Warriors finish with fury in stunner over Rockets
Glenn Robinson III and Draymond Green each bombed in a pair of 3-pointers in a late flurry on Wednesday afternoon as the Golden State Warriors rallied to stun the Houston Rockets 116-104 in San Francisco. Houston led by as many as 13 points in the first half.
All five Golden State starters scored in double figures and the Warriors limited Houston to 16-of51 shooting on 3-pointers, helping the Christmas hosts win for the fourth time in the NBA holiday showcase in the last seven seasons.
Houston’s Russell Westbrook led all scorers with 30 points, but he shot just 11 of 32 overall and missed all eight of his 3-point attempts as Houston saw a four-game winning streak come to an end.
Damion Lee paced the Warriors with 22 points, while Green and D’angelo Russell chipped in 20 apiece, Robinson added 18 and Willie Cauley-stein had 10.
Robinson and Green led the big finish with their 3-pointers, helping Golden State score 20 of the game’s last 27 points.
In extending its season-best winning streak to three games, Golden State shot 47.1 per cent for the game, easily better than the Rockets’ 37 per cent. Lee (with a career-high 15 rebounds) and Green (11 rebounds) both completed double-doubles for the Warriors, who were thumped 127-101 at home by the Los Angeles Lakers last Christmas.
The double-double was just the second in the career of Lee, a twoway player.
James Harden scored 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting and 6-for-10 on 3-pointers, but the Warriors effectively kept him off the free throw line and trapped him into giving up the ball on most second-half possessions. Harden finished with a game-high 11 assists.
EMBIID, HOT-SHOOTING SIXERS TAKE DOWN BUCKS
Joel Embiid had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lift the host Philadelphia 76ers past the Nba-best Milwaukee Bucks 121-109 on Wednesday. It was Embiid’s seventh game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.
Ben Simmons had 15 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds for the Sixers, who won their third in a row and tied a franchise record with 21 made 3-pointers. Tobias Harris scored 22 points and went 5 of 7 from beyond the arc. Josh Richardson added 18 points, Furkan Korkmaz scored 16 and Al Horford had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 21 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo added 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, but he shot just 8 for 27. George Hill scored 15 points as Milwaukee’s record dropped to 27-5.
Milwaukee trailed by as many as 25 points in the third period, its largest deficit of the season.
Antetokounmpo appeared to be accidentally poked in the eye by Josh Richardson with 6:25 left and stayed down on the court for several minutes. Antetokounmpo then got up and was whistled for a technical foul for arguing with referee Tony Brothers.
PACERS’ OLADIPO EYES LATE JANUARY RETURN
Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo hopes to make his return from a ruptured right quad tendon in about a month, ESPN reported. Oladipo hopes to return as soon as late January or perhaps in early February, which would be about a year removed from his injury.
Oladipo was injured Jan. 23 and hasn’t played since, though he has steadily ramped up his rehab and workouts recently.