NBA 2014-15: Utah Jazz in tune for second game in a row, beating Orlando on the road
JAZZ notch back-to-back wins for first time, Dellavedova makes his presence felt and Spurs in another triple overtime thriller. FULL NBA WRAP.
JAZZ notch back-to-back wins for first time, Dellavedova makes his presence felt and Spurs in another triple overtime thriller.
Catch up on all today’s NBA action in our daily wrap.
HOW THE AUSSIES FARED
Dante Exum and Joe Ingles contributed just two points each to Utah’s score in the Jazz’s road win over Orlando.
Exum played 15 minutes, and while he didn’t have much impact on the scoreboard, his defensive pressure was first-rate, with the young star picking up two steals. The rest of the team had two steals combined.
He did have one scary moment, though, when he ploughed into a screen set by Orlando’s Dewayne Dedmon.
Dante Exum is on the court writing in pain, holding his head, after running into Dewayne Dedmon.
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) December 20, 2014Ingles did about as much as you can do in three minutes on court, nailing the one shot he put up, pulling in a rebound and having an assist.
Cam Bairstow again suited up for no reason for Chicago, with the power forward not called on for the eighth time in the Bulls’ last 10 games.
Matthew Dellavedova was one of the most influential players on court in his brief cameo for Cleveland. The back-up point guard only played 13 minutes but the Cavs were nine points better than Brooklyn during those periods, thanks to his two points, three assists, one rebound and one steal.
Aron Baynes’ fans are growing restless after the Aussie big man was again left on the bench for the entire game against Portland, despite three extra overtime periods being required.
Tiago Splitter’s return from injury has been to Baynes’ disadvantage, with Splitter eating up minutes that were previously going the Australian’s way.
And the fans aren’t happy.
Hey @aronbaynes I think you need to accidentally have your fist slip and hit Popovich... Check his ego
— Irving (@KobeFor3Clank) December 20, 2014Pops knows that just because Tiago came back that he doesn't have to sit out Aron Baynes right?
— Victoria Rose♡ (@toriaaa_rose) December 20, 2014where's aron baynes
— summer verde (@2cute4urscreen) December 20, 2014Baynes could finally get back on the boards tomorrow against Dallas, with the Spurs having played back-to-back triple overtime thrillers and relied heavily on ageing stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili during those extra minutes.
Patty Mills remains on the Spurs’ injury list, though he was on court after the game, if only to shake hands with the opposition players.
JAZZ 101 — MAGIC 94
Utah is on a roll.
If you can call two consecutive wins a roll, but given it’s the first time the Jazz has achieved that feat this season, they’ll take it.
Derrick Favors had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Gordon Hayward scored 20 to lead the Jazz to a 101-94 victory over Orlando.
The Jazz, who won in Miami on Thursday (AEDT), finally earned back-to-back victories, and it came courtesy of their hot shooting.
Utah shot at 70 per cent in the first period and didn’t drop below 55 per cent shooting until the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
The Jazz led 85-74 at that point, but the Magic went on a 10-4 run, punctuated by a three-point play from Tobias Harris to cut the deficit to 89-83 with 5:28 left in the game.
The Magic couldn’t get any closer as Favors and Hayward held them off in the final five minutes.
TRAIL BLAZERS 129 — SPURS 119
The San Antonio Spurs became the first team since 1951 to reach triple overtime in two consecutive games as they went down by 10 points against Portland.
Damian Lillard had a career-high 43 points for the Trail Blazers, including 16 in extra time, as they handed the San Antonio Spurs their second straight defeat in triple OT.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds and Wesley Matthews added 16 points as Portland (21-6) extended its winning streak to four games.
Tim Duncan had 32 points and 10 rebounds, Danny Green added 27 points and Tiago Splitter had 14 points for San Antonio.
The Spurs had lost their two previous home games by a combined three points, including a 117-116 loss in triple overtime to Memphis on Thursday (AEDT).
It was the first time a team has played consecutive triple overtime games since the Baltimore Bullets did it in December 1951.
CELTICS 114 — TIMBERWOLVES 98
No Rondo, no worries for Boston.
The Celtics began their post-Rajon Rondo era with a 114-98 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points for Boston, just a day after trading their star point guard to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics had six players score in double figures in their third straight victory, all against teams that have combined for just 17 wins this season.
Leading 95-92 midway through the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored the next eight points and 12 of 14 to take a 107-94 lead with 3:25 remaining. They stayed ahead by at least 12 the rest of the way.
Minnesota was led by Shabazz Muhammad with 26 points and Chase Budinger with 19.
CAVALIERS 95 — NETS 91
LeBron James’ 22 points carried him into 23rd place on the all-time scoring list as Cleveland scraped past Brooklyn by four points.
James scored eight points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers bounced back from their biggest loss of the season, against Atlanta on Thursday.
Mike Miller, making his first start of the season for the Cavs, showed no signs of rust and added 21 points, all from three-pointers.
Joe Johnson led the Nets with 26 points. Brooklyn guard Deron Williams limped off the court in the second quarter with a strained right calf and didn’t return.
Brooklyn cut an eight-point lead to 94-91 on a Johnson three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers committed a turnover, but Kevin Garnett missed a contested three-pointer and James split two free throws with 1.3 seconds left.
WIZARDS 105 — HEAT 103
Miami blew its chance to beat Washington, with an errant Dwyane Wade pass with 11 seconds left in the game denying the Heat a chance to tie the scores, before the Wizards held on by two points.
John Wall scored 20 points and added 10 assists and Nene scored 20 off the bench as the Wizards rallied to beat the Heat 105-103.
Bradley Beal scored 16 and Paul Pierce added 14 for the Wizards, who won their sixth straight game.
Wade finished with 28 points for Miami, which dropped its fifth home game in a row and is now 4-9 on its own floor this season. Luol Deng scored 19, Mario Chalmers had 14 and Udonis Haslem 11 for the Heat.
Miami had a chance to tie the game with 11 seconds left, but Beal intercepted a pass by Wade and made two free throws to clinch the win. Wade hit a three-pointer as time expired.
The Heat led by as many as eight in the third and took a 79-76 lead into the final quarter, and the lead was still five midway through the fourth.
It just wasn’t enough.
RAPTORS 110 — PISTONS 100
Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 points to lead the Toronto Raptors past Detroit 110-100, handing the Pistons their 12th straight home loss.
Brandon Jennings scored 22 points for Detroit, which extended its single-season franchise record for consecutive home losses and moved within seven of the NBA record set by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks.
Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams had 15 points each, James Johnson scored 12 and Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross added 11 each for the Raptors.
The score was tied at 52 at half-time before Toronto pulled away in the third quarter. Detroit had four turnovers in the first two minutes, allowing the Raptors to take a six-point lead.
Toronto extended it to 15 later in the period and Johnson’s dunk made it 95-75 midway through the fourth.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 18 points and Greg Monroe had 17 for the Pistons.
HORNETS 109 — 76ERS 91
Kemba Walker scored a season-high 30 points, Al Jefferson added 20 points and 12 rebounds and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 109-91 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tony Wroten and Robert Covington scored 19 apiece for the Sixers, who dropped to 0-14 at home this season. Like Detroit, they’re closing in on the NBA record for the most home losses to start a season, which is held by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks at 19.
The Hornets (7-19) had lost 14 of 16 coming in but dominated the rebuilding Sixers, who have won just twice in 25 games.
After surging to a 20-point advantage at half-time, Charlotte held a double-figure lead throughout the second half, with Jefferson scoring 16 points after the break to keep the Sixers at bay.
Philadelphia-area native Gerald Henderson added 11 points for the Hornets, who shot 43.9 per cent from the field and 41.7 per cent from three-point range.
BULLS 103 — GRIZZLIES 97
The Chicago Bulls snapped Memphis’ six-game winning streak with a 103-97 victory over the Grizzlies.
Jimmy Butler scored 31 points for the Bulls, connecting on 11 of 21 shots, while Nikola Mirotic added a season-best 27.
Mirotic netted all six of his shots beyond the arc, setting a season standard for three-pointers made.
Aaron Brooks scored 17 points and Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Butler also had 10 rebounds as the Bulls outrebounded Memphis 51-45.
Mike Conley led Memphis with 21 points, while Beno Udrih added 15 points before leaving with a hand injury in the fourth quarter.
Marc Gasol had 13 points, but was five of 15 from the field, part of Memphis shooting 39 per cent for the game. Vince Carter scored 10 for Memphis.
THUNDER 104, LAKERS 103
Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and hit a key jumper with 38 seconds left, and Oklahoma City overcame the absence of NBA MVP Kevin Durant against Los Angeles.
Kobe Bryant missed a 17-foot jumper right before the buzzer for the Lakers, who had won three of four. Bryant had nine points on 3-of-15 shooting, but added eight rebounds and eight assists.
Reggie Jackson scored 25 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with 1:05 left for the Thunder, who persevered down the stretch for their eighth victory in nine games.
Durant sat out after spraining his right ankle in the first half of the Thunder’s loss at Golden State on Thursday night.
Ed Davis had a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.
Originally published as NBA 2014-15: Utah Jazz in tune for second game in a row, beating Orlando on the road
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