NBA roundup: Curry sinks Clippers with late winner

Stephen Curry scored on a drive with .5 seconds left to lift the Golden State Warriors to a 129-127 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Dec 23, 2018; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives in ahead of LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley (21) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Curry finished with 42 points, Kevin Durant had 35 points and 12 rebounds and Draymond Green contributed 14 points, six assists and five steals for the Warriors.

Tobias Harris had 32 points and nine rebounds, and Danilo Gallinari finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who shot 18-of-23 from 3-point range.

Los Angeles made a franchise-record 13 3-pointers in the first half and led by as many as 11, but watched that lead dissolve late in the second quarter and into the third.

Hawks 98, Pistons 95

Veteran Vince Carter came off the bench to score a season-high 18 points as Atlanta, playing without its most productive player, won in Detroit for its third straight win.

The Pistons had a chance to tie the game with 23 seconds left when Blake Griffin missed two free throws. Jeremy Lin grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to give Atlanta a 94-91 lead with 21 seconds left. The Hawks hung on from there.

The Hawks were playing without forward John Collins, who was out with a left ankle sprain. Collins, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, had posted double-doubles in eight of his previous nine games.

Pacers 105, Wizards 89

Myles Turner finished with 18 points and 17 rebounds as Indiana used a balance scoring attack to defeat visiting Washington.

Seven Pacers scored in double figures, led by Domantas Sabonis’ 15 points and 10 rebounds, Bojan Bogdanovic’s 14 points and Victor Oladipo’s 12 points, nine assists and six rebounds.

Markieff Morris led Washington with 16 points off the bench. After missing Saturday’s game because of the flu/illness, Wizards guard John Wall played but scored only seven points in 28 minutes.

Celtics 119, Hornets 103

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points and dished out five assists to lead Boston past visiting Charlotte.

Jayson Tatum added 17 points to pace four other Celtics in double figures. Marcus Morris added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Al Horford and Daniel Theis chipped in 10 points apiece.

Kemba Walker (21 points), Willy Hernangomez (19), Jeremy Lamb (14) and Malik Monk (13) finished in double figures for Charlotte, which was vying for its third straight win. Hernangomez added 10 rebounds to record a double-double.

Nets 111, Suns 103

Reserve Spencer Dinwiddie led six players in double figures with 24 points, and Brooklyn rebounded from its first loss in more than two weeks with a home victory over Phoenix.

Dinwiddie scored 11 fourth-quarter points and produced his 28th straight game in double figures. He was 7 of 14 from the field, hit 8 of 9 free throws and added seven assists.

D’Angelo Russell added 18 points and eight assists as the Nets rebounded from Friday’s eight-point loss to Indiana and their first defeat since Dec. 5. The Suns lost their second straight following a four-game winning streak as T.J. Warren was held to four points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Bulls 112, Cavaliers 92

Lauri Markkanen scored 31 points — 14 in the decisive third quarter — and Chicago won in Cleveland.

The 21-year-old from Finland has 30-plus points in back-to-back games, following up Friday’s 12-of-20, 32-point effort against Orlando with an 11-of-18 showing Sunday.

After holding Toronto to 29 percent from 3-point range in a loss to the Raptors on Friday, the Cavs couldn’t stop the Bulls from beyond the arc on Sunday. Markkanen made 5 of 10 from long range, and the Bulls as a team went 11-for-22.

Heat 115, Magic 91

Tyler Johnson’s big third quarter propelled Miami to an easy road win at in-state rival Orlando.

Johnson led the Heat with 25 points — 20 in the third — and Justise Winslow had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Heat made 16 of 31 3-pointers and forced the Magic into 19 turnovers. Miami has won five straight and is 9-3 in its last 12 games.

Orlando failed to top 100 points for the seventh consecutive game, and Miami held its opponent below 100 points for the fifth consecutive game.

Kings 122, Pelicans 117

Buddy Hield scored 28 points, and Sacramento overcame an early 19-point deficit to defeat visiting New Orleans.

Willie Cauley-Stein had 22 points and 17 rebounds for the Kings, who scored 36 points in the fourth quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic had 24 points and seven assists, and De’Aaron Fox had 19 points and 11 assists. Nemanja Bjelica had seven points and 10 rebounds.

Anthony Davis scored 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for the Pelicans, who have lost four in a row, and Jrue Holiday had 27 points.

Timberwolves 114, Thunder 112

Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points, including a key jumper with 14.3 seconds left, as Minnesota won for just the second time in eight games and ended host Oklahoma City’s four-game winning streak.

Wiggins didn’t exactly make it easy on Minnesota, though, missing three critical free throws in the final 1:36 to help keep Oklahoma City in the game.

Paul George had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 113th career triple-double.

Trail Blazers 121, Mavericks 118 (OT)

Damian Lillard scored 33 points and dished out seven assists as Portland pulled out an overtime victory over visiting Dallas.

CJ McCollum added 22 points, and Jusuf Nurkic had 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the Trail Blazers, who won for the fourth time in five outings.

Harrison Barnes scored 27 points, and Luka Doncic collected 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Mavericks, who lost their sixth straight game.

Grizzlies 107, Lakers 99

Rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 27 points, and Mike Conley added 17, including two key back-to-back 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, as visiting Memphis ended a five-game losing streak with a victory in Los Angeles.

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Marc Gasol also had 17 points as the Grizzlies won for the first time since defeating the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 12.

LeBron James scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Brandon Ingram added 20 points as the Lakers lost for the fourth time in their last six games.

—Field Level Media

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source: reuters.com