NBA roundup: Caris LeVert leads Nets to victory over Wizards
Washington Wizards vs. Brooklyn Nets highlights.
Caris LeVert scored 25 of his 34 points in the second half to help the Brooklyn Nets beat the Washington Wizards 118-110 on Sunday and move closer to a playoff berth.
Joe Harris scored a season-high 27 points and Jarrett Allen added 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, who bounced back from a loss to Orlando in their first seeding game. The Nets are now seven games ahead of ninth-place Washington in the Eastern Conference standings.
Thomas Bryant had a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds, and Troy Brown Jr. added 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Wizards.
Here are five takeaways from the Clippers’ 126-103 win over the Pelicans, including L.A.’s increased interest in three-pointers.
Both teams were short-handed. The Wizards entered the bubble without their top two scorers, Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans. The Nets are without DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince because of positive coronavirus tests before the restart. Wilson Chandler also is not playing.
The game was tied at 54 at halftime. Washington led 85-83 heading into the fourth quarter, and the game was tied at 100 with 5:27 remaining before the Nets closed out strong.Spurs 108, Grizzlies 106
San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies highlights.
DeMar DeRozan made two free throws with a second to play, giving San Antonio a victory over Memphis that moved it into ninth place in the Western Conference.
The Spurs built an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, then needed a bunch of big plays down the stretch from DeRozan after the Grizzlies rallied.
The final one came when he brought the ball down court after Jaren Jackson Jr. tied it for Memphis with a corner 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds to play. DeRozan pump-faked Dillon Brooks into the air and drew the foul, then knocked down the foul shots. Jackson missed a long 3 on the final possession.
The Spurs are trying to qualify for the postseason for what would be an NBA-record 23rd consecutive season. They arrived at Walt Disney World in 12th place in the West, but after victories over Sacramento and Memphis are just two games behind the eighth-place Grizzlies.
Dejounte Murray had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs. Derrick White added 16 points and DeRozan had 14. Morant finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Jackson scored 21 points.
Rockets 120, Bucks 116
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Houston Rockets highlights.
Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and Houston used strong defense down the stretch for a victory over Milwaukee.
It was the 36th straight game with at least 20 points for Westbrook, who led Houston’s offense on a night James Harden scored 24.
Houston tied an NBA record for most 3-point attempts in a regulation game with 61, making 21 of them, and forced 22 turnovers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists for Milwaukee. He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to have 15 games with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a season in the last 50 years.
Khris Middleton scored 27 points and Brook Lopez added 23 as the Bucks missed a chance to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics 128, Trail Blazers 124
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Boston Celtics highlights.
Jayson Tatum scored 34 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 and Boston built a big lead early before holding on for victory over Portland.
Tatum rebounded from a terrible performance in a loss to Milwaukee on Friday when he scored just five points on 2-of-18 shooting.
Damian Lillard had 30 points and 16 assists for Portland. Jusuf Nurkic added 30 points in his second official game back after breaking his leg in March 2019.
Boston led by as many as 24 in the second quarter, but Portland opened the fourth quarter with a 15-4 run, with three 3-pointers from Lillard and two from CJ McCollum, to put them on top 101-98.
Gary Trent Jr. hit a 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes to go before the Celtics used a 7-0 run to take a 125-119 lead with about 30 seconds left.
Suns 117, Mavericks 115
Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns highlights.
Devin Booker scored 30 points and Phoenix erased a double-digit deficit while the All-Star guard was on the bench with foul trouble, rallying to beat Dallas.
The Suns have won both games in the restart after coming in with the worst record in the Western Conference. They’re still long shots for the playoffs, while the Mavericks clinched their first postseason berth since 2016 by virtue of Memphis’ loss to San Antonio earlier in the day.
Luka Doncic had 40 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks. whose hopes of moving up from the seventh seed are fading with an 0-2 start in the eight-game seeding round.
Magic 132, Kings 116
Orlando Magic vs. Sacramento Kings highlights.
Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Gordon scored 19 of his 22 points in the first half and Magic continued its strong restart with a victory over Sacramento.
Terrence Ross scored 25 points as the Magic won a season-best fifth straight game going back to before the pandemic-forced shutdown in March.
Orlando won the last three before the hiatus and beat Brooklyn, the team it is battling for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, to open the restart.
But the Magic lost Jonathan Isaac again when he re-injured the left knee he hurt Jan. 1 that kept him out until the restart.
De’Aaron Fox scored 13 points after a career-high 39 in the restart opener for the Kings, who have lost both games in the bubble as they try to get in position for a shot at the final playoff spot in the West. Harry Giles III led Sacramento with a career-high 23 points.
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