NBA roundup: Pistons win in Griffin's debut

[February 02, 2018]  Blake Griffin generated the buzz, but it was Anthony Tolliver who made the key plays down the stretch to help the Detroit Pistons create a winning streak.

Tolliver scored five points in the last 1:48 and won a crucial jump ball in the final seconds to help the Pistons earn a 104-102 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday.

The Pistons won their second straight after losing their previous eight games. Much of the focus was on Griffin, the five-time All-Star who made his Detroit debut after coming over from the Los Angeles Clippers in a blockbuster trade on Monday.

Griffin delivered with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. One of the assists came with 1:48 remaining when he found Tolliver open on the wing for a 3-pointer that gave Detroit a 101-100 lead. Marc Gasol led Memphis with 19 points and 14 rebounds, but he missed a half-court shot as time expired.

Nuggets 127, Thunder 124

Gary Harris hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift host Denver to a dramatic victory over Oklahoma City.

The Nuggets never trailed but blew all of a 20-point lead and were in a 124-124 deadlock when the Thunder's Paul George knocked down a step-back 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. However, Nikola Jokic capped ninth career triple-double by throwing an accurate pass to Harris, who shot over Russell Westbrook for the winner.

Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 33 points while Jokic totaled 29 points, 14 assists and 13 rebounds. George led all scorers 43 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter. Westbrook totaled 20 points and 21 assists.

Wizards 122, Raptors 119

Bradley Beal scored 27 points as host Washington won its third consecutive game since losing All-Star point guard John Wall to a knee injury, beating Toronto.

 

Otto Porter finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Markieff Morris added 15 points for Washington, which won the rebounding battle 44-32.

Kyle Lowry scored 29 points and DeMar DeRozan added 23 for Toronto.

Timberwolves 108, Bucks 89

Jimmy Butler had 28 points and Karl-Anthony Towns added 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota over visiting Milwaukee.

Khris Middleton had 21 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead Milwaukee, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Towns and Butler were both efficient from the field -- Towns hit 10 of 13 and Butler made 8 of 15.

Rockets 102, Spurs 91

James Harden poured in 28 points, including seven in a key final stretch over the last two minutes, as visiting Houston rolled past San Antonio.

Harden also pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Rockets to their second win this season in two tries against their Lone Star State rivals. Danny Green led the Spurs with 22 points.

After trailing by double digits for most of the game, San Antonio got within 92-85 on Bryn Forbes' 3-pointer with 2:49 to play. Harden answered, as the Rockets had all game, with a 3-pointer and then added another that turned into a four-point play with 1:36 remaining to seal the win.

--Field Level Media

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