Clippers’ Williams pours in 50 to thwart Dubs
Durant second youngest to 20,000 points T'Wolves stay hot by extending OKC's slump
Lou Williams scored a career-best 50 points and added seven assists to help the Los Angeles Clippers snap a 12-game, head-to-head losing streak against Golden State by dispatching the Warriors 125-106 on Wednesday at Oakland, Calif.
Williams scored 27 points in the third quarter – the most by any NBA player in any quarter this season 0 as the Clippers rallied from a nine-point deficit to spoil a milestone night for Kevin Durant.
The Golden State standout scored a season-high 40 points on 14-of-18 shooting to become the second-youngest player in NBA history to reach 20,000 career points. Durant reached the 20,000-point barrier at 29 years, 103 days old. Only LeBron James (28 years, 17 days) reached the mark quicker.
Durant (calf) returned from a three-game absence to carry the load with point guard Stephen Curry (ankle) and shooting guard Klay Thompson (rest) out of the Golden State lineup.
Timberwolves 104, Thunder 88
Jimmy Butler had 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as Minnesota broke away in the second half to beat Oklahoma City in Minneapolis.
Andrew Wiggins scored 19 points as the Timberwolves won for the third consecutive time and 10th in their past 13 games. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points and 12 rebounds for his NBA-leading 35th double-double of the season.
Russell Westbrook recorded 38 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who have lost three straight games and five of their past seven.
Bulls 122, Knicks 119 (2OT)
Rookie Lauri Markkanen finished off a career-best 33-point performance by hitting two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining in double overtime as Chicago outlasted New York.
The 7-foot center made 10-of-22 shots, including eight three-pointers (on 15 attempts) to match the Chicago rookie record set by Chris Duhon in 2004-05. He also grabbed 10 rebounds. Denzel Valentine and Robin Lopez each scored 20 points for the Bulls.
Michael Beasley led the Knicks with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis had 24 points for New York, and Jarrett Jack had 16 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his second career triple-double.
Rockets 121, Trail Blazers 112
Chris Paul and Eric Gordon combined for 67 points to lift Houston to a home victory over Portland.
Paul scored 37 points and dished out 11 assists while Gordon added 30 points for the Rockets, who won for the third time in five games without James Harden in the lineup. Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer at 31.3 points per game, missed his fifth straight game with a hamstring strain.
Damian Lillard scored 29 points with eight assists and C.J. McCollum chipped in 24 points for the Trail Blazers.
Heat 114, Pacers 106
Goran Dragic scored 20 points to lead seven Heat players in double figures during a victory over Indiana in Indianapolis. The Heat have won six in a row and nine of their past 11 games.
Hassan Whiteside scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds for Miami, while Tyler Johnson, Bam Adebayo and Wayne Ellington each scored 15 points. Dragic added a game-high nine assists.
Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 26 points. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points.
Mavericks 115, Hornets 111
Harrison Barnes scored nine consecutive points late in the fourth quarter, and Dennis Smith Jr. helped ice the game at the free-throw line as Dallas won at Charlotte.
Barnes finished with a team-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Charlotte fought back to pull within 111110 on Kemba Walker’s three-point play with 31.7 seconds to go, but Smith hit a pair of free throws with 15.7 ticks left to restore a three-point lead, and the Mavs held on from there. Walker scored a gamehigh 41 points.
Grizzlies 105, Pelicans 102
Tyreke Evans scored 28 points, including the last seven in the game for Memphis, to lead the Grizzlies past visiting New Orleans.
Evans canned a three-pointer with 1:26 left to give the Grizzlies a 101-97 lead. He added two free throws with 1:01 remaining to make it 103-100, and sank two more foul shots with 5.9 seconds left to restore a three-point lead. New Orleans’ E’Twaun Moore got off a potential game-tying three-pointer just before the horn, but couldn’t convert.
Memphis’s Marc Gasol had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. DeMarcus Cousins tossed in a game-high 29 points for the Pelicans, but committed his fifth turnover of the game when Gasol stole the ball from him with seven seconds left to set up Evans’ clinching foul shots.