Russell Westbrook posts triple-double as Oklahoma City Thunder rally to beat Toronto Raptors
Written by News on 23/03/2019
Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double and Paul George added 28 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 13 points down to beat the Toronto Raptors.
Oklahoma City Thunder 116-109 Toronto Raptors
Russell Westbrook had his 28th triple-double of the season, supplying 18 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to defeat the Toronto Raptors 116-109 on Friday night and end a four-game losing streak.
Paul George added 28 points and Dennis Schroder had 26 points for the Thunder, who lost to the Raptors in overtime on Wednesday and overcame a 13-point deficit on Friday.
Jerami Grant added 19 points for Oklahoma City before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Terrance Ferguson chipped on with 11.
Kawhi Leonard scored 37 points for Toronto and Pascal Siakam added 25 points while Danny Green had 16 points and Serge Ibaka had 11.
The Thunder came back from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to lead by three points entering the fourth.
Leonard’s three-pointer tied the game at 88 with 10:08 remaining. The Thunder opened a 10-point lead on George’s triple with 6:21 left. Leonard’s jumper and free throw cut the lead to four with 3:35 to play.
The Thunder led by six after George made two free throws with 1:53 to play. Marc Gasol answered with a dunk for Toronto.
Leonard’s charging foul gave the Thunder possession with 1:02 left, and they led by six 10 seconds later on two foul shots by Westbrook.
Westbrook made two more free throws with 19 seconds remaining to give the
San Antonio Spurs 105-111 Houston Rockets
James Harden matched his career high with 61 points, delivering early and late to bail out the host Houston Rockets in their 111-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center.
Harden, who also scored 61 points on January 23 at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, finished 19-of-34 from the floor while drilling 9-of-13 from three-point range.
After the Rockets coughed up a 19-point third-quarter lead and fell into a 100-94 hole late in the fourth, Harden responded with three successive three-pointers and a pair of drives to the basket to secure the victory, the Rockets’ third consecutive win over the Spurs.
Chris Paul added 18 points, including four free throws inside the final minute to seal the win. Eric Gordon added 12 points for Houston, but Harden was the showstopper, posting his second consecutive 50-point game and eighth on the season. No other NBA player has more than one.
Bryn Forbes led five Spurs in double figures with 20 points while Derrick White added 18 with eight rebounds. DeMar DeRozan posted 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while LaMarcus Aldridge paired 10 points with five blocks for San Antonio.
When Jakob Poeltl added the second of his two tip-ins just prior to the third-quarter buzzer, the Spurs pulled even at 81-81 entering the fourth and captured their first lead at 85-84 on a Patty Mills reverse lay-up with 10:48 left to play.
They appeared poised to earn a season-series split before Harden pulled victory out of the fire with yet another MVP-calibre effort.
Miami Heat 87-116 Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 116-87 win over the visiting Miami Heat.
Miami, led by Hassan Whiteside’s 14 points, a game-high-tying 10 rebounds and a game-high three blocks, had closed their deficit to 63-58 early in the third quarter before falling apart.
Antetokounmpo made 12-of-19 shots from the floor. Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton nearly had a triple-double with 18 points, a game-high 10 assists and eight rebounds.
The Bucks competed without several players, including guards Malcolm Brogdon (foot) and Donte DiVincenzo (heel) as well as post players Pau Gasol (undisclosed) and Nikola Mirotic (thumb).
Milwaukee held a 63-51 lead at halftime as Antetokounmpo had 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting. He gave Bucks fans a huge scare when he hit the deck in the second quarter, but he got back up and returned to action.
By the end of the third quarter, Milwaukee had a comfortable 94-69 lead, and the Bucks cruised home from there.
Brooklyn Nets 111-106 Los Angeles Lakers
Joe Harris scored 26 points as the visiting Brooklyn Nets made enough plays down the stretch Friday to earn a 111-106 victory over the Lakers, officially eliminating Los Angeles from postseason contention.
The Nets followed up their historic comeback win in Sacramento and improved to 2-3 on a season-high, seven-game road trip that continues Monday in Portland.
Seventh-place Brooklyn (38-36) moved to within a half-game of the sixth-place Detroit Pistons and two-and-a-half games ahead of the eighth-place Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.
The Lakers lost their fifth straight, dropped to 2-12 in their last 14 games and will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season. The loss officially ensured that LeBron James will miss the postseason for the first time since his second season with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2004-05.
Brooklyn’s D’Angelo Russell added 21 points and 13 assists against his former team. Russell became the first Net to post three straight games with at least 20 points and 10 assists since Kenny Anderson in January 1994.
JaVale McGee led all scorers with career highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 38.5 per cent from the field. James finished one rebound shy of his 81st career triple-double, totaling 25 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.
The Nets took the lead for good when Russell’s three-pointer made it 93-90 with 6:58 remaining. Brooklyn took a 107-99 lead on a lay-up by Harris with 2:48 remaining, but a three-pointer by James made it 107-104 with 1:59 left.
The Lakers also were within 109-106 following two free throws by James with 53 seconds to go, and they had a chance to tie when Russell missed a three-point attempt with 32.9 seconds left.
But the Lakers never got a shot off as James committed a turnover along the baseline while being guarded by Jarrett Allen, and the Los Angeles star appeared to come up hurt.
After Dinwiddie split two free throws with 17.1 seconds left, James missed an off-balance three-point try with 14.5 seconds remaining and Kyle Kuzma missed a three-point attempt nine seconds later to essentially seal the win for Brooklyn.
Denver Nuggets 111-93 New York Knicks
Nikola Jokic scored 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds for the surging Denver Nuggets, who moved back into a tie for the top seed in the Western Conference by cruising to a 111-93 win over the host New York Knicks.
With their sixth straight win, the Nuggets (49-22) tied the Golden State Warriors for the best record in the West. Denver has never earned the top seed in the West and has yet to make an appearance in the NBA Finals.
Jamal Murray scored 18 points for the Nuggets, who also received 14 points from Gary Harris, 13 points from Monte Morris, 12 points from Will Barton and 11 points from Mason Plumlee.
Denver will look to cap a perfect four-game Eastern Conference road swing when they visit the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
Emmanuel Mudiay scored 21 points and Mitchell Robinson (16 points, 10 rebounds) recorded a double-double for the NBA-worst Knicks (14-59) who have lost three straight and 11 of 12. New York need to win at least four of their remaining nine games to avoid tying or exceeding the worst record in franchise history.
Kevin Knox added 19 points for the Knicks while DeAndre Jordan had 11 rebounds.
The Nuggets held New York scoreless for more than four minutes in the second quarter and went ahead again by 20 at 52-32 on Murray’s free throw with 4:07 left in the half.
Mario Hezonja scored seven points for the Knicks during a 12-3 run that pulled them within 67-59, but Morris and Jokic had five points apiece as the Nuggets ended the third on a 15-3 spurt. Denver led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Memphis Grizzlies 119-123 Orlando Magic (OT)
Evan Fournier gave Orlando their first lead of the game with 4:05 to go in overtime, then gave the Magic the upper hand for good with another hoop with 1:14 remaining, giving the Eastern Conference postseason hopefuls a much-needed 123-119 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies.
The come-from-behind win allowed Orlando to stay within arm’s length of the seventh and eighth playoff positions in the East, spots currently held by Brooklyn and Miami.
Fournier’s late hoop came after Jonas Valanciunas had put Memphis up 118-117 with 1:25 to go, creating the sixth lead change of the overtime session.
After Fournier put Orlando back on top, Nikola Vucevic made it a three-point game with a lay-up with 35.5 seconds left.
The Magic then caught a break when the Grizzlies’ Tyler Dorsey, with a chance to tie the game, missed two of three free throws. Orlando were able to ice the win with two subsequent free throws from Fournier.
Fournier finished with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Magic, who won their fourth in a row. Orlando’s Terrence Ross led all scorers with 31 points, while Vucevic added 25, DJ Augustin 20 and Jonathan Isaac 11.
Memphis lost despite a 23-point, 24-rebound performance by Valanciunas. It was his first 20-20 game as well as a career-best rebounding effort. Teammate Dorsey also recorded career-bests in points (29) and assists (nine).
Justin Holiday chipped in with 22 points, Chandler Parsons 17 and Delon Wright 12 for Memphis, who lost their fourth straight game on the road.
Los Angeles Clippers 110-108 Cleveland Cavaliers
Danilo Gallinari scored 27 points as the Los Angeles Clippers hung on for a 110-108 road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Trailing by two with 6.4 seconds left, Cleveland had one last chance to tie the game or go for the win, but Jordan Clarkson’s shot was off the mark and the Clippers had their ninth win in 10 games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 points, adding five assists and two steals. Lou Williams scored 15 and had six assists off the bench. Montrezl Harrell scored 14 and had a crucial offensive board late in the game to stave off the Cavaliers.
Collin Sexton scored 20 points, ending a run of seven straight games with at least 23 points.
Kevin Love led the Cavaliers with 22 points and had eight rebounds as the Cavaliers had their four-game home winning streak snapped.
The Cavaliers took control early and led until Patrick Beverly’s 27-foot, three-point jumper opened the third quarter and gave the Clippers their first lead of the game at 61-60. Landry Shamet tied the game at 73-all and Beverly’s tip-in with 6:06 left in the third gave the Clippers the lead for good.
(c) Sky News 2019: Russell Westbrook posts triple-double as Oklahoma City Thunder rally to beat Toronto Raptors
