Cousins hurt as Pelicans stop Rockets
Anthony Davis scored 27 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists before seriously injuring his left Achilles, and New Orleans survived a furious Houston rally for a 115-113 victory over the Rockets on Friday night.
A person familiar with the situation said Pelicans team physicians have provided a preliminary diagnosis of an Achilles tear, which would end Cousins’ season little more than a week after he was named an All-Star starter.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because, officially, the team said an MRI will determine the severity of the injury.
The injury, which occurred as Cousins pursued a missed free throw with 12 second left in the game, all but squelched the jubilation from a team and its fans, who otherwise would have been celebrating a fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games.
Chris Paul scored a season-high 38 points and nearly led Houston back from a 21-point, thirdquarter deficit. James Harden had 23 points and 11 assists, and Eric Gordon scored 27 points. CAVALIERS 115, PACERS 108 >> LeBron James recorded a triple-double and overcame 11 turnovers as Cleveland showed signs of ending its slump. James finished with 26 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Cavs, following a minor lineup switch by coach Tyronn Lue, won for just the fourth time in 11 games.
• The Cavaliers played without Dwyane Wade, who was excused from the team to attend to a personal matter.
76ERS 97, SPURS 78 >> Ben Simmons scored 21 points, and Joel Embiid had 18 points and 14 rebounds as Philadelphia held San Antonio to season-low point total.
The 76ers snapped a 13game losing streak in San Antonio.
CLIPPERS 109, GRIZZLIES 100 >> Lou Williams had 40 points and matched his season-high with 10 assists as Los Angeles snapped a three-game skid. LAKERS 108, BULLS 103 >> Brandon Ingram scored 25 points, including eight in the final 3:18, and Los Angeles rallied for its fourth straight win. Rookie Lonzo Ball missed his sixth straight game for the Lakers with a sore knee. JAZZ 97, RAPTORS 93 >> Ricky Rubio’s 3-pointer with 4 seconds remaining gave Utah the win over Toronto. TRAIL BLAZERS 107, MAVERICKS 93 >> Damian Lillard scored 28 points to lead Portland past Dallas. The Trail Blazers have won four of their past five games.
BUCKS 116, NETS 91 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points and 13 rebounds to lead Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo (knee) returned after sitting out two games.
• Milwaukee police officers used a stun gun on Bucks rookie Sterling Brown and arrested the 22-year-old Friday after a confrontation at a Walgreens parking lot.
Police Sgt. Timothy Gauerke says the department is investigating what happened and the officers’ use of force.
Team spokesman Barry Baum said that the Bucks were “aware of the matter. We completely support Sterling and are confident that this will be resolved quickly.” SMART OUT TWO WEEKS >> Celtics guard Marcus Smart will miss about two weeks after cutting his right hand hitting a picture frame.
The Celtics face the Warriors tonight in Oakland. The Celtics said Smart returned to Boston after the injury to his right hand “from a nonbasketball incident” before Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers. D’ANTONI TO COACH ALLSTARS >> Houston coach Mike D’Antoni will lead Team Stephen in the AllStar game. Golden State’s Steve Kerr is ineligible because he coached in the game last year.