Aldridge, Gay help San Antonio hold down Rockets
SAN ANTONIO » LaMarcus Aldridge had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Rudy Gay added 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs held Houston to its lowest-scoring game of the season, beating the Rockets 100-83 Sunday.
The Spurs remained fourth in the Western Conference after preventing a season sweep by the Rockets. Houston owns the NBA’s best record.
San Antonio outscored Houston 19-8 to open the fourth quarter in taking a 94-74 lead with 5 minutes remaining. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni opted to take his starters out two minutes later. CAVALIERS 98, MAVERICKS 87 » LeBron James struggled before extending his record double-digit scoring streak to 868 games, and Cleveland had a rough time with Dallas before putting away the lottery-bound Mavericks.
James, who broke Michael Jordan’s NBA mark for consecutive games with at least 10 points on Friday night, didn’t reach 10 until 7:59 remained.
He finished just 5 of 21 from the field but made a pair of 3-pointers as the Cavs finally pulled away with a 15-2 run in the fourth quarter. WARRIORS 117, SUNS 107 » Kevin Durant had 29 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Golden State overcame a sloppy start to hand Phoenix its franchise-record 15th consecutive loss.
Draymond Green added 13 points and 12 assists, Klay Thompson scored 23 points and Quinn Cook had 19 points for Golden State. The Warriors have won two straight since dropping four of five. THUNDER 109, PELICANS 104 » Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double to lead Oklahoma City.
Westbrook finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists. Paul George scored Oklahoma City’s first 11 points in the second quarter and finished with 27. Carmelo Anthony added 16 and Steven Adams had 14. PISTONS 108, NETS 96 » Reggie Jackson scored 29 points, Stanley Johnson had 17 and Detroit preserved its slim playoff hopes with a victory over Brooklyn.
Detroit, playing its third straight game without injured All-Star forward Blake Griffin, avoided elimination from postseason contention for at least one game.
Griffin, acquired Jan. 30 from the Los Angeles Clippers, suffered a bone bruise in his right ankle during last Monday’s win over the Lakers. PACERS 111, CLIPPERS 104 » Victor Oladipo scored 30 points, Myles Turner added 24 and Indiana rallied for its fifth straight victory.
Oladipo shot 11 of 17 from the field and had 12 assists for the playoff-bound Pacers, who have won four in a row over the Clippers. NUGGETS 128, BUCKS 125, OT » Nikola Jokic had 35 points and 13 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 18 of his 27 points after the third quarter and Denver rallied from eight down in the final minute of regulation to win in overtime.
Paul Millsap had 26 points and 13 rebounds for Denver, which took over in the extra period to strengthen chances. JAZZ 121, TIMBERWOLVES 97 » Ricky Rubio scored 23 points, including a seasonhigh 5-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers, and Donovan Mitchell added 21 points for Utah.
Dante Exum had 14 points and Jonas Jerebko scored 13 points to help Utah climb a half-game ahead of Minnesota for sixth in the Western Conference. The loss kept the Timberwolves one game ahead of New Orleans, which lost at home to Oklahoma City. BULLS 113, WIZARDS 94 » Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored 23 points and connected on 5 of 8 3-pointers to lead Chicago.
Bobby Portis had 18 points and hit 4 of 5 from long range, and Sean Kilpatrick added 14 points. its playoff
Chicago shot 52.4 percent overall from the floor and was 18 for 34 on 3s — matching its season high — as Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg missed the game with an upper-respiratory infection. HAWKS 94, MAGIC 88 » Tyler Dorsey scored 19 points, including back-to-back baskets after Orlando trimmed Atlanta’s lead to five points late in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s worst records.
Dewayne Dedmon had 17 points and 10 rebounds and rookie John Collins added another double-double for Atlanta with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Hawks snapped a five-game losing streak.
D.J. Augustin led Orlando with 20 points, and rookie Jonathan Isaac had a career-high 15.