Westbrook, defense power Rockets
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, and the Houston Rockets used strong defense down the stretch for a 120-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
It was the 36th straight game with at least 20 points for Westbrook, who led Houston’s offense on a night James Harden scored 24.
Houston tied an NBA record for most 3-point attempts in a regulation game with 61, making 21 of them, and forced 22 turnovers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists for Milwaukee. He joined Kareem Abdul-jabbar as the lone players to have 15 games with at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in a season in the past 50 years.
Khris Middleton scored 27 points and Brook Lopez 23 as the Bucks missed a chance to clinch the Eastern Conference’s best record.
Milwaukee led by one in the fourth quarter before Lopez scored the first four points of a 7-0 run that was capped by a 3 from Middleton to make it 112104 with about three minutes left.
But Houston scored the next nine points, highlighted by a 3 and a steal from P.J. Tucker and a block by Harden on Antetokounmpo, to go on top 113-112 about a minute later.
Lopez ended Houston’s run with a basket in the paint to make it 114-113 with less than a minute to go.
Suns 117, Mavericks 115:
Devin Booker scored 30 points for Phoenix, which overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit while the All-star guard was on the bench with foul trouble.
Luka Doncic had 40 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for Dallas, which clinched its first postseason berth since 2016 with Memphis’ earlier loss to San Antonio.
Celtics 128, Trail Blazers 124:
Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown 30 for
Boston, which led by 24 in the second quarter.
Damian Lillard had 30 points and 16 assists and Jusuf Nurkic 30 points for Portland, which opened the fourth quarter with a 15-4 run to go up 101-98. The Celtics answered with a 7-0 spurt.
Spurs 108, Grizzlies 106:
Demar Derozan drew a foul on Findlay Prep product Dillon Brooks with one second left and hit two free throws for San Antonio, which moved into ninth place in the West.
Dejounte Murray scored 21 points for the Spurs, who led by 11 in the fourth quarter. Ja Morant had 25 points, nine assists and nine rebounds for Memphis.
Nets 118, Wizards 110:
Caris Levert scored 25 of his 34 points in the second half for Brooklyn, which moved seven games ahead of ninth-place Washington in the East.
Joe Harris had 27 points and Jarrett Allen 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets. Thomas Bryant had a career-high 30 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards.
Magic 132, Kings 116:
Terrence Ross scored 25 points, Nikola Vucevic 23 and Aaron Gordon 22 for Orlando, which shot 52 percent and matched a season high with 18 3-pointers.
Harry Giles III scored a career-high 23 points to lead Sacramento. De’aaron Fox mustered 13 points after scoring a career-high 39 in the Kings’ restart opener.