Pelicans down Rockets, lose Cousins for season
NEW ORLEANS — Demarcus Cousins raced down the lane after his missed free throw, trying to make a hustle play and help the New Orleans Pelicans preserve a victory over one of the NBA’S elite teams.
Moments later, Cousins was sitting on the court, pain in his foot and an expression of shock on his face. He triedtogetupas his teammates pursued the Houston Rocketstowardtheotherendofthe court and then went back down on his back and placed both hands on his head.
Anthony Davis scored 27 points, Cousins had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists before seriously injuring his left Achilles tendon, and New Orleans survived a furious rally for a 115-113 win Friday.
A person familiar with the situation said Pelicans team physicians provided a preliminary diagnosis of an Achilles tear, which would end Cousins’ season a little more than a week after he was named an All-star starter.
The injury, which occurred with 12 seconds left, all but squelched the jubilation from the Pelicans and their fans, who otherwise would have been celebrating not just a victory over the team with the NBA’S second-best record but a fourth straight win overall and seventh in eight games.
At San Antonio, Joel Embiid had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia, which held San Antonio to a season-low point total in its first win at the AT&T Center since 2004, a span of 13 losses.
At Cleveland, Lebron James had 26 points, 11 assists, 11 turnovers and 10 rebounds for Cleveland in its fourth win in 11 games. James kept Indiana close in the fourth quarter with six turnovers.
At Toronto, Ricky Rubio’s 3-pointer with four seconds left accounted for the 14th and final lead change. Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points for Utah, which dealt Toronto its fourth loss in
76ers97,spurs78— Cavaliers 115, Pacers 108 — Jazz 97, Raptors 93 —
22 home games.
At Memphis, Tenn., Lou Williams had 40 points and 10 assists for Los Angeles, which halted a three-game skid. Marc Gasol had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for Memphis.
At Charlotte, N.C., Kemba Walker hit two key 3-pointers down the stretch and totaled 29 points for Charlotte, which rallied after surrendering the lead midway through the fourth quarter.
At Chicago, Brandon Ingram scored eight of his 25 pionts in the final 3:18 for Los Angeles, which rallied after blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead.
At Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points and 13 rebounds for Milwaukee, which held Brooklyn 35 points on 26-percent first-half shooting.
At Dallas, Damian Lillard scored 28 points for Portland in its fourth victory in five games.
At Phoenix, Enes Kanter scored 15 of his 20 points in the first quarter for New York, which never trailed.
Clippers 109, Grizzlies 100 — Hornets 121, Hawks 110 — Lakers 108, Bulls 103 — Bucks 116, Nets 91 — Trail Blazers 107, Mavericks 93 — Knicks 107, Suns 85 —