Lillard scores 50 as Trail Blazers sink Pacers
Raptors, Spurs share 24-second Bryant tributes; Toronto win
PORTLAND, Ore, Jan 27, (AP): Damian Lillard had 50 points and 13 assists, becoming the first Portland player with 40-plus points in three straight games, and the Trail Blazers beat the Indiana Pacers 139-129 on a Sunday night marked by grief over the death of NBA great Kobe Bryant.
The Trail Blazers honored Bryant with 24 seconds of silence before the game, and the team took a 24-second shot-clock violation at the start before the Pacers took an eight-second timeline penalty, recognizing Bryant’s jersey numbers. Several fans at the Moda Center wore Lakers jerseys in salute to a player who spent his entire career with rivals Los Angeles.
C.J. McCollum returned after a three-game absence because of an ankle injury and added 28 points for the Blazers (20-27). Hassan Whiteside had 21 points and 14 rebounds.
Domantas Sabonis, whose father Arvydas played for the Blazers, had 27 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for the Pacers for his second career tripledouble. His first came last Sunday at Denver.
Indiana (30-17) hasn’t won in Portland since the 2007-08 season, a streak of 11 games.
But there was a pall over the game because of the helicopter crash earlier Sunday that killed Bryant, one of his daughters, and seven others in Southern California. Both coaches spoke about Bryant before the game.
Pacers coach Nate McMillan was an assistant for the US national teams that featured Bryant in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
The Pacers were without starter Malcolm Brogdon, who missed his second straight game in concussion protocol after taking an elbow against Phoenix on Wednesday. Indiana center Myles Turner also sat out because of illness.
Raptors 110, Spurs 106
In San Antonio, the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs did not want to be on the court after learning Kobe Bryant had died, but they tried to honor him as best they could.
The teams collaborated on a touching tribute to Bryant at the beginning of their game Sunday, with each team dribbling out the 24-second shot clock in remembrance of the No. 24 worn by the retired NBA great, who died in a helicopter crash at age 41.
Pascal Siakam scored 35 points to lead the Raptors past the Spurs 110106 on a day when many players’ thoughts were elsewhere.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among the nine people killed when the helicopter they were riding in crashed in Calabasas, California. The teams found out about Bryant’s death about an hour before the afternoon tip-off.
The teams did not contest the opening tip-off. Instead, Toronto point guard Fred VanVleet held onto the ball for 24 seconds, incurring a shot-clock violation. San Antonio point guard Dejounte Murray did the same as the crowd gave a standing ovation and chanted, “Kobe! Kobe!”
Popovich was not his usual animated self on the sidelines as the Raptors raced to a 29-12 lead. But when Walker missed a defensive assignment on one of Siakam’s five 3-pointers, Popovich pulled Walker immediately from the game and had the second-year guard sit by him as he scolded him and then immediately
reinserted him into the lineup.
The Spurs also returned to life, outscoring the Raptors 34-23 in the third quarter after trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half.
Hawks 152, Wizards 133
In Atlanta, Trae Young had to compose himself a couple of times when asked about the death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.
It wasn’t easy for Young, who was mentored by Bryant and had a special relationship with the former NBA star’s 13-year-old girl, nicknamed Gigi.
Young had 45 points and 14 assists in an emotional game for the first-time All-Star, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Washington Wizards 152-133 on Sunday night.
Young looked up toward the rafters several times to honor Bryant, his mentor and favorite NBA player, who died in a helicopter crash earlier in the day. Young wore a No. 8 jersey to salute Bryant during the first few seconds of the game and dressed up his shoes with a heartfelt tribute as well.
The Hawks, who have endured a tough season as the worst team in the Eastern Conference, had lost three of four before setting a season scoring high. De’Andre Hunter finished with 25 points, Kevin Huerter had 18 and John Collins 16, but this game belonged to Young, who surpassed 40 points for the eighth time this season, second-most in the NBA.
Pelicans 123, Celtics 108
In New Orleans, Zion Williamson’s authoritative, two-handed dunk as he was fouled by Boston guard Kemba Walker gave an appreciative crowd its first taste of how effectively the New Orleans Pelicans
can close out games with the NBA’s top draft choice on the court.
Williamson had 21 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes, and the Pelicans beat the Celtics 123-108 on Sunday for their first victory in three games since the rookie star joined the lineup.
The game also marked the first time the Pelicans permitted Williamson to play late in the fourth quarter. He scored eight points in the final three minutes as New Orleans pulled away.
Jrue Holiday had 25 points, J.J. Redick scored 17 and Brandon Ingram added 16 for New Orleans, which snapped a two-game slide. Lonzo Ball’s career-high 15 assists included a long lob to Williamson for an alley-oop layup
and an alley-oop pass that Williamson dunked on a sideline inbounds play.
Williamson played his most minutes yet since completing his rehabilitation from arthroscopic knee surgery performed the day before the regular season opened. He had played the first five or so minutes of each quarter in his first two games, but the Pelicans made an adjustment to his fourth-quarter usage to allow the ex-Duke star to e on the court for the final minutes against Boston.
Walker scored 35 points, Gordon Hayward had 23 and Jaylen Brown 20 for the Celtics, who fell behind for good in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 23 in the third.
Boston hit just 16 of its first 43 shots
– including 3-of-17 shooting from 3-point range – during the first half. New Orleans took advantage, opening a 62-42 lead by halftime.
Knicks 110, Nets 97
In New York, every time Kobe Bryant came to Madison Square Garden, it was an event.
From the 1998 All-Star Game, his first one, to the night of Feb 2, 2009, when he broke the arena’s scoring record, people just wanted to be in the building. Not Sunday. Kyrie Irving couldn’t bring himself to play after his friend’s death. The ones who took the floor did so with the knowledge that Bryant would have had one expectation.
Julius Randle, who began his career as Bryant’s teammate, had 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead New York to a 110-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Grizzlies 114, Suns 109
In Memphis, Tenn, the night in Memphis started with a moment of silence for Kobe Bryant. It ended with players from both sides remembering the Los Angeles Lakers great for the good he brought to the game.
As for the game itself, Ja Morant scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Memphis Grizzlies hold off the Phoenix Suns 114-109 on Sunday night for their second straight victory.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 36 points, Kelly Oubre Jr added 27 points, and Deandre Ayton finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Phoenix lost for the third time in four games.
Memphis built the lead to double digits, reaching 14 with just under five minutes to play in the third quarter. The