Pelicans blow out Rockets
Solomon Hill hadn’t been on the court for two minutes when he received a pass from Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday on the perimeter and drained a threepointer.
There were five more longrange baskets to come from Hill, who scored a career-high 30 points to help host New Orleans overcome the absence of All-Star DeMarcus Cousins (knee and rib soreness) in a 128-112 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
“When you get that shot, you’ve got to take it,” said Hill, who was averaging just 6.5 points a game coming in. “That’s what I’m just getting comfortable with, just my teammates finding me and making the most of the opportunity.”
Anthony Davis had 24 points and 15 rebounds and Holiday scored 19 for New Orleans, which has won three of four.
James Harden had 41 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, but Houston’s three-game winning streak ended.
Bucks 107, Lakers 103:
Khris Middleton scored 14 of his season-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, Greg Monroe added 12 points before his ejection and visiting Milwaukee kept up its playoff push with its eighth victory in nine games. Monroe and Los Angeles guards D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young were ejected with 36 seconds left in the third quarter after a fracas started by Malcolm Brogdon’s hard foul on Young, who shoved back. Monroe then shoved Young, and Russell shoved Monroe while every player on the court got involved.
Celtics 98, Nets 95:
Jae Crowder scored nine of his 24 points late in the fourth quarter and Avery Bradley had 16 points for visiting Boston. Al Horford added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who were playing without All-Star Isaiah Thomas. Boston’s point guard sat out the first game of a twogame road trip. Boston moved within two games of the idle Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 23 points.
Heat 123, Timberwolves 105:
Hassan Whiteside scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Tyler Johnson scored 23 off the bench for host Miami. The Heat lost Dion Waiters to an ankle injury in the second quarter but moved to 23-5 in their past 28 games. Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota.
Wizards 112, Bulls 107:
Bradley Beal scored 24 points, John Wall dished out a career-high 20 assists to go with 14 points, and host Washington held on to defeat Chicago. Playing their first game since Dwyane Wade suffered a fractured elbow that will keep him out for the rest of the regular season, the Bulls rallied from 19 points down and had a chance to tie it, but Jimmy Butler missed a three-point shot with 3.9 seconds left. Butler finished with 28 points and Robin Lopez added a season-high 25 points and 12 rebounds.
76ers 116, Mavericks 74:
Justin Anderson tied his career high with 19 points and Robert Covington scored 12 of his 18 points in a dominant third quarter for host Philadelphia, which had lost eight straight to Dallas.
Magic 109, Suns 103:
Evan Fournier scored 25 points and visiting Orlando ended a four-game losing streak. T.J. Warren’s 26 points led the Suns, who have lost five of six.
Raptors 87, Pistons 75:
Serge Ibaka had 17 points and eight rebounds and visiting Toronto outscored Detroit 27-9 in the fourth quarter.