Schroder helps Hawks halt skid
Dennis Schroder scored 26 points and the Atlanta Hawks used a 30-point third quarter to snap a three-game losing streak and beat the New York Knicks 116-104 last night.
The Hawks (4-15), last in the Eastern Conference, won just their second home game by outhustling New York with a 24-5 advantage in second-chance points.
Kristaps Porzingis finished with 28 points and Courtney Lee added 26 for the Knicks, who led by 17 in the first quarter. New York’s bench was outscored 37-16 as Marco Belinelli had 15 points and Ersan Ilyasova scored 10 for Atlanta.
The Knicks, falling to 1-5 on the road, never led after Ilyasova’s 3-pointer with 4:21 left in the third quarter.
Heat 109, Timberwolves 97 — Wayne Ellington scored 21 points and made six 3-pointers off the bench, Goran Dragic added 20 points and Miami rode a seasonbest shooting performance from behind the arc to a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Dragic was 5-of-8 from 3-point territory as Miami hit a season-high 19 3-pointers on a season-high 39 attempts. Dion Waiters added 17 points, including a 3-of-8 mark from deep.
Trail Blazers 127, Nets 125 — Damian Lillard scored 34, Jusuf Nurkic added 29, and Portland rallied from a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to edge Brooklyn in New York.
Portland trailed 121-115 with 2:20 left after former Trail Blazers’ guard Allen Crabbe floater. The Trail Blazers then scored the next eight points, capped by Shabbaz Nappier three-point play with 55 seconds left. Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie then evened it 123 before Nurkic’s three-point play with 27 seconds left put Portland up for good, 126-123.
Pelicans 115, Suns 91 — Anthony Davis had 23 points and nine rebounds, DeMarcus Cousins added 19 points and 10 boards and New Orleans routed host Phoenix.
Davis and Cousins sat out the fourth quarter, watching from the bench long after the outcome had been decided in the Pelicans’ most one-sided victory of the season.
Pacers 107, Raptors 104 — Victor Oladipo scored 21 points, Bojan Bogdonavic added 19 and Indiana beat Toronto in Indianapolis. The Pacers host the Celtics tonight.
Lance Stephenson had 13 of his 18 points in the final five minutes and shot 7-for9 from the field, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range.
Cavaliers 100, Hornets 99 — LeBron James had 27 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists, J.R. Smith made the tiebreaking free throw with 48 seconds left, and host Cleveland extended its winning streak to seven straight with a victory over Charlotte.
Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose left the team earlier this week to handle a personal matter. Coach Tyronn Lue expects Rose, who has played in just seven of Cleveland’s 19 games this season because of a left ankle injury, to return to the team.
Warriors 143, Bulls 94 — Stephen Curry put on a thrilling display with 33 points to lead host Golden State in a rout of Chicago despite being without Kevin Durant (out for the second time in three games with a sprained left ankle) and Draymond Green.
Curry notched his seventh career 30-point half and 21st 20-point quarter, when he scored 26 in the second as the Warriors matched their biggest half of the season with a 74-53 lead at intermission. The Bulls’ fourth straight defeat and ninth in 10 concluded a winless four-game road swing out West.
Pistons 99, Thunder 98 — Andre Drummond had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Detroit overcame a 15-point deficit to beat host Oklahoma City. The Pistons visit the Celtics on Monday.
Nuggets 104, Grizzlies 92 — Nikolo Jokic scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and had 13 rebounds and eight assists to help host Denver beat Memphis.