slim 38-37 rebounding advantage. Houston shot 50.6 per cent from the field, and Los Angeles shot 49.5 per cent.
The game was played just hours after James selected both Davis and Harden as his team-mates for the All-Star Game at Chicago.
Philadelphia 76ers 101-112 Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 36 points, 20 rebounds and six assists as the host Milwaukee Bucks avenged a Christmas Day loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with a 112-101 victory.
The reigning NBA MVP has recorded five consecutive games of at least 30 points, 16 rebounds and six assists for the Bucks, who improved to 17-2 since dropping a 121-109 decision to Philadelphia. Antetokounmpo struggled mightily in that contest, shooting a season-worst 29.6 per cent from the field (8 of 27) and misfiring on all seven three-point attempts during his 18-point performance.
Before Thursday’s contest, Antetokounmpo selected Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid as his first pick – second overall – in the NBA All-Star Draft. Embiid had difficulty finding his range later Thursday, making just 6-of-26 shots from the floor. He finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Tobias Harris recorded 25 points and Al Horford made five three-pointers to finish with 15 points for the 76ers, who dropped all four contests on their road trip to fell to 9-19 away from home this season.
Milwaukee scored 14 straight points in a span of 2:16 to seize a 70-57 lead midway into the third quarter. Khris Middleton highlighted the surge with a pair of three-pointers before Wesley Matthews capped the run by dancing around Embiid for a driving lay-up.
Philadelphia chipped into their deficit in the fourth quarter with Harris and Embiid each draining a three-pointer to draw within five. Middleton answered by converting a four-point play after he was fouled by Ben Simmons on a three-point attempt, and Antetokounmpo made a driving lay-up and a three-pointer to build the Bucks’ lead back to double digits.
New Orleans Pelicans 125-119 Chicago Bulls
Rookie Zion Williamson scored 21 points and JJ Redick came off the bench to add 18 as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Chicago Bulls 125-119.
All-Star forward Brandon Ingram scored 15 points in 21 minutes before going to the New Orleans bench for good midway through the third quarter as a precaution after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter.
It was Williamson’s fourth consecutive game with at least 20 points. He bounced back from a season-worst 5-of-19 shooting performance in a 120-108 home loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday to make 9-of-11 on Thursday.
Josh Hart and Nicolo Melli each scored 12 points for New Orleans. Derrick Favors had eight points and 15 rebounds, and Lonzo Ball had nine points and 10 assists.
The Pelicans recorded 38 assists on 49 baskets as they completed a sweep of the season series with their sixth consecutive victory against the Bulls. The New Orleans bench finished with 63 points as the Pelicans scored 30-plus points in each of the first three quarters, including 40 in the second period.
The Bulls trimmed the deficit in the final three minutes but never got within one possession of tying the score. Zach LaVine scored 22, Chandler Hutchison had 16, Adam Mokoka 15, Coby White 14, Ryan Arcidiacono 13, and Shaquille Harrison and Thaddeus Young 11 each to lead the Bulls, who lost their fourth consecutive game.
San Antonio Spurs 117-125 Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard registered 26 points and 10 assists to help the Portland Trail Blazers record a come-from-behind 125-117 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs.
Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and eight rebounds, and CJ McCollum added 19 points as the Trail Blazers won for the sixth time in eight games.
Gary Trent Jr matched his career-best of six three-pointers while scoring 18 points, Hassan Whiteside matched his season-best of 23 rebounds to go with 17 points and four blocked shots, and Anfernee Simons added 10 points for Portland, who shot 9-of-10 from three-point range in the fourth quarter.
Trey Lyles had a season-high 23 points and collected 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have lost six of their past eight games. DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points and eight rebounds, Derrick White scored 15 points, Patty Mills added 14 and Bryn Forbes had 11 for San Antonio, who dropped to 0-3 on its eight-game ‘Rodeo Road Trip’.
DeRozan scored 13 points in the third quarter as San Antonio turned a one-point half-time edge into a 92-86 lead. Mills made two free throws to start the fourth quarter to give San Antonio an eight-point edge.
The Trail Blazers responded with an 18-6 spurt to move ahead. Anthony, Trent and McCollum hit consecutive three-pointers to end the burst as Portland took a 104-100 lead with 8:04 left.
San Antonio knotted the score at 104 before Trevor Ariza and Lillard made back-to-back three-pointers to give the Trail Blazers a 110-104 lead with 6:10 remaining. Trent’s trey increased Portland’s lead to 115-106 with 3:47 left.
Trent knocked down two more three-pointers in a 39-second span to make it a 121-108 lead with 2:13 left as the Trail Blazers closed it out.
Orlando Magic 103-105 New York Knicks
Julius Randle scored 22 points, including a clutch 14-foot jumper with 1:44 remaining, as the host New York Knicks knocked off the Orlando Magic 105-103 at Madison Square Garden.
Randle shot an efficient 10-of-16 from the floor, and his jumper gave the Knicks a 105-98 lead. After Orlando cut the lead to 105-103 on two free throws by Markelle Fultz with 35 seconds left, New York’s Reggie Bullock missed a three-pointer with 12.7 seconds left.
Orlando had a chance to tie the game or regain the lead, but Elfrid Payton stripped Evan Fournier at the top of the key with four-tenths of a second left and the Knicks secured their third straight win after outscoring Orlando 25-13 over the final nine-plus minutes.
Taj Gibson tied a season-high with 19 points for New York. Payton had a strong game against his former team, finishing with 15 points, nine assists and a career-high seven steals.
Nikola Vucevic led all scorers with 25 points, but the Magic committed 21 turnovers and lost for the seventh time in eight games. Aaron Gordon, Fournier, and Fultz added 16 apiece for Orlando.
The Knicks took a 50-37 lead on a free throw by rookie RJ Barrett with 2:54 left in the second and led 54-47 lead at half-time. The third quarter featured five lead changes and three ties, but the Magic ended the quarter on an 11-2 run over the final 3:20 and held an 83-76 edge into the fourth.
Orlando took a 90-80 lead on a putback by Mo Bamba with 9:24 remaining in the fourth, but the Knicks stormed back with an 18-6 run and never trailed again after Randle’s 17-footer gave them a 98-96 lead with 4:59 remaining.
(c) Sky Sports 2020: Russell Westbrook scores 41 points to lead Houston Rockets to road win over Los Angeles Lakers
