New-look Knicks eke out victory over Hawks
Pacers top Nuggets in OT behind Oladipo's 47 Celtics extend Pistons' slump to 6 Pelicans edge Sixers
NEW YORK – Faith in Frank Ntilikina and small ball ultimately paid off for the New York Knicks. But a victory over the lowly Atlanta Hawks didn’t come easy.
With the rookie Frenchman in the lineup and Kristaps Porzingis at center for most of the fourth quarter, the Knicks squeaked by one of the worst teams in the league Sunday, 111-107, getting big production from unexpected sources in Doug McDermott and Jarrett Jack.
Porzingis rediscovered a rhythm while dropping a game-high 30 points on 10-of23 shooting with eight boards.
Still, saving New York from the embarrassment of losing back-to-back games against awful opponents (the Knicks fell to the Bulls on Saturday) required a little bit of good fortune.
With about 50 seconds remaining, Marco Belinelli missed a wide-open three-pointer that would’ve tied the score.
Instead, Atlanta’s marksman missed off the rim and Jack, who dropped 18 points in 26 minutes, followed with a jumper to regain New York’s control. The Hawks got it back down to one possession again in the final moments, but Hornacek wisely decided to foul with a three-point advantage and send the Hawks to the foul line.
They made one of two with 3.8 seconds left, and Porzingis iced the victory at the stripe on the other end.
Hornacek went without a true center for the entire fourth quarter, either playing Porzingis or Michael Beasley at that position. It was a counter move to Atlanta’s lack of size, and it worked out for the Knicks.
“I am not changing the lineup yet,” Hornacek said. “But if we see it continuing on then maybe we look at that. Lance [Thomas] has been in the starting lineup the last two games and we’ve won one and we’ve lost one. Again, I think we’ll be up and down for a while.”
A one-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter bulged to 10 with Ntilikina, Ron Baker and Doug McDermott getting heavy crunch-time minutes.
McDermott dropped a season-high 23 points in 31 minutes. Ntilikina scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter. He also had three steals.
(New York Daily News/TNS)
Pacers 126, Nuggets 116 (OT)
Victor Oladipo scored a career-high 47 points to lead Indiana over Denver in overtime.
The Pacers held a 12-2 advantage in overtime as Oladipo scored six points in the extra session.
Oladipo sank 15-of-28 shots, including 6-of-12 three-point attempts. Myles Turner added 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and had eight rebounds for the Pacers. Thaddeus Young scored 18 points.
Trey Lyles, a 2014 Indiana Mr. Basketball who played for Arsenal Tech High School in Indianapolis, scored a career-high 25 points for Denver. Gary Harris, from the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, and Will Barton each had 21 points, and Wilson Chandler scored 18 for Denver.
Celtics 91, Pistons 81
Al Horford amassed 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and Boston handed Detroit its sixth consecutive loss.
Kyrie Irving tossed in 16 points, while Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown had 12 apiece for Boston. Rookie Jayson Tatum added 11 points, and Aron Baynes snared a season-high 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who overcame a scoreless drought of more than six minutes in the fourth quarter.
Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 19 points. Anthony Tolliver contributed a season-high 15 points off the bench, Avery Bradley had 12 and Ish Smith added 11. Andre Drummond was held to six points but grabbed 15 rebounds.
Pelicans 131, 76ers 124
Jrue Holiday made three three-pointers and Anthony Davis added another in a decisive 18-4 fourth-quarter run to lift New Orleans past Philadelphia.
The Pelicans blew an 11-point halftime lead by allowing Philadelphia a 40-point third quarter, and they trailed 103-96 with 9:48 left. However, over the next 2:40, New Orleans outscored Philadelphia 18-4, with Holiday scoring 11 points.
Holiday finished with 34 points, tying his season high, and Davis had 29. DeMarcus Cousins added 23 points for the Pelicans, and Rajon Rondo registered an NBAseason-high 18 assists.
The Sixers, playing without Joel Embiid, who was a late scratch due to back tightness, got 28 points from J.J. Redick, while Ben Simmons had 27 points and 10 assists.
Raptors 102, Kings 87
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and led a late third-quarter spurt that lifted Toronto to a victory over Sacramento.
Serge Ibaka added 20 points, and Kyle Lowry had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Toronto, which won its sixth in a row and stayed unbeaten halfway through a fourgame road trip. The Raptors also ended a four-game skid against the Kings, beating them for the first time since January 2015.
Zach Randolph scored 19 points to pace the Kings in defeat.
Timberwolves 97, Mavericks 92
Minnesota hung on to beat Dallas for the third time this season.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a team-high 28 points and had 12 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler added 22 points for the T’Wolves.
Harrison Barnes had 19 points for Dallas, which lost its third game in a row.