NBA Wrap: Draymond Green stars for Warriors, Kings defeat Suns in high scoring affair

DRAYMOND Green was the star of the night in a Warriors win, and the Kings defeat the Suns in a high scoring affair. It’s all in the NBA Wrap.

Cleveland Cavaliers v Golden State Warriors

DRAYMOND Green was the star of the night in a Warriors win, and the Kings defeat the Suns in a high scoring affair.

It’s all in the NBA Wrap.

AUSSIES IN ACTION

Aron Baynes finished with 10 points and three rebounds in the Detroit Piston’s 94-82 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

In the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 104-79 blowout win over the Orlando Magic, Matthew Dellavedova posted three points, three rebounds and six assists.

Patty Mills posted nine points and three rebounds in the San Antonio Spurs’ 121-103 win over the Houston Rockets.

Joe Ingles finished with three points and one assists in the Utah Jazz’s 92-87 overtime win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

In the Golden State Warriors’ 111-108 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, Andrew Bogut finished with two points, seven rebounds and two blocks before fouling out of the game.

BOSTON CELTICS 97 — BROOKLYN NETS 100

Brook Lopez scored a season-high 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading the Brooklyn Nets to a 100-97 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

Joe Johnson added 20 points, Thaddeus Young scored 16 with 10 rebounds, and Bojan Bogdanovic had 13 points for the Nets, who won for the third time in 11 games.

Isaiah Thomas had 24 points and Jae Crowder scored 16 for Boston. The Celtics dropped their second straight after a season-high four-game winning streak.

Nets guard Jarrett Jack left the game after crumbling to the court and grabbing his right knee late in the third quarter. The team said it was a sprain.

Boston tied it with a 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter, but Lopez had a three-point play and a pair of baskets, putting the Nets ahead 92-85 with 5:34 left.

SACRAMENTO KINGS 142 — PHOENIX SUNS 119

Kings coach George Karl moved into a tie for fifth on the NBA wins list with 1,155 when DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and nine rebounds to lead Sacramento over Phoenix, which lost its eighth in a row.

Karl matched Phil Jackson with the milestone victory. The 63-year-old Karl is 1,155-795 in 27 seasons.

Brandon Knight had 23 points and Devin Booker scored 21 for the Suns, who have lost 10 of 11.

Darren Collison had 21 points and six assists, and Marco Belinelli scored 19 points for the Kings. Rudy Gay added 16 points and Rajon Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists. The Kings set a season high for points and shot 61.6 percent in snapping a three-game skid.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS 90 — OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 109

Kevin Durant had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and Oklahoma City pulled away in the second half to beat Charlotte.

Russell Westbrook added 16 points for the Thunder, who put four other players in double figures while winning their fourth straight game. Oklahoma City has won 10 in a row against Charlotte dating to the 2010-11 season.

Kemba Walker had 32 points for the Hornets, who scored nine unanswered points to pull to 66-64 with 9:45 remaining in the third. But the Thunder responded with a 12-2 spurt to push their lead back to double digits.

INDIANA PACERS 94 — DETROIT PISTONS 82

Paul George scored 21 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Pacers to over the Pistons.

At the final buzzer, Marcus Morris shoved George twice, sparking a minor scuffle.

George Hill had 18 points and Monta Ellis added 14 for the Pacers (19-14), who snapped a two game skid.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Ersan Ilyasova and Reggie Jackson each scored 12 points for the Pistons (18-16), who have lost four of five games.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 104 — ORLANDO MAGIC 79

LeBron James scored 29 points as the Cavaliers beat the Magic for a 13th straight game.

The Cavaliers’ lead reached 31 points in the third quarter of their third win over the Magic this season - and it wasn’t even the most lopsided matchup. On Dec. 11, Cleveland led by as many as 40 in a 111-76 rout.

James was 11 of 18 from the field with five rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. Kyrie Irving, playing his fifth game since returning from a broken left kneecap, scored 13 points while Kevin Love added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Orlando’s starters were held to 20 points. Aaron Gordon scored a team-high 11.

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 85 — MILWAUKEE BUCKS 95

Greg Monroe had 19 points and 10 rebounds to help Milwaukee overcome O.J. Mayo’s wild ejection in a victory over Minnesota.

John Henson scored 15 points for the Bucks, and Khris Middleton added 13. An enraged Mayo was forcibly removed from the court by coaches and security staff after he picked up two technical fouls in the first quarter.

Ricky Rubio had 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Timberwolves, who led 22-5 in the first quarter. Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points on 7-for-17 shooting.

The Bucks missed their first 11 shots, trailed by 17 only 9 minutes in and didn’t make a field goal until 3:18 remained in the first quarter, the longest drought to start a game since the New Orleans Hornets went 9:18 against Orlando in 2006.

Milwaukee opened the fourth period with an 11-0 surge to take an 83-70 lead and never looked back.

DALLAS MAVERICKS — NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 105

Anthony Davis had 31 points and 14 rebounds, and New Orleans ended a six-game losing streak in Dallas.

Ryan Anderson hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and the Pelicans went on to their fourth road win this season. They won at Dallas for just the third time in 25 games in franchise history.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 24 points but was 8 of 21 from the field on the second night of a back-to-back - both losses since Dallas handed Golden State its second defeat of the season, with Stephen Curry sidelined by a leg injury.

New Orleans guard Norris Cole had 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS 121 — HOUSTON ROCKETS 103

LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points, Kawhi Leonard added 22 and the Spurs made a season-high 13 3-pointers in avenging an earlier loss to the Rockets.

San Antonio extended its franchise record home start with its 20th straight victory.

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and James Harden had 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting for Houston (16-19).

Spurs guard Danny Green opened the game 4 for 5 on 3-pointers, including his first 3, and finished with 18 points on a season-high six 3-pointers.

UTAH JAZZ 92 — MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 87

Rodney Hood scored a career-high 32 points and Utah fought off a stingy Memphis team to win in overtime.

The Jazz won consecutive games for the sixth time this season, but have yet to win three straight.

Hood knocked down a pair of free throws to put Utah ahead 89-87 with 29.1 seconds left in overtime. He scored 10 points in the first quarter and then carried the Jazz offense late with 17 in the fourth period and overtime combined.

Gordon Hayward added 14 points and Jeff Withey had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Marc Gasol scored 20 for Memphis to go with seven rebounds and four assists. But he missed a wide-open jumper from the elbow that would have won the game in regulation.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 111 — DENVER NUGGETS 108

Klay Thompson made a driving finger roll with 15.6 seconds left in overtime and the short-handed Golden State Warriors stayed undefeated at home, holding off the Denver Nuggets 111-108 on Saturday night after Stephen Curry bruised his left leg again.

Following the game, Denver forward Kenneth Faried was taken off the court on a stretcher with a neck brace stabilizing his head. Faried, injured late in the game, raised his arm for a thumbs-up to fans who stuck around.

Curry came back following a two-game absence because of a bruised lower left leg, but sustained a contusion on his left shin and didn’t play the entire second half. The reigning NBA MVP finished with five points, four assists and two steals in 14-plus minutes.

The Warriors beat Denver for the fourth straight time overall and at Oracle Arena.

Thompson scored 26 points on 11-for-27 shooting for Golden State (31-2). Green’s 18 first-quarter points were a career best for a single quarter.

Danilo Gallinari returned to the Denver lineup and scored 24 points after sitting out six games with a sprained left ankle.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 130 — PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 99

With star forward Blake Griffin sidelined, the Los Angeles Clippers are on a roll and getting contributions from everybody.

DeAndre Jordan led six players in double figures with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 130-99 Saturday night for their season-high sixth straight victory. They improved to 5-0 without the injured Griffin.

Chris Paul added 15 points and 14 assists while setting up Jordan for some highlight-reel dunks that excited the sellout crowd against an opponent with the NBA’s worst record.

Rookie big man Jahlil Okafor scored 23 points off the bench for the 76ers, who fell to 2-21 on the road and 3-33 overall while giving up a season high in points. Nik Stauskas made six 3-pointers for 18 points, and Nerlens Noel added 13 points.

Originally published as NBA Wrap: Draymond Green stars for Warriors, Kings defeat Suns in high scoring affair