San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Siakam fuels Raptors’ rally
Toronto’s Pascal Siakam had 30 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his second career triple-double and the Raptors overcame an early 15-point deficit to beat the Bucks 103-96 on Saturday night in Milwaukee.
OG Anunoby added 24 points to help the Raptors improve to 3-0 this season against the defending champion Bucks, who shot a season-low 33.8%. Toronto has won five straight in the series.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 30 points, making all 17 of his free throws but going 6-for-17 from the field. He didn’t play in the previous two games with Toronto this season, with the Raptors winning 97-93 in Toronto on Dec. 2 and 117-111 in Milwaukee on Jan. 5.
Fred VanVleet added 17 points for Toronto, Chris Boucher had 15, and Precious Achiuwa finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Grayson Allen had 18 points for Bucks, and Khris Middleton added 16.
After spending two minutes on the bench with five fouls, Siakam returned with 6:46 left in a tie game and made a jumper 21 seconds later. After Antetokounmpo tied it again with two free throws, Siakam hit a corner 3-pointer in front of the Bucks’ bench with 5:53 left to put the Raptors back in front for good.
Nets 120, Pelicans 105: James Harden had 27 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds, and host Brooklyn cruised to a victory over New Orleans despite losing Kevin Durant in the first half to a left knee sprain. Durant was hurt with 5:44 left in the second quarter when New Orleans forward Herbert Jones was driving down the court and crashed into Nets backup guard Bruce Brown, who fell backward into Durant’s knee.
Durant briefly limped around the court before asking to be taken out. He finished with 12 points and was walking with a limp when he left the arena midway through the fourth quarter. Coach Steve Nash said Durant will have an MRI exam Sunday.
Trail Blazers 115, Wizards 110: Anfernee Simons scored 31 points with 11 assists, Jusuf Nurkic had 23 points and 14 rebounds and Portland beat Washington on the road.
The Wizards’ three-game winning streak was snapped despite Spencer Dinwiddie’s 27 points. Kyle Kuzma added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Simons, who missed Thursday’s loss at Denver to attend his grandfather’s funeral, had 26 points in the first half, including seven 3-pointers.
The Wizards played without leading scorer Bradley Beal for the third straight game, as well as coach Wes Unseld Jr., who are both in health and safety protocols.
Knicks 117, Hawks 108: RJ
Barrett scored 26 points, Julius Randle added 24 and New York beat host Atlanta for its third straight victory.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 29 points, and Danilo Gallinari had 17. The Hawks have dropped five straight and nine of 11 to fall to 17-26.
LaVine injury: After undergoing an MRI on his left knee, the Bulls said guard Zach LaVine isn’t expected to miss “significant time” as he recovers from a non-structural injury. LaVine exited in the first quarter Friday against the Warriors. The team has not released a timeline for LaVine’s recovery.