Horford lifts Celtics over Blazers at buzzer
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Al Horford’s step-back 20-foot jumper at the buzzer gave the Boston Celtics a come-from-behind 97-96 home victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Horford collected 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the injury-ridden Celtics, who rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit.
Jayson Tatum contributed 17 points and Jaylen Brown 16 for Boston, which won its fourth straight game.
C.J. McCollum scored 22 points and Damian Lillard had 21 points and nine assists for the Trail Blazers, who had won seven of their nine previous contests. Moe Harkless added 19 points and eight rebounds off the Portland bench.
Three of Boston’s top six scorers were out due to injury – starting point guard Kyrie Irving (quad), starting forward Marcus Morris (hip) and reserve guard Marcus Smart (hand).
Harkless scored 14 points – hitting 4-of-4 on three-point shots – to help stake Portland to a 54-38 halftime lead. Lillard had only four points before halftime on 1-for-9 shooting, including 1-for-6 from long range.
The Blazers’ advantage was 57-42 when Boston went on a 18-4 run to trim the margin to 61-60 midway through the third quarter. Portland carried a 73-69 edge into the final period.
The Celtics tied it at 75-75 early in the fourth quarter. Portland kicked it back up to 85-79, but Tatum’s three-point shot squared it at 85-85 with 3:34 left.
Horford’s three gave Boston its first lead since the game’s first three minutes at 88-85 with 2:56 to go. Tatum followed with a jumper to make it 90-85 with 1:59 remaining.
McCollum’s trey cut it to 90-88 with 1:36 to play. Brown followed with a three to make it 93-88 with 1:13 to go. Lillard answered with a triple to get Portland within 93-91 with 1:05 remaining.
Lillard’s driving basket tied it at 93-93 with 35 seconds to go. Terry Rozier’s 20-footer pushed Boston back in front 95-93 with 13.6 seconds on the clock. Lillard’s three-point play gave Portland a 96-95 advantage with 7.2 seconds on the clock, setting up Horford’s heroics.
Bucks 109, Nets 94
Eric Bledsoe scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as Milwaukee beat Brooklyn at Barclays Center.
Bledsoe helped Milwaukee beat the Nets for the 10th straight time by making 12 of 20 shots. He posted his sixth game with at least 25 points with the Bucks and finished two shy of his season high set November 22 at Phoenix.
John Henson added 19 points and 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, which is 6-1 since firing coach Jason Kidd on Jan. 22. Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, highlighting his showing with three dunks.
Lakers 108, Thunder 104
Brandon Ingram dropped in a layup while being fouled by Paul George with 3:32 to go and Jordan Clarkson made it a four-point play after a technical foul on the Oklahoma City All-Star, allowing Los Angeles to pull away for the road win and handing the Thunder a fourth loss in a row.
The loss ended seven years of frustration for the Lakers, who had lost 11 straight at Oklahoma City by an average of 21.1 points per game. The Thunder had defeated Los Angeles in their first two meetings this season, including 114-90 in mid-January in an earlier duel in Oklahoma City.
Brook Lopez scored 20 points to lead the Lakers, who completed a 3-2 trip with the 10th win in their last 14 games.
Julius Randle (19), Clarkson (18), Ingram (16), Josh Hart (14) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13) also scored in double figures for the Lakers.
Hawks 99, Knicks 96
Kent Bazemore hit a three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left to lift Atlanta over slumping New York at Madison Square Garden.
Tim Hardaway Jr. was ruled out of bounds on the ensuing possession and the Knicks lost their third straight game and sixth of eight to fall a season-worst eight games under .500,
Bazemore had 19 points and Mike Muscala had 15 off the bench, including a three with 47 seconds left to cut New York’s lead to one.
Raptors 101, Grizzlies 86
Delon Wright scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack as Toronto beat Memphis at the Air Canada Centre.
Fred VanVleet recorded 13 points and eight assists and DeMar DeRozan also scored 13 for the Raptors, who won for the fourth time in the past five games. Jonas Valanciunas contributed 12 points and nine rebounds, Kyle Lowry scored 11 points and Pascal Siakam added 10.
Marc Gasol scored 20 points and Andrew Harrison added 16 for the Grizzlies, who lost for the fifth time in the past six games. Dillon Brooks had 12 points and JaMychal Green scored 11 as Memphis lost in Toronto for the fifth straight time.
Hornets 115, Suns 105
Nicolas Batum had 22 points and Dwight Howard and Kemba Walker had 18 apiece as Charlotte overcame a 21-point deficit to beat Phoenix.
Among the reserves, Treveon Graham had a career-high 15 points and Jeremy Lamb had 15 for the Hornets, who have won three in a row.
Josh Jackson had a career-high 23 points and T.J. Warren had 21 for the Suns, who have lost seven of eight and 10 of their last 12. (Reuters)