Wiz deal Rockets worst defeat
WASHINGTON – Otto Porter Jr. scored 26 points, Bradley Beal and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 21 each, and the Washington Wizards beat Houston 121103 on Friday night for the Rockets’ fifth straight loss.
The skid is Houston’s longest since dropping seven straight from Jan. 9-19, 2013.
NBA scoring leader James Harden matched his season low with 20 points for Houston. Chris Paul returned after missing three games with a strained groin. He had eight points and six assists in 26 minutes.
A night after blowing a 26-point lead in Boston, the Rockets held their last lead midway through the first quarter en route to their worst defeat of the season.
In Oklahoma City, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, including the questionable winning basket with 1.3 seconds left, and Milwaukee ended Oklahoma City’s six-game winning streak, 97-95.
Replays clearly showed Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds on his drive, but officials Derek Stafford, Ben Taylor and Leon Wood refused to review the play after the buzzer sounded, despite the pleas of Thunder coach Billy Donovan and several of his players.
Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 40 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Paul George sat out because of soreness in his left knee.
In New Orleans, Dennis Smith Jr. had his first career triple-double and Dallas made a franchise-record 22 3-pointers in its 128-120 victory over New Orleans.
Smith had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was 5 of 7 from 3-point range and 8 of 12 overall. Wesley Matthews made 4 of 7 3-pointers and scored 18 points, and Devin Harris hit 5 of 7 3-pointers and added 17 points to help Dallas win three consecutive game for the first time this season. Dwight Powell scored 15 points, J.J. Barea had 14 and Harrison Barnes and Dirk Nowitzki 13 each.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 33 points. DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points and 20 rebounds.
In Chicago, Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 32 points, Nikola Mirotic added 28 and surging Chicago beat Indiana, 119-107, for its third consecutive win.
Hot-shooting Chicago made 18 of 39 3-point attempts in its 10th win in 12 games. Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis each scored 12 points, helping the Bulls to their seventh straight home win for their longest such streak since a sevengame run spanning two seasons in 2013.
Darren Collison scored 30 points for Indiana.