Hot Spurs get back into playoff race
LaMarcus Aldridge had 39 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame a sluggish start to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-101 on Saturday night.
San Antonio won its third straight to move into fifth in the Western Conference five days after dropping to 10th and out of playoff position.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which dropped to sixth in the West.
The Spurs had lost three straight and nine of 11 but are now unbeaten halfway through a six-game homestand.
San Antonio shot 84 percent in the second quarter, their best shooting quarter since 2010. The run was fueled by Aldridge.
Two nights after battling New Orleans’ Anthony Davis on both ends, Aldridge had to take on another All-Star in Towns. Aldridge responded by leading the Spurs in scoring for the 49th time this season while helping keep Towns in check.
Aldridge scored 18 of 21 points during a five-minute stretch in the second quarter, including 12 straight. TRAIL BLAZERS 100, PISTONS 87 >> Damian Lillard had 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Portland beat Detroit for its 12th straight victory. CJ McCollum added 16 points for the Blazers, who have the longest current winning streak in the league. Portland also earned its seasonbest ninth straight home as it tries to hold on to third place in the Western Conference standings. ROCKETS 107, PELICANS 101 >> James Harden had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and Houston won for the 21st time in 22 games. Chris Paul added 21 points, and Clint Capela had 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, winners of four straight since their 17game winning streak ended against Toronto.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 19 points for New Orleans, which has lost four of five since winning 10 straight. CAVALIERS 114, BULLS 109 >> LeBron James scored 33 points as part of a tripledouble, and Jordan Clarkson had a tiebreaking fourpoint play with 1:27 left in Cleveland’s win. The Bulls wiped out a 17-point halftime deficit even though they held out banged-up core players Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn, only to come up short in the closing minutes. Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue spent the second half in the locker room with an illness, another hit for an already short-handed team. WIZARDS 109, PACERS 102 >> Bradley Beal scored 19 points, Marcin Gortat had 18, and Washington beat Indiana in a possible playoff preview. Washington (40-30) earned its second straight win to move into a tie with Indiana for fourth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Wizards also claimed the first tiebreaker by taking two of three in the season series. Washington went 10 for 20 from 3-point range and shot 54.8 percent from the field overall.
BUCKS 122, HAWKS 117 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 12 rebounds, Khris Middleton added 23 points, and Milwaukee topped Atlanta. GRIZZLIES 101, NUGGETS 94 >> Dillon Brooks scored 24 points, Tyreke Evans added 20, and Memphis snapped a 19-game losing streak. Marc Gasol added 14 points as Memphis won for the first time since Jan. 29. Denver played without leading scorer Gary Harris, who is expected to miss the next few games with a right knee sprain suffered against Detroit on Thursday.
JAZZ 103, KINGS 103 >> Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points as Utah notched its ninth straight victory.