Mavs-pelicans among 2 games postponed by league on Monday
The NBA called off two more games because of Covid-related and contact-tracing issues on Monday, and the Miami Heat were preparing to be without eight players — including All-stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo — for several days because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.
Monday’s game in Dallas between the Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans was postponed by the league, as well as Tuesday’s matchup in Chicago between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics. The league’s general managers met Monday to discuss the virus situation, with involvement from the National Basketball Players Association. The NBA’S board of governors will meet Tuesday.
The two new postponements means four games so far have been called off due to virusrelated matters. Philadelphia played at home against Denver on Saturday with seven players — eight were available — because of a combination of virus issues and injuries. The NBA also fined the 76ers $25,000 on Monday for not properly disclosing ahead of time that Ben Simmons would miss that game with an injury.
WIZARDS 128, SUNS 107
Bradley Beal scored 34 points and host Washington snapped their threegame losing streak and won at home for the first time this season, beating Phoenix.
The Wizards (3-8), who had lost five straight at
home, played without guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook will miss at least a week with a left quadriceps injury.
Devin Booker lead Phoenix (7-4) with 33 points. Chris Paul had 14 points and 11 assists.
TRAIL BLAZERS 112 RAPTORS 111
CJ Mccollum had 30 points, including the game-winning shot, Damian Lillard added 23 and host Portland beat Toronto.
Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 22 points. Chris Boucher came off the bench and added 20.
KINGS 127, PACERS 122
Harrison Barnes had 30
points, De’aaron Fox added 21 and host Sacramento held off Indiana.
Domantas Sabonis had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Malcom Brogdon had 24 points and nine assists, and Doug Mcdermott and Victor Oladipo added 21 points each.
Richaun Holmes added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings.
HORNETS 109, KNICKS 88
Gordon Hayward scored 34 points and host Charlotte beat New York for its fourth straight win.
Devonte Graham had 19 points and seven assists for Charlotte, and P.J. Washington had 13 points as the Hornets handed the Knicks their third straight defeat.
Kevin Knox had 19 points to lead the Knicks, and Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
BUCKS 121, MAGIC 99
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a onegame absence because of a minor back injury and scored 22 points as visiting Milwaukee beat Orlando.
Khris Middleton finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, while reserve Bobby Portis played well for a second straight game, scoring 20 points.
Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Magic.
HAWKS 112, 76ERS 94
Trae Young scored 26 points, and host Atlanta beat short-handed Philadelphia.
De’andre Hunter and Brandon Goodwin had 15 points as the Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak. Clint Capela added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Joe had 18 points.
GRIZZLIES 101 CAVALIERS 91
Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and visiting Memphis recovered after blowing a 16-point lead to beat Cleveland.
Cavaliers center Andre Drummond had 19 points and 14 rebounds for his 11th straight double-double to start the season. Dotson added 14 points and six assists, and Cedi Osman had 14 points.