Clippers hang on to beat Lakers for 3rd win in row
LOS ANGELES — Lou Williams scored a season-high 42 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Lakers 120-115 on Monday night for their 11th straight home victory against their Staples Center co-tenant.
Blake Griffin added 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who came back after trailing by eight to win their third in a row for the first time since opening the season 4-0.
Griffin wasn’t on the court at the end. He went for a loose ball under the basket and fell, grabbing his left knee as he went down in the closing minutes.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit an open 18-footer that left the Lakers trailing 116115 with 48 seconds to go.
Williams answered with a layup before Brandon Ingram missed a corner jumper for the Lakers. Williams got fouled and made both, completing a 14 of 14 free throw performance that closed out the win.
Pope led the Lakers with 29 points. Ingram and Jordan Clarkson added 17 points each.
• Pistons 118, Celtics 108 — At Boston: Andre Drummond scored 26 points with 22 rebounds — both season highs — and Tobias Harris scored 31 to lead the Detroit Pistons to victory and send the Celtics to their first loss in Boston since their home opener.
Drummond had 10 rebounds in the first quarter and 11 points in the last 5:36 to help Detroit win the matchup of oldschool rivals who are once again the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Reggie Jackson scored 20 points with seven assists for the Pistons, who have won three of their last four.
Marcus Smart scored 23 points, making 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and Kyrie Irving had 18 with nine assists for the Celtics. Boston has lost two of four since a 16-game winning streak.
Detroit led by 11 points in the first quarter, but it was tied 100-all with 5:36 left before the Pistons pulled away thanks to eight straight points from Drummond. With just over three minutes left, the Pistons center stole a lazy inbound pass at midcourt and drove for the dunk, drawing a foul from Irving.
• Cavaliers 113, 76ers 91 — At Philadelphia: LeBron James had 30 points, 13 rebounds and six assists to lead Cleveland over Philadelphia.
The three-time defending Eastern Conference champions won their eighth straight game. Dwyane Wade scored 15 points, and Jeff Green had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• Trail Blazers 103, Knicks 91 — At New York: Damian Lillard scored 32 points and Portland wrapped up a strong five-game road trip with its third straight victory.
Pat Connaughton added 17 for the Trail Blazers, who also won at Memphis, Brooklyn and Washington while losing only in Philadelphia. They needed to come from 17 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Wizards last time out but were in charge of this one most of the way.
• Spurs 115, Mavericks 108 — At San Antonio: LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 33 points and 10 rebounds and San Antonio celebrated Tony Parker’s first game of the season by beating Dallas.
Parker had six points and four assists in 14 minutes in his first appearance since tearing his right quadriceps tendon May 3 against Houston in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals.
• Rockets 117, Nets 103 — At Houston: James Harden scored 20 of his 37 points in the first quarter to lead Houston over Brooklyn.
Harden added 10 rebounds and eight assists to guide the Rockets to their fifth straight win. When he took a break with 1:28 remaining in the first quarter, he was outscoring the Nets 20-17 by himself, not to mention four assists at that point. He was 5-for-5 from 3-point range in the first quarter and finished 8-for-13.
• Pacers 121, Magic 109 — At Indianapolis: Victor Oladipo scored 26 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 22 to help Indiana hand Orlando its ninth straight loss.
Orlando cut the Pacers lead to 95-91 five minutes into the fourth quarter, but Indiana put together a 13-0 run that lasted nearly three minutes. The Pacers’ fourth quarter surge ultimately proved the difference in a game where the Magic fought desperately to snap their losing streak.
College men
• No. 11 Cincinnati 83, Alabama St. 51 — At Cincinnati: Gary Clark had 14 point and seven rebounds, and No. 11 Cincinnati stayed unbeaten heading into its game against its crosstown rival by beating winless Alabama State 83-51 on Monday night.
The Bearcats (7-0) play at No. 21 Xavier on Saturday. The Musketeers have won seven of the last 10 in the crosstown rivalry, although Cincinnati won on its home court last season.
• No. 18 Virginia 49, Wisconsin 37 — At Charlottesville, Va.: Kyle Guy scored 17 points, and Virginia held Wisconsin scoreless for more than 7 minutes in the second half in a victory in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.