Warriors lose Durant to injury and game to Wizards
Kevin Durant injured his left knee and departed after only 93 seconds before Golden State’s Stephen Curry missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game as the Washington Wizards beat the Warriors 112-108 on Tuesday night. Durant hyperextended his knee and will have an MRI exam after teammate Zaza Pachulia was pushed into him by Washington center Marcin Gortat. The 2014 NBA MVP and Golden State’s leading scorer and rebounder exited with zero points, ending his streak of 562 regular-season games with at least 10 points. John Wall got a career high-tying 19 assists for the Wizards while Bradley Beal scored 25 points and Markieff Morris added 22, including a pair of free throws after Curry’s 3 was off-target in the final 10 seconds.
THUNDER 109, JAZZ 106
Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 43 points in the final 2:05 to help Oklahoma City beat Utah. Westbrook also had 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his 30th triple-double of the season and 67th of his career. Doug McDermott scored 16 points and Enes Kanter added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, who trimmed Utah’s Northwest Division lead to two games. Westbrook scored and was fouled on a transition layup with 15.5 seconds to play. He completed the threepoint play to give the Thunder a 108-106 lead. After Jerami Grant hit one of two free throws with a second left, Gordon Hayward missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that could have forced overtime. He led the Jazz with 19 points.
NUGGETS 125, BULLS 107
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season as Denver rode a second-half surge to beat Chicago. Danilo Gallinari scored 22 points and Wilson Chandler added 20 as Denver, which entered the game fourth in the NBA in scoring (110.6 points per game), posted a 70-48 advantage in the second half to erase a halftime deficit. Gary Harris and Will Barton had 15 points apiece for the Nuggets. Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo had 19 points apiece for Chicago, which had its four-game winning streak snapped. Jimmy Butler finished with just eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.
PISTONS 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 113, OT
Marcus Morris scored a career-high 37 points, including Detroit’s first seven in overtime, as the Pistons rallied from a 13-point, third-quarter deficit to beat Portland. Ish Smith had 12 points, seven assists and seven steals for the Pistons. The backup point guard was scoreless heading into the fourth quarter but gave Detroit a huge lift down the stretch. Damian Lillard had 34 points and 11 rebounds for Portland while falling an assist shy of his first triple-double. He had only one assist after the start of the fourth, however, and the Trail Blazers were eventually done in by their inability to take care of the ball. C.J. McCollum scored 25 points for Portland.
GRIZZLIES 130, SUNS 112
Mike Conley scored 29 points and Marc Gasol added 28 while making all five of his 3-point shots to lead Memphis past Phoenix. Zach Randolph finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Tony Allen had 11 points as Memphis shot 56 percent, including 12 of 25 from outside the arc. The 130 points were a season high for Memphis, which won its second straight. Conley was 10 of 19 from the field. Gasol shot 10 of 16 and Randolph was 10 of 15 as Memphis shot a season-best percentage from the field. Eric Bledsoe had 20 points for the Suns, while TJ Warren finished with 17 and Alex Len had 12. Devin Booker, the Suns’ second-leading scorer at 21.1 points a game, was limited to nine points on 3 of 11 from the floor.
HORNETS 109, LAKERS 104
Kemba Walker scored 30 points and hit the goahead 3-pointer with 1:55 to play as Charlotte rallied late for a victory over struggling Los Angeles. Frank Kaminsky had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets, who won for just the third time in 16 games. Julius Randle had 23 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for the Lakers (19-42), who have lost five straight and clinched four consecutive losing seasons for the first time since 1961, the franchise’s first year on the West Coast.