Leonard hits game-winner to lift Spurs over Pacers
Kawhi Leonard had 31 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs returned from an eight-game road trip to beat the Indiana Pacers 100-99 on Wednesday night.
Leonard hit a turnaround, fade-away jumper from 16 feet against Paul George with 2.4 seconds left to win it. Indiana’s Monta Ellis missed two foul shots with nine seconds remaining and George missed a three-point try at the buzzer. George finished with 22 points. San Antonio extended its winning streak to five games, including four straight to close its annual rodeo road trip in February.
Celtics 103, Cavaliers 99: Isaiah Thomas scored 31 points, including two late free throws, as host Boston outlasted LeBron James and Cleveland. Boston’s win overshadowed the seventh tripledouble of the season for James, who finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Kyrie Irving added 28 points for the Cavaliers.
Rockets 122, Clippers 103: James Harden scored 26 points and Houston shot 20-for-52 on three-point tries in a rout at Los Angeles. Ryan Anderson added 23 points, including a team-high six threes, as the Rockets won for the seventh time in nine games and extended their NBA record to nine games with 20 or more three-pointers this season. Nets 109, Kings 100: Brook Lopez had 24 points and eight rebounds, and visiting Brooklyn did not trail in snapping a 16-game losing streak by defeating Sacramento Jeremy Lin scored 17 points, Isaiah Whitehead had 14 and Caris LeVert finished with 13 for the NBA-worst Nets (10-49). The Kings have lost three straight and are 1-3 since trading DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans.
Wizards 105, Raptors 96: Bojan Bogdanovic had 27 points off the bench and Bradley Beal added 23 as visiting Washington snapped an eight-game losing streak against Toronto. John Wall had 12 points and 13 assists for his 39th double-double of the season. DeMar DeRozan had 24 points for the Raptors.
Pelicans 109, Pistons 86: Anthony Davis had 33 points and 14 rebounds, and host New Orleans snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Detroit. Detroit center Andre Drummond was ejected for swatting at the back of New Orleans guard Tim Frazier’s head after Frazier had ripped away a rebound late in the third quarter.
Knicks 101, Magic 90: Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Derrick Rose added 19 points to help visiting New York cruise to victory over Orlando. Carmelo Anthony had 17 points and Justin Holiday added 14 off the bench for the Knicks. Lance Thomas scored 11. Evan Fournier led four Orlando players in double figures with 22 points.
Hawks 100, Mavericks 95: Paul Millsap scored on a drive with 30.5 seconds remaining and Atlanta held off visiting Dallas. After Millsap’s basket put the Hawks ahead 96-95, Harrison Barnes missed a chance to put the Mavericks back in front. Barnes led Dallas with 25 points. Heat 125, Heat 98: Tyler Johnson scored 24 points off the bench, and host Miami did not trail in a rout of Philadelphia. Wayne Ellington made six three-pointers for 18 points for Miami, which has won 10 of its past 11 home games. Robert Covington scored 19 for the 76ers, who learned earlier that center Joel Embiid will miss the remainder of the season with a left knee injury.
Nuggets 110, Bucks 98: Nikola Jokic had his second triple-double in two nights to lead visiting Denver over Milwaukee. Jokic finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his fourth career triple-double — all in his past 13 games. Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton finished with a season-high 21 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.
Timberwolves 107, Jazz 80: Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead visiting Minnesota over Utah. Andrew Wiggins scored 20 points and Shabazz Muhammad added 18 for the Timberwolves, who won for the fourth time in their past five games.