Thunder top Pacers in George’s Indiana return
CP3, Rockets extend winning streak to 11 Celtics overcome Nuggets Lillard, Blazer snap skid
Paul George was held to 12 points in his return to Indiana, but Steven Adams scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 100-95 victory over the Pacers on Wednesday night.
George was booed loudly when introduced and every time he touched the ball throughout the game. The four-time All-Star was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis after he told the Pacers he didn’t plan to re-sign with the team following the 2017-18 season. George shot 3-of-14 on Wednesday.
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, despite shooting 3-of-17 from the field, delivered his ninth triple-double of the season with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
Oladipo led the Pacers with 19 points but shot 9 of 26 from the floor. Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 for Indiana, and Thaddeus Young had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals.
Rockets 108, Hornets 96
Chris Paul posted a season-high 31 points, Houston seized control with a 25-0 run bridging the first and second quarters to extend their winning streak to 11 games with a victory over Charlotte.
Paul added 11 assists and seven rebounds to his ledger and dominated the game on both ends as Houston extended its winning streak to 11 games and improved to 12-0 with Paul in their lineup. James Harden added 21 points and eight assists while Eric Gordon scored 17 points off the bench for Houston.
Dwight Howard paced the Hornets with 26 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks.
Wizards 93, Grizzlies 87
Bradley Beal scored 18 points and John Wall had 13 in his return from a left knee injury as Washington fended off struggling Memphis.
Wall sat out the previous nine games after receiving injections in his knee November 25 to deal with inflammation. The Wizards went 4-5 without the fourtime All-Star.
Andrew Harrison scored 20 points for the Grizzlies, who shot 38.3 percent and lost for the 16th time in 17 games. JaMychal Green totaled 15 and 15 rebounds while Marc Gasol finished with 15 and 10.
Celtics 124, Nuggets 118
Kyrie Irving returned from a one-game absence caused by a quad bruise and scored 33 points as Boston beat Denver.
Jaylen Brown added 26 points and Aron Baynes had 17 as the Celtics overcame a career-high 36 points by Nuggets guards Gary Harris and 28 by Jamal Murray.
Irving added seven assists, and Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored 15 points.
Trail Blazers 102, Heat 95
C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 28 points and Damian Lillard came alive late as the Portland rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to defeat Miami.
Lillard, who has scored more than 30 points 10 times this season, was held to nine points through three quarters. However, he finished with 18 points to help the Blazers snap a five-game losing streak.
The Heat were led by reserve guard Wayne Ellington, who had 24 points.
Pelicans 115, Bucks 108
DeMarcus Cousins scored a team-high 26 points, including a three-pointer from the left wing with 22 seconds left, and Anthony Davis added 25 points to power New Orleans to a victory over Milwaukee.
The Pelicans trailed 94-87 early in the fourth quarter but outscored the Bucks 28-14 in the final 10 minutes. Cousins added 13 rebounds, and Davis had 10 boards. E’Twaun Moore scored 21 points for New Orleans.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 32 points.
Bulls 103, Jazz 100
Nikola Mirotic scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Robin Lopez scored 16 as Chicago beat Utah for its fourth straight victory.
The Bulls, who have not lost since snapping a 10-game losing streak last week, had all five starters reach double figures. Denzel Valentine and Kris Dunn each added 13 points for Chicago, which also got 12 points from Justin Holiday.
Clippers 106, Magic 95
Reserve Lou Williams scored 31 points, and Los Angeles beat Orlando.
DeAndre Jordan dominated around the basket with 16 points and 20 rebounds. Sam Dekker had 12 points for the Clippers, who won their third straight.
Jonathon Simmons led the Magic with 20 points and eight assists. Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Elfrid Payton scored 13 points. Mario Hezonja, in his second start of the season, managed 17 points and nine rebounds.
Raptors 115, Suns 109
DeMar DeRozan scored 18 of his 37 points in the third quarter, and Toronto wrapped up a 3-1 Western Conference road trip with a win over Phoenix.
The Raptors, who got 21 points and 13 rebounds from Serge Ibaka and 20 points and 11 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas, followed up wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings by sweeping the season series from the Suns for only the fourth time in team history.
Troy Daniels had a career-high 32 points including seven threes for the Suns, who lost their fifth in a row. (Reuters)