No stuff of champs from Warriors as Green gets injured
NEW YORK: LaMarcus Aldridge took advantage of the absence of Golden State Warriors defensive ace Draymond Green to score 18 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to lift the San Antonio Spurs to an 89-75 victory at AT&T Centre.
The Spurs’ fourth straight win came after Green was inadvertently kneed below the belt by Danny Green in the second quarter, forcing him to the sidelines for the rest of the game with what was labeled a pelvic contusion. X-rays taken at the site were negative.
With Draymond Green joining fellow All-Stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant out of action, the Warriors rallied from a 16-point deficit to take a 63-61 lead into the final period.
The Spurs held the Warriors to 12 points in the final 12 minutes. Golden State’s 75-point total was its lowest of the season.
NBA superstar LeBron James recorded his 16th triple-double of the season as host Cleveland bested Milwaukee.
James scored 40 points on 16-of-29 shooting and added 12 rebounds with 10 assists. Kevin Love started and scored 18 points with seven rebounds in his first action since breaking his wrist in a Jan 30 game against Detroit.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 37, and Khris Middleton added 30. The Bucks shot 51.1 percent from the floor and made 8 of 31 3-pointers but were outrebounded 42-32 and had no answer for James.
In Miami, James Johnson scored 10 points in the second overtime to lead Miami past visiting Denver.
With the teams tied 131-all after the first overtime period, Johnson hit a layup, two treys and a dunk to lift the Heat to the win in their highest point-total game in franchise history.
Johnson finished with a team-high 31 points.
Kelly Olynyk had 30, Wayne Ellington 23 and Josh Richardson 17. Denver was led by Nikola Jokic with 34 points. Wilson Chandler had 26, Jamal Murray 23 and Will Barton 22.
Miami’s win coupled with Milwaukee’s loss in Cleveland moved the Heat into seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of the Bucks.
Rising star Joel Embiid scored 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds to carry host Philadelphia past Charlotte.
Though Embiid committed nine turnovers, he recorded his fourth straight double-double and his team-leading 37th of the season.
Embiid also became the first Sixer to come up with at least 20 points and 19 rebounds in consecutive games since Charles Barkley in 1991.
In another tie, Ben Simmons had a triple-double consisting of 11 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds.
Simmons has dished out at least 10 assists in 19 games this season.
In-form Myles Turner scored 21 points and Victor Oladipo added 20 to power Indiana to victory over Los Angeles Lakers in Indianapolis.
Turner, who made 9 of 15 shots, had missed the previous game with a left ankle sprain. Turner added seven rebounds. Oladipo hit 8 of 15 from the field.
Rookie forward Kyle Kuzma was high for the Lakers with 27 points, making 10 of 18 shots.
Brook Lopez scored 23 on 10-of-15 shooting and Julius Randle added 21 points and a team-high nine rebounds for Lakers Kuzma and Lopez each had eight rebounds.
In Sacramento, Blake Griffin posted 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to help Detroit Pistons knock off host Sacramento Kings 10690.