Raptors halt Rockets’ win streak at 17 games
LOS ANGELES: Kyle Lowry scored 30 points and the Toronto Raptors survived a furious rally by the Houston Rockets in claiming a 108105 win on Friday at Air Canada Centre, sweeping the season series and ending the Rockets’ 17-game winning streak. DeMar DeRozan answered a game-tying 3-pointer by Rockets guard James Harden with a difficult turnaround jumper over Harden to reclaim the lead with 1:49 left. Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas followed with two free throws each sandwiched around an Eric Gordon trey. The Rockets trailed by as many as 19 points. But Houston shot just 9-of-27 on 3s; Lowry alone finished 7-for-9 from behind the arc. Harden led Houston with 40 points. DeRozan scored 23 for Toronto while Valanciunas paired 14 points with 10 rebounds. Gordon and Chris Paul scored 14 each for Houston but shot a combined 10-for-27.
WIZARDS 116, PELICANS 97
Otto Porter Jr. led six Washington players in double figures with 19 points in a rout of streaking host New Orleans. The Pelicans had won a franchise-record 10 games in a row, but were playing without All-Star forward Anthony Davis because of a sprained ankle he suffered two nights earlier in a victory at Sacramento. Darius Miller came off the bench to lead led the Pelicans with 20 points. Markieff Morris added 17 points, Bradley Beal scored 16, Mike Scott had 14, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 11 and Jodie Meeks 10 for Washington, which played its 18th consecutive game without star guard John Wall, who is recovering from knee surgery.
JAZZ 95, GRIZZLIES 78
Reserve Jae Crowder scored a season-high 22 points as visiting Utah pulled away in the fourth quarter to cruise past Memphis, which has lost 16 straight games. The Jazz won their 10th straight road game and for the 17th time in 19 games despite a quiet showing from rookie Donovan Mitchell, who was held to 12 points on 4-of-15 shooting. Rookie Dillon Brooks scored 18 for Memphis, which is on the longest losing streak in the NBA this season. The skid also is the franchise’s longest since moving from Vancouver following the 2000-01 season.
BUCKS 120, KNICKS 112
Khris Middleton had 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 10 rebounds as Milwaukee defeated New York in Milwaukee. Tim Hardaway Jr. had 26 points on 10-for-20 shooting and Troy Williams added 18 points off the bench to lead the Knicks, who lost their sixth straight game and for the 14th time in their last 15 games. The Bucks snapped a two-game losing streak by scorching the New York defense. Milwaukee finished 41-for-73 from the field (56.2 percent) and hit 8 of 18 from 3-point range as it won for just the second time in eight games.
PACERS 112, HAWKS 87
Bojan Bogdanovic paced a balanced attack with 21 points, and Indiana routed Atlanta in Indianapolis. Myles Turner finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Victor Oladipo had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Pacers, who bounced back from a 20point blowout loss to Utah to win for the fourth time in the last five games. The Pacers are getting healthy for the stretch run. Veteran point guard Darren Collison returned after missing the last 12 games recovering from knee surgery. Collison scored 17 points off the bench in 21 minutes.
PISTONS 99, BULLS 83
Blake Griffin scored 25 points with eight rebounds and eight assists as Detroit snapped its four-game losing streak with a rout of Chicago in Detroit. Reggie Bullock added 21 points and Andre Drummond grabbed a gamehigh 17 rebounds and blocked four shots while scoring only five points for the Pistons. Cameron Payne had 17 points off the bench to lead Chicago. Kris Dunn was the Bulls’ only other double-digit scorer with 13 points as they fell back to earth following Wednesday’s 119110 victory against Memphis.