Durant, Nets in command
Despite missing All-stars, Brooklyn throttles Minnesota
Kevin Durant scored 31 points on 11for-15 shooting in his most productive performance in 21⁄2 months, as the Brooklyn Nets blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-97 on Tuesday afternoon.
The game was rescheduled from the previous night, in the aftermath of a fatal police shooting of a Black man in a nearby suburb. The Timberwolves held a moment of silence before tipoff for 20year-old Daunte Wright, who was killed after a traffic stop.
Durant played 27 minutes in his third game back from a strained left hamstring that kept him out for 23 games. The Nets, missing James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Lamarcus Aldridge, were in command from the jump and ahead by 23 points before the midpoint of the second quarter. They built their lead as big as 45 points early in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Edwards had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who played without Karl-anthony Towns on the one-year anniversary of his mother’s death from COVID-19 complications.
Clippers 126, Pacers 115: Paul George continued to dominate his former team by scoring 36 points, leading Los Angeles past Indiana. The Clippers have won six straight and 12 of 14 overall.
Hawks 107, Raptors 103: Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points, Clint Capela added 19 points and 21 rebounds, and Atlanta beat Toronto for its seventh win in eight games. Shen graduate Kevin Huerter had 14 of his 17 points in the first half for Atlanta, and Brandon Goodwin added 18 points.
Lakers 101, Hornets 93: Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points, and the Lakers held on to beat a Charlotte team missing five of its top six scorers.
Notes: The Denver Nuggets will be without Jamal Murray indefinitely after the dynamic point guard suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. The Nuggets announced the diagnosis in a statement Tuesday.
Murray was hurt late in a loss at Golden State on Monday night. He drove the lane, tried to elevate off his left foot and fell to the ground, instantly grabbing his knee in pain .... Oklahoma City signed Gabriel Deck to a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released. Deck, a 6-foot-8 forward who played for Argentina at the 2016 Olympics, spent the last three seasons with Real Madrid of the Spanish Liga.
Obituary: Bobby “Slick” Leonard was selected as the ABA’S greatest coach. Hall of Fame player George Mcginnis considered him a genius. On Tuesday, the Pacers announced that the man who led them to three ABA championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career and was selected a 1963 NBA All-star had died. No details about the 88-year-old Leonard were provided but he had been in failing health in recent years. “He was the greatest,” Mcginnis said in March. “He loved all of his guys and, yes, he had his days. If you got on the wrong side of him, it wasn’t going to be a good deal for you.” But, Mcginnis added, there was a big difference between Leonard and Indiana Hoosiers coach Bob Knight: After Leonard ripped into you and “wore you out, he’d take you out for a beer and say ‘You know I love you, I’m doing this for your own good.’” Leonard went 573-534 in 14 seasons as a coach.