NBA Wrap: Kemba Walker has monster game in Magic loss, Wizards humble Celtics, Raptors edge Clippers
CHECK out the latest from all today’s NBA games in our daily wrap below.
CHECK out the latest from all today’s NBA games in our daily wrap below.
AUSSIES IN ACTION
Dante Exum tallied five points on one-for-seven shooting from the field as Utah defeated Philadelphia 88-71. Exum also picked up three assists and a steal in 17:46 minutes against his former coach Brett Brown.
Joe Ingles received one minute more court time than Exum and contributed two points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Cameron Bairstow was not activated by the Chicago Bulls in their 107-100 win over New Orleans.
Andrew Bogut remains on the injured list and missed Golden State’s 110-97 win over Minnesota.
MAGIC 102 — HORNETS 94
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Tobias Harris scored 21 points and the Orlando Magic overcame 42 points from Kemba Walker to beat the Charlotte Hornets 102-94 on Saturday night.
Walker scored a Charlotte-record 35 in the second half and finished 15 of 30 in the highest-scoring game of his career, but the Hornets could never regain the lead after falling behind by 10 at half-time.
It’s the seventh time in the last 10 games Walker has scored at least 20 points.
Victor Oladipo scored 13 points, Evan Fournier had 12, and Ben Gordon and Elfrid Payton each had 11 for the Magic (12-21).
The Magic have defeated the Hornets (10-21) twice in Charlotte this season. Earlier this year they erased a 23-point deficit to win.
WIZARDS 101 — CELTICS 88
Kris Humphries scored 18 points, Paul Pierce had 17 and the Washington Wizards beat the Boston Celtics 101-88 on Saturday night.
It was the Wizards’ eighth win in their last 10 games, and it was decided quickly. Washington scored 13 consecutive points to take a 15-2 lead with not even 4 minutes gone.
Jeff Green scored 23 points for Boston, which has lost four straight.
By the time the Celtics’ nightmare first quarter ended, they were behind 30-12 and outrebounded by 16-6 and had eight turnovers.
It was quite a contrast from the last time the teams met on Dec. 8, when the Wizards outlasted the Celtics 133-132 in a gruelling double-overtime game.
This was the fifth game Boston played since trading Rajon Rondo to Dallas on Dec. 18. Before the game, coach Brad Stevens said the team was still experimenting with the three players the Celtics received for Rondo: Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson and Brandan Wright.
For the second straight game, John Wall scored on a spectacular spinning layup. Instead of the third quarter, this one was in the first as the Wizards took their decisive lead.
RAPTORS 110 — CLIPPERS 98
Kyle Lowry and the shorthanded Toronto Raptors needed plenty of help from their reserves down the stretch to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lowry scored 25 points and the resilient Raptors got 18 of their 30 fourth-quarter points from the bench on Saturday, a 110-98 victory that ended the Clippers eight-game home winning streak. Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the defending Atlantic Division champion Raptors, who entered the day with a one-game lead over Atlanta for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Clippers point guard Chris Paul had 10 points and eight assists.
Lowry shot 9 of 17, after averaging 9.3 points and 27.5 percent from the field over his previous four games against the Clippers. DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors’ second-leading scorer, missed his 14th straight game because of a torn muscle in his left groin. Landry Fields was sidelined for the third game in a row with a concussion.
J.J. Redick had 23 points and Griffin had 22 but it wasn’t enough as the Clippers lost at home for the first time since Chicago beat them on Nov. 17. Jamal Crawford added 20 off the bench, DeAndre Jordan grabbed 20 rebounds.
The Raptors, who came in averaging 17.3 points off turnovers, converted 11 Clippers turnovers into 17 points during the first half and pulled into a 49-all tie at intermission after trailing by as many as eight.
GRIZZLIES 103 - HEAT 95
Mike Conley scored 24 points, Marc Gasol added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies never trailed on their way to beating the Miami Heat 103-95.
Beno Udrih scored 11 for the Grizzlies, who led by 19 early in the second half before Miami scored to get within one or two points on 11 different occasions in the final minutes.
But the Grizzlies always had an answer, putting six players in double figures and snapping a four-game losing streak.
Dwyane Wade scored 25 points for Miami, which fell to 6-11 at home. Danny Granger scored a season-high 18 off the bench for the Heat, who got 16 from Luol Deng and 13 from Chris Andersen.
PELICANS 100 - BULLS 107
Jimmy Butler scored 33 points, Derrick Rose had 19 and the Chicago Bulls beat the New Orleans Pelicans 107-100 for their sixth consecutive victory.
The Bulls (21-9) also had three reserves score in double figures in their ninth win in 10 games. Aaron Brooks scored 13 points, and Taj Gibson added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic finished with 10 points.
Anthony Davis had 29 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots in his first NBA game in his hometown. Tyreke Evans scored 26 points for the Pelicans, and Jrue Holiday had 19 points and seven assists.
The Pelicans (15-15), who were coming off a 97-90 victory over San Antonio on Friday night, were outrebounded 45-37 by the Bulls.
PACERS 110 - NETS 85
Rodney Stuckey scored 20 points, David West added 17, and the Indiana Pacers overwhelmed the Brooklyn Nets 110-85.
Former Nets guard C.J. Watson, who played for Brooklyn during the 2012-13 season, came off the bench and scored 17 points. Luis Scola added 13, Chris Copeland had 12 and Lavoy Allen chipped in 10.
Jarrett Jack had 22 points and Joe Johnson added 18 for Brooklyn, which had won its previous three games. The Nets, who entered the night 12-2 against teams with losing records, couldn’t handle the Pacers, who improved to 11-20.
Indiana’s bench, third-best in the league with 39.6 points entering the game, outscored its Brooklyn counterparts 50-16.
HAWKS 90 - BUCKS 85
Jeff Teague scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Al Horford added 20, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85.
The Hawks avenged a 30-point loss to Milwaukee on Friday in Atlanta with their 15th win in their last 17 games.
Teague scored six straight points midway through the fourth quarter to give Atlanta an 82-75 lead with 4:38 remaining when he hit a driving layup.
Paul Millsap finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta.
Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 21 points, which tied a season high, and O.J. Mayo added 11.
76ERS 71 - JAZZ 88
Derrick Favors had 17 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Utah Jazz to an 88-71 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Meanwhile, Aussies Joe Ingles and Dante Exum combined for 1/8 from the field in 19 and 18 minutes respectively.
Ingles added four rebounds and two assists, while Exum finished with three boards and one steal.
Trey Burke added 17 points, Gordon Hayward chipped in 15 and Enes Kanter finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz (10-20). Tony Wroten scored 20 points and Robert Covington added 17 for the Sixers (4-25), who could not overcome a sluggish offensive performance before halftime.
The Jazz limited the Sixers to just 12-of-40 shooting (30 percent) from the field before halftime. Michael Carter-Williams particularly struggled, shooting just 1 of 13 in the first two quarters. He finished the game just 2 of 20.
Originally published as NBA Wrap: Kemba Walker has monster game in Magic loss, Wizards humble Celtics, Raptors edge Clippers
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