CLIPPERS HOLD ON, BEAT NETS
Paul George scored 29 points, Kawhi Leonard added 24 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame a careerhigh 47 points from Cam Thomas in his first start to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 124-116 on Monday night in New York.
Clippers 124, Nets 116
Ivica Zubac added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the eighth time in 10 games and finished 4-2 on their sixgame Eastern Conference road trip.
“I’m happy with the road trip we had,” Leonard said. “We came out 4-2, and that’s a pretty good road trip for us.”
Thomas, who scored 44 to rally the Nets past Washington on Saturday, was even better on the day the Nets completed the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas. But Los Angeles outscored Brooklyn 25-9 over the final 6:20.
Nic Claxton had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Nets, while Edmund Sumner chipped in 23 points for Brooklyn.
Warriors 141, Thunder 114: Klay Thompson scored 42 points with a season-high 12 3-pointers, Jordan Poole added 21 points and 12 assists starting in Stephen Curry’s place, and host Golden State routed Oklahoma City.
Thompson sat down for the night to a roaring ovation with 4:41 left to finish 15 for 22 from the floor and 12 of 16 on 3s.
Bucks 127, Trail Blazers 108:
Brook Lopez scored 27 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 and Jrue Holiday added 20 as visiting Milwaukee stretched its winning streak to eight games.
Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 28 points.
Celtics 111, Pistons 99:
Jayson Tatum started slow and finished strong with 34 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, leading Boston over host Detroit.
The All-Star forward missed his first five shots and had as many fouls (three) as field goals after missing 10 shots in the first half.
Cavaliers 114, Wizards 91: Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen scored 23 points apiece and Donovan Mitchell added 21 to lead visiting Cleveland.
All five Cleveland starters were in double figures by halftime, and the Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games. Evan Mobley finished with 16 points and Isaac Okoro contributed 12.
Bulls 128, Spurs 104:
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Andre Drummond set season highs with 21 points and 15 rebounds, and host Chicago handed San Antonio its ninth straight loss.
Zach LaVine scored 20 points and DeMar DeRozan had 19, helping the Bulls match a season high with their third straight win.
Kings 140, Rockets 120:
Keegan Murray had a career-high 30 points and set a franchise rookie record with eight 3-pointers to help Sacramento snap a two-game skid with a win at Houston.
Murray, the fourth overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft, shot 8 for 12 from beyond the arc on a night when the Kings made 21 3-pointers. The previous team mark for 3s by a rookie was set by Ricky Berry with seven in 1989.
Mavericks 124, Jazz 111:
Josh Green and Jaden Hardy each scored career highs of 29 points and visiting Dallas, playing without Luka Doncic (heel), stunned Utah a night after completing a trade for Kyrie Irving.
When Green was on the court, the Mavericks outscored the Jazz by an astonishing 39 point.