San Antonio holds Rockets to season low in easy victory
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 on 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 five minutes remaining. Rockets coach Mike D’antoni opted to take his starters out two minutes later.
The Rockets were without the injured Chris Paul.
James Harden scored 25 points for Houston on 8-of-19 shooting. He also had eight assists, but battled foul trouble before exiting with five fouls.
At Cleveland, Lebron James struggled before extending his record double-digit scoring streak to 868 games, and Cleveland finally pulled away from Dallas.
At New Orleans, Russell Westbrook had 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.
At Oakland, Calif., 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.
At Portland, Ore., Damian Lillard had 27 points and nine assists, and Portland held off a late run by Memphis. The Blazers clinched their fifth straight playoff spot earlier in the evening when Utah won at Minnesota.
At Charlotte,
N.C., Ben Simmons had 20 points and 15 assists, and Philadelphia set a team record with its ninth straight game of 30 or more assists.
At New York, Reggie Jackson scored 29 points, Stanley Johnson had 17, and Detroit preserved its slim playoff hopes with a victory over Brooklyn.
At Los Angeles, Victor Oladipo scored 30 points, Myles Turner added 24, and Indiana rallied for its fifth straight victory.
At Denver, 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.
At Minneapolis, Ricky Rubio scored 23 points, including a season-high 5-for-6 shooting on 3-pointers, and Donovan Mitchell added 21 points for Utah.
At Los Angeles, Buddy Hield scored 19 points to help Sacramento snap a four-game losing streak.
At Chicago, Lauri Markkanen scored 23 points and connected on 5 of 8 3-pointers to lead Chicago past Washington.
At Atlanta, 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, to lead the Hawks to a victory.
Cavaliers 98, Mavericks 87 — Thunder 109, Pelicans 104 — Warriors 117, Suns 107 — Trail Blazers 113, Grizzlies 98 — 76ers 119, Hornets 102 — Pistons 108, Nets 96 — Pacers 111, Clippers 104 — Nuggets 128, Bucks 125, OT — Jazz 121, Timberwolves 97 — Kings 84, Lakers 83 — Bulls 113, Wizards 94 — Hawks 94, Magic 88 —