Mavericks edge Bulls for 3rd straight
CHICAGO — Wesley Matthews made a go-ahead 3-pointer from the wing with 12 seconds left, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Chicago Bulls 99-98 on Tuesday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Six players scored in double figures for the Mavericks, including all five starters. Harrison Barnes had 20 points, Seth Curry added 18 and Dirk Nowitzki finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Dallas trailed 98-96 after Jimmy Butler made a long jumper over Matthews with 23 seconds left, but Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle decided against a timeout and Deron Williams drove into the lane before kicking out to Matthews for the 3.
Chicago had one last chance, but Dwyane Wade missed a potential gamewinning jumper from the corner on his 35th birthday as time expired.
• Heat 109, Rockets 103 — At Miami: Goran Dragic had 21 points and eight assists, Wayne Ellington scored 18 off the bench and the Miami Heat overcame another triple-double from James Harden to beat the Houston Rockets 109103 on Tuesday night.
Dion Waiters scored 17, Tyler Johnson had 16 and James Johnson added 15 for the Heat. Hassan Whiteside finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Harden had 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Rockets (32-12), his 13th triple-double of the season. He shot 12 for 30 from the field and got his tripledouble with an assist to Montrezl Harrell with 12.6 seconds left, an uncontested dunk with the Heat simply waiting for the clock to run out.
An 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter put Miami up for good in a game that was back-and-forth for 42 minutes.
• Raptors 119, Nets 109 — At New York: DeMar DeRozan had 36 points and 11 rebounds, Cory Joseph scored a career-high 33 and Toronto beat freefalling Brooklyn.
Toronto won its fourth straight game and extended Brooklyn’s losing streak to 11 in a row. The Nets have not won since Dec. 26.
Terrence Ross added 15 points for the Raptors, who opened the game with an 11-0 run but fell behind after the first quarter.
Brook Lopez had 28 points for the Nets.
• Spurs 122, Timberwolves 114 — At San Antonio: Kawhi Leonard had 34 points and San Antonio overcame a strong start by Minnesota.
Leonard’s fourth straight 30-point game helped him become the first San Antonio player to score 950 points in the first half of a season since Tim Duncan in 2003.
Coming off a career-high 38 on Saturday against Phoenix in Mexico City, Leonard was 12 for 17 from the field.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting, spoiling Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau’s 59th birthday.
San Antonio had difficulty with Minnesota’s explosive starting lineup. Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Ricky Rubio added 21 points and 14 assists.
• Nuggets 127, Lakers 121 — At Los Angeles: Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 15 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets withstood a furious late rally by the Los Angeles Lakers to hold on for victory Tuesday night.
Denver led by 19 late in the third quarter only to see the Lakers close within one with 1:59 to play. The comeback fell short, however, and Los Angeles lost its fifth consecutive game.
Will Barton added 26 points and eight assists to help the Nuggets win their third straight. Kenneth Faried had 20 points and seven rebounds.
Lou Williams scored 24 points and Nick Young had 22 for the struggling Lakers, who have won just five of their last 26 games.