Westbrook goes bonkers in Wizards’ victory
Washington star has a special kind of tripledouble against Pacers
WASHINGTON — Russell Westbrook had the third game in NBA history with 20-plus rebounds and 20-plus assists — he and Wilt Chamberlain have the other two — and the surging Washington Wizards moved closer to Indiana in the Eastern Conference playoff standings by outgunning the Pacers 154-141 on Monday night.
Westbrook had 14 points to go along with his career-high 21 rebounds and career-high-tying 24 assists, his league-leading 32nd triple-double of the season. He has 178 triple-doubles, three short of Oscar Robertson’s record, with seven games remaining for Washington.
Rui Hachimura scored 27 points and Bradley Beal had 26 as Washington scored a season high and moved within one-half game of Indiana for ninth place in the
East. Teams that finish between seventh and 10th will enter the league’s new play-in tournament for the main playoff draw.
The Wizards earned the tiebreaker over the Pacers by winning the first two meetings.
The teams meet one more time this season at Indiana on Saturday. HAWKS 123, TRAIL BLAZERS
114: In Atlanta, Danilo Gallinari made seven 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, leading Atlanta to a victory over Portland in a matchup of teams battling for playoff positioning in their respective conferences.
The Hawks snapped Portland’s four-game winning streak, which had come entirely on the road.
Atlanta entered the night tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, with the Trail Blazers holding the same spot in the West. Both teams are looking to avoid dropping as low as seventh, which would force them into the play-in tournament.
After getting in early Monday from Boston, where they beat the Celtics the previous night, the
Trail Blazers were forced from the hotel rooms to take refuge in a parking garage for about a half hour because of a tornado warning in Atlanta.
76ERS 106, BULLS 94: In Chicago, Tobias Harris scored 21 points, Seth Curry added 20 and Philadelphia won its fifth straight game, beating Chicago.
Philadelphia built a big thirdquarter lead and then held on, staying ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers finished with five starters in double figures. Ben Simmons scored 15 points, Danny Green had 14 and a relatively quiet Joel Embiid scored 13.
Coby White scored 23 points for the Bulls, who played without both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic for the second straight game.
WARRIORS 123, PELICANS 108: In New Orleans, Stephen Curry scored 41 points, Draymond Green had 10 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds, and Golden State took a big step toward locking up a postseason berth with a victory over desperate New Orleans.
The Warriors, who currently occupy a Western Conference play-in position, moved four games ahead of 11th-place New Orleans with seven games remaining. But these teams meet twice more, giving the Pelicans a small measure of hope — if they can figure out how to contain Curry.
Andrew Wiggins added 26 points for Golden State, with 10 coming in a key stretch early in the fourth quarter.
Zion Williamson scored 32 points and Brandon Ingram added 19 points for the Pelicans.
KNICKS 118, GRIZZLIES 104: In Memphis, Tenn., Julius Randle scored 28 points, Derrick Rose added 25, converting 11 of 15 shots and New York held off Memphis.
RJ Barrett added 15 points for the Knicks.
Dillon Brooks scored 25 for Memphis, while rookie Desmond Bane added 22 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 15 points for the Grizzlies.
JAZZ 110, SPURS 99: In Salt Lake City, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 25 points and Rudy Gobert tallied 24 points and 15 rebounds to help Utah beat San Antonio.
Jordan Clarkson added 16 points for the Jazz. Joe Ingles chipped in 13 points and eight assists. Utah earned its second straight victory with efficient offense and tough defense.
The Jazz scored 22 points off 13 San Antonio turnovers and shot 50% from the field while leading wire to wire.
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points and Rudy Gay added 17 points to lead the Spurs, who lost their fourth straight game. MAGIC 119, PISTONS 112: In Detroit, Mo Bamba had 22 points and 15 rebounds — both career highs — as Orlando defeated Detroit.
Saddiq Bey led Detroit with 26 points in a game that had little at stake — with the possible exception of lottery positioning. The Pistons (19-46) have the secondworst record in the NBA.
Orlando (21-44) is even with Oklahoma City for the fourthworst mark. Idle Minnesota (2045) is in between.