LDN - Sports

NBA roundup: Morant sprains ankle in Grizzlies' OT win

[December 29, 2020] Brandon Clarke converted the go-ahead tip-in with 38.6 seconds remaining in overtime and the visiting Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the short-handed Brooklyn Nets for a 116-111 victory on Monday night.

Joe Harris saw his 3-point try hit the front of the rim with 5.6 seconds remaining, and Memphis' Kyle Anderson capped a career-high, 28-point night by hitting three free throws in the final 3.9 seconds.

Clarke's clutch shot and Anderson's big performance came on a night when Ja Morant sprained his left ankle late in the second quarter. Morant scored seven points before getting hurt and watched his teammates from the bench while wearing a walking boot.

Brooks added 24 points and seven rebounds as he and Anderson were a combined 18 of 36 from the floor. Clarke finished with 16 points while Jonas Valanciunas collected 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Caris LeVert had 28 points and 11 assists for the Nets, who rested stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Utah Jazz 110 - Oklahoma City Thunder 109

Donovan Mitchell, who struggled with his shot through much of the game, sank the winning basket with seven seconds left, lifting Utah to a win at Oklahoma City.

Mitchell was just 3 of 15 from the floor until his pullup jumper with less than six minutes remaining got him going. Mitchell hit 5 of 8 down the stretch, scoring the Jazz's final 12 points, including the decisive floater over Oklahoma City's Luguentz Dort.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 23 points to lead Utah. Mitchell and Mike Conley finished with 20 points each, with Conley adding 10 rebounds and nine assists. Rudy Gobert contributed 12 points and 10 boards. Dort finished with 26 points, his career high for a regular-season game.

Atlanta Hawks 128 - Detroit Pistons 120

Trae Young scored 29 points and shot 15-for-15 at the foul line to help Atlanta turn aside Detroit's comeback attempt and defeat the visiting Pistons.

Atlanta is off to its first 3-0 start since the 2016-17 season. Detroit is 0-3 for the first time since 2014-15. The Hawks broke a two-game losing head-to-head losing streak against the Pistons and snapped a three-game skid against Detroit in Atlanta.

Bogdan Bogdanovic rediscovered his outside shooting touch to score 17 points for the Hawks. Atlanta also got 12 points and eight assists from veteran Rajon Rondo, who missed the first two games due to COVID-19 protocols and was making his team debut. Detroit was led by Jerami Grant and Josh Jackson with 27 points apiece.

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Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) during the first quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Denver Nuggets 124 - Houston Rockets 111

Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 21 points and host Denver beat short-handed Houston. Jokic tied Fat Lever's franchise record with his 43rd career triple-double.

Paul Millsap also scored 19 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 14 points and nine rebounds, Gary Harris had 14 points, Monte Morris added 12 and Will Barton scored 11 to give Denver seven players in double figures.

James Harden had 34 points, eight assists and six rebounds, Christian Wood scored 23, David Nwaba had 14 and Sterling Brown scored 12 for Houston, which has dropped its first two games after having its opener postponed due to COVID-19 issues.

Portland Trail Blazers 115 - Los Angeles Lakers 107

Damian Lillard scored 31 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 28, leading visiting Portland past Los Angeles.

Trent came off the bench to convert 10 of 14 shots, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range. Lillard hit half of his 10 3-point attempts. CJ McCollum contributed 20 points and 11 assists for Portland. Enes Kanter collected 12 points and 14 rebounds while Jusuf Nurkic added 10 points and 12 boards.

LeBron James had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Lakers, who were playing for the second time in as many nights. Dennis Schroder had 24 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 14 and Anthony Davis, who returned from a one-game absence caused by a calf injury, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

--Field Level Media

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