NBA roundup: Anthony, Blazers rally past Raptors

[January 08, 2020]  Carmelo Anthony made a tiebreaking shot with 4.1 seconds remaining, and the visiting Portland Trail Blazers rallied to defeat the Toronto Raptors 101-99 on Tuesday night.

Damian Lillard, who tied the game for Portland on a 3-pointer with 38.5 seconds to play, had 20 points -- 18 in the second half -- and nine assists. Anthony finished with a game-high 28 points.

After the Raptors failed to score, the Trail Blazers took possession with 13.6 seconds to play and set up Anthony's shot from the top of the key. Kyle Lowry, who missed the final shot of the game, had 24 points and 10 assists for Toronto.

The Raptors were without Fred VanVleet (hamstring), who joined Pascal Siakam (groin), Marc Gasol (hamstring) and Norman Powell (shoulder) on the sidelines. Toronto, which led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, took a nine-point lead into the fourth.

Los Angeles Lakers 117 -- New York Knicks 87

LeBron James scored 31 points as host Los Angeles, which lost Anthony Davis to a back injury, crushed New York.

Davis left the game with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter when he landed hard on the floor after losing his balance in a collision with the Knicks' Julius Randle under the basket. X-rays on Davis' lower back were negative, but he was to undergo more testing.

Rookie guard RJ Barrett scored 19 points to top the Knicks, who were without leading scorer Marcus Morris Sr. with a sore neck. Randle, a former Laker, had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Elfrid Payton contributed 12 points.

Detroit Pistons 115 -- Cleveland Cavaliers 113

Derrick Rose capped a 24-point performance by making the go-ahead shot with 26 seconds remaining as Detroit topped host Cleveland for just its third win in 12 games.

Detroit's Andre Drummond recorded 23 points and 20 rebounds, including 11 and 10, respectively, in the first quarter. Tony Snell made four 3-pointers to highlight his 18-point performance for the Pistons. The Pistons announced earlier Tuesday that forward Blake Griffin was out indefinitely after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

Cleveland's Kevin Love collected 30 points and nine rebounds, hours after calling his recent behavior "childish" in referring to recent outbursts in showing up his teammates and coaches. Collin Sexton had 20 points, and Cedi Osman scored 17 points for the Cavaliers, who have dropped five in a row.

Oklahoma City Thunder 111 -- Brooklyn Nets 103 (OT)

Chris Paul scored 28 points and hit two clutch shots in overtime as surging Oklahoma City outlasted slumping host Brooklyn in the second night of a back-to-back for both teams.

Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony (00) scores the winning basket during the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder won for the 10th time in their last 12 games. Paul came within two of his season-high for points and shot 9 of 15 from the floor, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 22 points and hit four free throws in the final minute to ice Oklahoma City's win and send Brooklyn to its seventh consecutive loss. Taurean Prince scored 21 points to lead the Nets.

Memphis Grizzlies 119 -- Minnesota Timberwolves 112

Dillon Brooks scored 28 points to help host Memphis sweep the three-game season series over Minnesota.

Ja Morant added 25 points and seven assists as the Grizzlies matched a season best with their third consecutive win. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, and Jae Crowder recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and matched his career high of five steals for Memphis.

Rookie Jarrett Culver scored a season-high 24 points and Jeff Teague added 18 off the bench for Minnesota. Robert Covington tallied 17 points, Andrew Wiggins scored 15, Gorgui Dieng added 11 and reserve Naz Reid scored 10 for the Timberwolves. Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) missed his 11th straight contest.

Sacramento Kings 114 -- Phoenix Suns 103

Nemanja Bjelica gave visiting Sacramento the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 7:31 remaining in the game, and De'Aaron Fox saved nine of his team-high 27 points for the final 7:02 in rallying from a 21-point deficit to stun Phoenix.

Devin Booker shot 12-for-21 in extending his franchise record of consecutive 30-point games to seven with a game-high 34-point effort, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Suns from sustaining a second consecutive home loss.

Bjelica finished with 19 points, and Buddy Hield had 16 for Sacramento. Deandre Ayton had 21 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds, Oubre 17 points and Ricky Rubio a game-high nine assists to complement eight points for Phoenix, which had won two of the first three games in the now-complete season series.

--Field Level Media

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