Harden, Durant star as Nets defeat Bucks
NEW YORK » Kevin Durant made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, James Harden had 34 points and 12 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets edged the Milwaukee Bucks 125123 on Monday night.
Durant finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists to give the Nets their fourth straight victory in a game in which two of the East’s best went toe-totoe right down to a tense finish that ended when Khris Middleton missed a potential winning 3-pointer from the corner.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Middleton added 25 points and Jrue Holiday had 22.
Harden had 11 points at halftime following his 32-point Nets debut, when he added 14 assists and 12 rebounds. But he picked it up in the second half and contributed to the biggest play of the game even when he missed.
He swooped in to grab the rebound of his own 3-pointer that was off with the Nets trailing by two and fired it back out to Durant, who nailed the shot that made it 125-123.
Durant could have put it away but turned it over on the Nets’ next possession, but they held on when Middleton’s shot was just off from in front of his bench.
Kyrie Irving missed his seventh straight game after leaving the team for personal reasons, with coach Steve Nash saying he could return Wednesday in Cleveland. RAPTORS 116, MAVERICKS 93 » Kyle Lowry scored 23 points and Pascal Siakam had a big second half, leading Toronto to a win over Dallas.
Siakam scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half as the Raptors pulled away for their third straight victory. Chris Boucher added 21 points and O.G. Anunoby contributed 13 points, 11 rebounds
and much of the defensive work against Dallas star Luka Doncic.
Doncic, who was coming off a 36-point, 16-rebound, 15-assist triple-double in Sunday’s 117-101 loss to Chicago, scored 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting and added seven rebounds and nine assists.
Kristaps Porzingis led Dallas with 23 points and nine rebounds. The Mavericks shot 37.8% with 23 turnovers and lost their third straight.
SPURS 125, TRAIL BLAZERS 104 » LaMarcus Aldridge scored 22 points, DeMar DeRozan had 20 points and 11 assists and San Antonio beat Portland.
Rudy Gay and Patty Mills came off the bench for 21 points apiece as the Spurs’ reserves outscored Portland’s backups 59-24.
Damian Lillard led Portland with 35 points. HAWKS 108, TIMBERWOLVES 97 » Clint Capela had 23 points and 15 rebounds, De’Andre Hunter scored 25 and Atlanta beat Minnesota.
The Hawks, wearing black, tan and white uniforms with “MLK” sewn across the chest to commemorate the national holiday honoring slain civil
rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., snapped a two-game skid. They had dropped six of seven.
Trae Young had 20 points and 13 assists for Atlanta. KNICKS 91, MAGIC 84 » R.J. Barrett had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Julius Randle added 21 points and 17 rebounds to lead New York past Orlando.
Elfrid Payton chipped in with 12 points and rookie guard Immanuel Quickley added 11 for the Knicks, who won their second straight.
Nikola Vucevic had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando, which lost its sixth in a row. Aaron Gordon had 18 points and 17 rebounds while Terrence Ross added 19 points for the Magic. GRIZZLIES 108, SUNS 104 » Ja Morant had 17 points and 10 assists and took a key charge late as Memphis beat Phoenix for its fifth straight victory.
Grayson Allen, who finished with 16 points, converted four free throws down the stretch. Brandon Clarke also scored 17 points for Memphis.
Deandre Ayton led the Suns with 18 points and tied a season high with 16 rebounds. Mikal Bridges had 17 points, while Chris Paul finished with 16 points and
seven assists for Phoenix.
HEAT 113, PISTONS 107 » Bam Adebayo had 28 points and 11 rebounds and the shorthanded Heat got their biggest comeback win of the season, rallying from 19 down to beat Detroit to snap a three-game slide.
Goran Dragic scored 22 points for the Heat, who got 18 apiece from Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn. Miami was again without Jimmy Butler and Avery Bradley (virus protocols), Tyler Herro (neck) and Meyers Leonard (shoulder).
Jerami Grant had 27 points for Detroit, but his layup that could have gotten the Pistons within three was blocked by Adebayo with 31 seconds left. Wayne Ellington made seven 3-pointers and scored 24 for the Pistons, who got 21 from Derrick Rose and 15 from Mason Plumlee.
BULLS 125, ROCKETS 120 » Zach LaVine scored 33 points, and Chicago overcame a strong effort by Victor Oladipo in his Houston debut.
Lauri Markkanen finished with 18 points. The 7-footer from Finland nailed a 3-pointer in the closing minute to make it a sixpoint game, helping Chicago squeeze out a tight win after an easy victory at Dallas.