Spurs roll to 107-85 victory over Warriors
SAN ANTONIO: Patty Mills had 21 points as the San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 107-85 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night in a game short on star power to pull within a half-game of the NBA’s top record. The big showdown between the league’s top two teams turned into a huge letdown with both teams missing their star players. Already without Kevin Durant due to a knee injury, Golden State opted to rest Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala. The Spurs were expecting to be without Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray due to injuries, but received a jolt when they were informed that LaMarcus Aldridge will be out indefinitely with a minor heart arrhythmia. Aldridge underwent tests Saturday and will have more today. Ian Clark had 36 points to lead Golden State, which has dropped three in a row and five of seven.
WIZARDS 125, TRAIL BLAZERS 124, OT
John Wall scored 39 points as the Wizards picked up a controversial road win. It looked as if Markieff Morris stepped out of bounds before making a go-ahead baseline jumper with 0.4 seconds left in overtime. The crowd at the Moda Center howled in protest and the players pointed to the video replay to no avail. Bradley Beal added 26 points for the Wizards, who have won five straight. CJ McCollum scored 34 points for Portland, which had won four in a row. Damian Lillard had 33.
HEAT 104, RAPTORS 89
Dion Waiters scored 20 points while Tyler Johnson added 16 as the Heat improved to 21-4 over their last 25 games. Goran Dragic scored 15 and Hassan Whiteside added 12 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. Dragic played only 41 seconds in the second half, leaving after taking an elbow from Toronto’s Cory Joseph. Dragic eventually returned to the bench with an icepack over his right eye, which appeared to be swollen nearly shut. DeMar DeRozan scored 17 points for the Raptors, who have lost 15 of their last 24 games. Toronto, still without injured All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, managed only seven assists - an NBA low for any team this season - on 32 field goals.
THUNDER 112, JAZZ 104
Russell Westbrook had 33 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his 32nd triple-double of the season, leading Oklahoma City to the victory. Westbrook broke a tie with Wilt Chamberlain (1967-68) for the second-most triple-doubles in a season. Oscar Robertson set the record of 41 in 1961-62. Victor Oladipo added 22 points to help the Thunder win for the third time in four regular-season meetings with the Jazz. Utah was without center Rudy Gobert and forward Derrick Favors because of leg soreness while Gordon Hayward played only 21 minutes, finishing with nine points - 13 below his average.
PELICANS 125, HORNETS 122, OT
Anthony Davis had 46 points and 21 rebounds as the Pelicans defeated the Hornets with DeMarcus Cousins sitting on the bench during crunch time. Davis had 15 points in the fourth quarter and nine more in overtime, including a three-point play on an offensive rebound to put the Pelicans ahead for good with 1:11 left. Davis finished 18 of 31 from the field and was 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Jordan Crawford had 19 points and Jrue Holiday added 15 points and 13 assists as the Pelicans improved to 3-6 since adding Cousins. But Cousins didn’t play a big role in the win. He didn’t play after picking up his fifth foul with 9:35 left in regulation. The Pelicans’ win offset an impressive night from Marvin Williams, who had a season-high 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds for Charlotte.
CAVALIERS 116, MAGIC 104
LeBron James had 24 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds as Cleveland stopped a three-game losing streak. Kyrie Irving scored 22 points and Tristan Thompson added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers, who had dropped four of five overall. The Magic played them close for much of the game, but couldn’t match shots with James and the defending NBA champions down the stretch. Orlando had four players score in double figures, but lost for the fourth time in five games. Nikola Vucevic had a team-high 20 points and 16 rebounds after missing the previous four games with a sore right Achilles.
BUCKS 102, TIMBERWOLVES 95
Tony Snell scored 19 points while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 as the Bucks earned their season-high sixth consecutive victory. Milwaukee had seven players score in double figures. Matthew Dellavedova scored 16 points and Greg Monroe finished with 12. Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, which was coming off a victory against Golden State on Friday night. Ricky Rubio added 22. The Timberwolves got within two with just under three minutes remaining on a Rubio jumper but the Bucks held off the late challenge.
SUNS 100, MAVERICKS 98
Devin Booker hit a 19-footer with 1.4 seconds left to lift Phoenix to the road win. Booker scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half. He scored the Suns’ final eight points, twice making tying baskets. After the Mavericks’ Wesley Matthews missed a 3-point attempt, Booker hit the winner. The Mavericks failed to get off a shot before time expired. Dirk Nowitzki had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas. Harrison Barnes also scored 23 points for the Mavericks, making a careerhigh 13 free throws in 14 attempts.
CLIPPERS 112, 76ERS 100
Chris Paul scored 30 points and DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and 20 rebounds, helping the Clippers to their fourth win in five games. Paul also had seven assists and Blake Griffin added 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Clippers trailed 79-75 after three quarters but opened the final period with a 10-0 run. Los Angeles has beaten Philadelphia in 10 of their last 11 meetings. Richaun Holmes led Philadelphia with 24 points and nine rebounds. Dario Saric added 16 points, and Jahlil Okafor had 14. The Sixers have lost four in a row and seven of eight overall.
HAWKS 107, GRIZZLIES 90
Taurean Prince scored a career-high 17 points as the Hawks handed the Grizzlies their fifth straight loss. Prince had three of Atlanta’s 15 3pointers. Paul Millsap had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks, and Dennis Schroder finished with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. JaMychal Green led Memphis with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Mike Conley scored 16. Brandan Wright finished with 10 points.
NUGGETS 105, KINGS 92
Jamal Murray scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as Denver held on for the road win. Gary Harris had 24 points and Nikola Jokic added 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Nuggets beat the Kings for the second time in six days to even the season series. It also was Denver coach Mike Malone’s second straight win over his former team after going 0-4 against Sacramento. More importantly for Denver, the Nuggets increased their lead to two games over Portland for the final playoff spot in the West. Buddy Hield had 17 points for Sacramento, which lost its eighth straight. The Kings are 1-8 since trading All-Star DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans.
PISTONS 112, KNICKS 92
Tobias Harris scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half, leading Detroit to the victory. The Pistons have had some issues with slow starts lately, but they raced out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter against New York. Harris finished the period with 11 points in what was an encouraging effort by Detroit, which was coming off an emotional win over Cleveland on Thursday night. The Pistons are 12-6 since the start of February and they’ve boosted their postseason hopes in the process. Andre Drummond had 24 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit while Reggie Jackson had 19 points and eight assists. Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 points for the Knicks, who had six players in double figures but lost for the fourth time in five games. —AP