LDN - Sports

NBA roundup: Leonard, Raptors ends Heat’s win streak

[December 27, 2018] Kawhi Leonard posted a game-high 30 points and added eight rebounds as the Toronto Raptors snapped the host Miami Heat's five-game win streak with a 106-104 victory on Wednesday night.

The Raptors were without point guard Kyle Lowry, who has back pain. But Toronto is 8-1 without Lowry this season.

Toronto's Danny Green hit the go-ahead 3-pointer from the right corner with 23 seconds left to give the Raptors a 106-104 lead.

On the following possession, a 3-point attempt by Miami's Dwyane Wade fell short. Teammate Justise Winslow grabbed the rebound and missed a 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left, and Wade failed on a tip-in.

Nets 134, Hornets 132 (2 OTs)

Joe Harris recorded a steal and drove in for the game-winning fast-break layup with 3.4 seconds left in double overtime as host Brooklyn finally outlasted Charlotte.

The Hornets had the ball with less than two seconds' separation between the shot clock and the game clock, but Malik Monk lost the ball as he tried dribbling around Rodions Kurucs. Harris picked up the ball and scored the layup, but the shot clock never reset, so a buzzer signaling a shot clock violation went off just before Charlotte lofted a desperation shot.

Officials put 1.6 seconds back on the clock and gave the Hornets the ball at half-court. Monk then missed a desperation heave from just inside half-court to end a wild affair.

Spurs 111, Nuggets 103

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 27 as San Antonio played its best basketball in the fourth quarter while defeating visiting Denver.

Denver led 80-79 after two free throws by Malik Beasley with 9:44 to play before the Spurs fashioned a 15-0 run, with 3-pointers by Marco Belinelli beginning and capping the spurt, to run past the Nuggets.

San Antonio ran its advantage to as many as 18 points and had more than enough to hold off a late Denver run.

Mavericks 122, Pelicans 119

Rookie Luka Doncic had 21 points and 10 assists as host Dallas ended a six-game losing streak and extended New Orleans' losing streak to five games.

DeAndre Jordan added 20 points and 12 rebounds, J.J. Barea scored 18 points, Harrison Barnes and Devin Harris each had 16 points and Maximilian Kleber added 10 for the Mavericks, who improved to 14-3 at home.

Anthony Davis had 32 points and 18 rebounds, Jrue Holiday scored 25 and Julius Randle had 23 for the Pelicans, who completed a four-game road trip by falling to 4-15 away from home.

Timberwolves 119, Bulls 94

Karl Anthony-Towns and Taj Gibson combined for all the scoring in an 8-0 burst to open the game that gave Minnesota the lead for good in its romp over host Chicago.

Derrick Rose had a team-high 24 points to go with eight assists, while Towns recorded a 20-point, 20-rebound double-double for the Timberwolves, who completed a two-game, season-series sweep of the Bulls.

The 20-20 game was Towns' third of the season and eighth of his career. It was just the 21st 20-20 game of the NBA season. Only Detroit's Andre Drummond, with six, has more than Towns.

Grizzlies 95, Cavaliers 87

Marc Gasol recorded 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots to help Memphis post a victory over visiting Cleveland.

Mike Conley registered 15 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies won their second straight game following a five-game slide. Kyle Anderson also scored 15 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr. and Garrett Temple added 11 apiece.

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Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (right) celebrates with guard Danny Green (left after defeating the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points off the bench for Cleveland, which lost its fourth straight game and sixth in its last seven. Collin Sexton added 16 points and Cedi Osman scored 10 for the Cavaliers, who scored just nine first-quarter points.

Pistons 106, Wizards 95

Blake Griffin scored a game-high 23 points and sparked an early second-half run that gave Detroit the lead for good in a win over visiting Washington.

Detroit had lost nine of its previous 11 games, but the burst at the start of the second half gave the Pistons command. They scored 23 of the first 25 points in the third quarter and turned a one-point deficit into a 77-57 lead with 6:39 left in that period.

The Pistons began the streak with back-to-back 3-pointers just nine seconds apart from Griffin and Bruce Brown. This same pair each scored five as Detroit posted the first 12 points of the half.

Suns 122, Magic 120 (OT)

Devin Booker helped Phoenix end a successful road trip with an overtime win at Orlando.

Booker had 35 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and T.J. Warren added 24 points for Phoenix. Deandre Ayton was held to just eight points and 12 rebounds. The Suns' rookie center had three straight games of 20 points and 15 rebounds coming into the night.

The Suns posted a winning record on a road trip of at least five games for the first time since November 2014. D.J. Augustin had a season-high 27 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost four in a row.

Pacers 129, Hawks 121

Tyreke Evans came back from missing three games with a bruised knee to score 19 points, one of eight Indiana players in double figures in a win over host Atlanta.

In 19 minutes, Evans made 7 of 9 shots from the field, including all four of his 3-point attempts, to help the Pacers win their third straight game. Indiana has won 10 of its last 12 games. Atlanta had its season-best three-game winning streak broken.

The Pacers also got 21 points from Thaddeus Young, 19 points and eight rebounds from Domantas Sabonis, 16 points apiece from Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic and 14 points from Cory Joseph.

Clippers 127, Kings 118

Lou Williams scored 24 points off the bench and Los Angeles held on for a win against visiting Sacramento.

Montrezl Harrell had 22 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots off the bench, Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Avery Bradley added 15 points for the Clippers, who have won seven straight against the Kings.

De'Aaron Fox had 19 points and nine assists, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 13 off the bench and Iman Shumpert finished with 12 points for Sacramento, which was trying to climb four games over .500 for the first time since Nov. 25, 2014.

--Field Level Media

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