NBA 2014-15: Kevin Love conquers former team Minnesota but Cavaliers lose Varejao
KEVIN Love put his former team to the sword, the Lakers beat the Warriors without Kobe, while Lillard scored 40 again. FULL NBA WRAP HERE.
KEVIN Love put his former team to the sword, the 76ers came from 23 points down to beat the Heat and Lillard scored 40 again.
Catch up on all today’s NBA action in our daily wrap below.
HOW THE AUSSIES FARED
Matthew Dellavedova didn’t have the greatest shooting night, but still put in a respectable performance for the in-form Cavaliers.
The back-up point guard played 13 minutes for three points, three assists, a rebound and a steal.
His output would have been better but for his ice cold shooting. He went one from five on field goal attempts.
My dude @matthewdelly did well today. #AllForCLE
— Alex (@GreatRajsel) December 24, 2014Andrew Bogut was again in a suit and tie on the sidelines for Golden State as he continues his recovery from a leg injury.
Cameron Bairstow’s NBA education continued from the Chicago Bulls’ bench, with the 23-year-old again missing out on court time, this time against Washington. Bairstow has now played in just two of Chicago’s last 12 games, for a total of 10 minutes.
CAVALIERS 125 — MINNESOTA 104
Kevin Love scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against his former club Tuesday as Cleveland ripped Minnesota 125-104, but an injury to Anderson Varejao dimmed any celebrations.
The 32-year-old Brazilian big man suffered a left foot and ankle injury with 7:24 remaining in the third quarter. He had to be helped off the court after collapsing under the basket.
Losing Varejao would be a major setback for the Cavaliers, who improved to 17-10 with their 12th win in 15 games. The team has started to come together after adding four-time NBA MVP LeBron James and Love in a trade with Minnesota.
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and James added 24 for Cleveland while Love dominated in his first meeting with the Timberwolves, the team where he spent his first six NBA seasons before joining the Cavaliers this year.
Love suffered a thumb injury in the third quarter but had it taped and returned to the line-up later in the period.
The trade for Love netted Minnesota the top players picked in the past two NBA Drafts, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett. Wiggins scored 27 for Minnesota while Bennett did not manage a point.
Senegalese centre Gorgui Dieng added a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost their sixth game in a row and 12th in 13 starts, falling to 5-22 on the season.
LAKERS 115 - WARRIORS 105
Kobe Bryant needing a rest was a blessing in diguise for the Los Angeles Lakers, who took down the NBA’s number one team without Bryant in their line-up.
Carlos Boozer scored 18 points in his new role off the bench as the Lakers shocked the league-leading Golden State Warriors 115-105.
The NBA’s No. 3 career scorer sat out for the first time this season to rest his tired legs, a decision made by coach Byron Scott.
The 36-year-old shooting guard, averaging 35.5 minutes through the first 27 games of his 19th NBA season and shooting just 37.2 percent, was three-of-15 in a one-point loss to Oklahoma City last Friday and eight-of-30 with nine turnovers in a seven-point defeat at Sacramento on Sunday.
Wayne Ellington made his first start for the Lakers in Bryant’s place and 36th in 333 career NBA games. He scored 12 points in 25 minutes - one of seven Lakers in double figures.
Stephen Curry had 22 points and six assists for the Warriors, who lost for only the fourth time in their first 27 games.
The Lakers made only one field goal over the final 5:56 - a clutch three-pointer by Jeremy Lin with 35 seconds to play. The Warriors cut it to 113-105 on Justin Holiday’s three-pointer with 29 seconds to go, before Ronnie Price helped put it away with a pair of free throws.
The Lakers, moving the ball just fine in the first half without Bryant orchestrating the offense, had 19 assists in 27 baskets and got 12 points each from Wesley Johnson and Ed Davis en route to a 63-48 lead.
BULLS 99 — WIZARDS 91
Derrick Rose scored 25 points to help the Chicago Bulls stretch their win streak to four games with a 99-91 victory against Washington.
Rose, the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player, hit 10-of-17 shots from the field against the Wizards and netted six points in a row to cap an 8-0 run that gave the Bulls a 94-87 lead.
Chicago’s 13-4 record in road games in the best in the Eastern Conference and their 19-9 overall mark ranks fourth behind Toronto, Atlanta and the Wizards, who fell to 19-8.
Spanish big man Pau Gasol scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Bulls, who won for the seventh time in eight games.
Washington had grabbed an 87-86 lead on a basket by John Wall, who led the Wizards with 18 points and nine assists. Poland’s Marcin Gortat contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds in a losing cause.
76ERS 91 — HEAT 87
The Philadelphia 76ers erased a 23-point second-half deficit to stun the Miami Heat 91-87.
Michael Carter-Williams scored 20 points, Luc Mbah a Moute added 19 and K.J. McDaniels scored 13 for the 76ers, who won two consecutive games for the first time this season. Jerami Grant and Robert Covington each had 11 points for Philadelphia.
Dwyane Wade scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half for Miami, which was outscored 49-30 after half-time and now plays host to LeBron James and Cleveland in a Christmas Day showdown.
This was anything but the way the Heat wanted to go into that contest.
Good win! 💪🀠I am very happy to be here and be part of Sixers. I am looking forward to playing with my brave teammates.
— Furkan Aldemir (@furkanaldemir19) December 24, 2014Shawne Williams scored 17 and Mario Chalmers added 11 for the Heat, who missed four three-pointers that would have given them the lead in the final minute.
Miami also turned the ball over 22 times, helping Philadelphia score 21 points.
Miami led by 13 after the opening quarter, by 15 at intermission and pushed the lead to 69-46 — a 23-point cushion — midway through the third quarter.
But from there the 76ers went on a staggering 41-13 run over the next 16 minutes.
Carter-Williams made a three-pointer with one-tenth of a second left in the third to get Philadelphia to 78-73, and the 76ers’ run didn’t end there.
HORNETS 108 — BUCKS 101
Kemba Walker scored 27 points and Gerald Henderson added 16 as Charlotte held off the Milwaukee Bucks 108-101, extending the Hornets winning streak to a season-high four games.
Brandon Knight had a season-high 34 points for the Bucks, who were prevented from matching last season’s victory total of 15.
Charlotte, which has beaten Milwaukee seven consecutive times, led 88-80 entering the final quarter and extended it to 96-84 as the Bucks went 3:39 without scoring.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored on a put-back to put the Hornets up 102-91 with 2:46 left, but Knight scored Milwaukee’s next eight points, pulling the Bucks to 103-99 on a three-pointer with 25.9 remaining.
The Hornets held on with five free throws down the stretch.
The Bucks opened a 49-43 lead with 4:57 left in the half on a jumper by Jerryd Bayless, but Walker scored nine consecutive points, capping the run with a three-pointer to put the Hornets up 52-49. Knight scored the final five points of the half to put Milwaukee back in front 56-54.
Milwaukee was effective in transition in the first half, scoring 17 points off the fast break, compared with just two for the Hornets.
HAWKS 107 — CLIPPERS 104
The Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 107-104 on for their fifth straight victory.
DeMarre Carroll scored a career-high 25 points and Al Horford had 20 for Southeast Division-leading Atlanta, which has won 14 of 15 against its division rivals.
Blake Griffin had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers and Chris Paul scored 19.
The Hawks held off the Clippers in a hectic final 30 seconds. After a layup by J.J. Redick cut Atlanta’s lead to 104-102 with 18 seconds remaining, Kyle Korver answered with two free throws.
After Redick made two of three free throws, Korver was tied up by Matt Barnes for a jump ball with 9.5 seconds remaining. Korver won the tip and Horford made one of two free throws. Griffin missed a last-second three-pointer that would have forced the game into overtime.
NETS 102 — NUGGETS 96
Joe Johnson scored 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 19 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-96.
Jarrett Jack, who started in place of injured point guard Deron Williams, had 17 points and eight assists. Sergey Karasev added 12 points for the Nets, who won their second straight game and improved to 11-2 against sub-.500 teams.
Ty Lawson led Denver with 29 points and had nine assists. Kenneth Faried chipped in 20 points and 14 boards for the Nuggets, who lost their second straight game and have dropped nine of 12.
Nets centre Brook Lopez, who had missed the last eight games due to a lower back strain, played eight minutes and had six points and four rebounds in a reserve role.
The Nets can afford to take it slow with Lopez since Plumlee has played so well in his absence. The second-year centre shot nine of 14 from the field and also blocked three shots.
Denver led 85-78 with nine minutes left after Faried capped an 8-0 run with two free throws. Brooklyn then went on a 19-4 run to take a 97-89 advantage on Johnson’s turnaround fadeaway jumper with 2:41 remaining.
TRAIL BLAZERS 115 — THUNDER 111
Damian Lillard made a game-tying three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation time to help the Portland Trail Blazers erase a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-111.
Lillard scored 40 points, the second time he has reached that mark in Portland’s last four games, following a 43-point outburst against San Antonio on Saturday. He also had 11 assists.
"Who is: Damian Lillard?" #JeopardySports pic.twitter.com/Z59CMwPVDX
— Jeopardy! Sports (@JeopardySports) December 24, 2014Lillard went eight of 12 from three-point range, including one with 2:07 left in overtime to put Portland up 111-106. Lillard had seven points in the extra period.
Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 40 points and added 10 rebounds and six assists for Oklahoma City before fouling out with 1:39 left in overtime.
Oklahoma City played for a third straight game without NBA MVP Kevin Durant, who has a sprained right ankle.
MAGIC 100 — CELTICS 95
Last week, the Orlando Magic left the Boston Celtics’ home court having just received one of their most demoralising losses of the season.
Today the Magic returned the favour but the Celtics made them work for it.
Tobias Harris scored 19 points and the Magic hung on to beat the Celtics 100-95.
Nik Vucevic and Kyle O’Quinn each added 18 points as Orlando ended a four-game losing streak.
Orlando looked to be in control in the second half and led by as many as 27 points. But that advantage was trimmed all the way down to three points in the closing minutes. The Magic were outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter, but never trailed.
“We just got away from what we were doing throughout the whole game, and they capitalised off that,” Harris said.
“But we got it together toward the end of the game and came out with the victory.”
Tyler Zeller led the Celtics with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Avery Bradley added 20 points, and Kelly Olynyk 14.
Boston looked sluggish offensively for most of the night, connecting on just 38 per cent of its field goal attempts.
PACERS 96 — PELICANS 84
Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill had an instant impact in his first game of the season, leading the Pacers to a 96-84 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
After missing the first 28 games with a left knee contusion, Hill had a team-high 15 points, four rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes. With their floor general back at the helm, the Pacers had a cohesiveness they haven’t had at any point this season.
New Orleans was led by Anthony Davis, who scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Tyreke Evans finished with 14 points and one rebound. Jrue Holiday also had 16 points.
But Hill’s ability to control the game’s flow — and his teammates’ production — made all the difference.
Indiana (10-19) finished with six players scoring in double figures, thanks in large part to a synergy that hadn’t existed with Hill on the bench.
David West and Solomon Hill each finished with 13 points. Roy Hibbert scored 14 points and tied a season-high with seven blocks.
SUNS 124 - MAVERICKS 115
Eric Bledsoe secured his second career triple-double and Phoenix won its fourth game in a row, beating the Dallas Mavericks 124-115 in the Suns’ highest-scoring game of the season.
Bledsoe had 16 points and 11 assists, then grabbed his 10th rebound away from teammate Goran Dragic with 31 seconds to play.
Dragic scored 25 and Gerald Green 22 for the Suns, coming off a 3-0 trip to the East. Alex Len added 17 points, two shy of his career high.
Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler scored 22 apiece for the Mavericks, who lost at home to Atlanta the previous night.
Rajon Rondo had 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds before fouling out with 1:37 to play in his third game since coming to Dallas from Boston.
Originally published as NBA 2014-15: Kevin Love conquers former team Minnesota but Cavaliers lose Varejao
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