Clippers halt Raptors
Paul and Griffin steer Los Angeles to victory over Toronto
LOS ANGELES: Los Angeles pair Chris Paul and Blake Griffin scored 26 points each as the Clippers beat Toronto 123-115 in an early-season match of NBA division leaders.
The Clippers stayed a game clear atop the Pacific Division ahead of Golden State, who routed Indiana on their own court.
Among other key results, Memphis extended their winning streak to five games by defeating Charlotte, while Detroit went down to a fourth straight defeat, losing narrowly to Houston.
Paul had 12 assists while DeAndre Jordan had 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who improved the NBA’s best record to 13-2 with their 10th victory in 11 games.
The Clippers led by 17 in the second half but the Raptors cut the margin to 119-115 with less than a minute to play. J.J. Redick made four free throws down the stretch to seal it and end a run of four successive losses to the Raptors.
Kyle Lowry led Toronto with 27 points.
Golden State’s Klay Thompson scored 25 points in 26 minutes as the Warriors routed Indiana 120-83.
Two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Stephen Curry added 22 points for the Warriors, who have won eight straight and kept their starters on the bench for the entire fourth quarter after taking a 29-point lead.
Rodney Stuckey had 21 points for the Pacers, who were without threetime All-Star Paul George, starting centre Myles Turner and backup forward C.J. Miles due to injuries.
Memphis’ Mike Conley had 31 points to steer the Grizzlies past Charlotte 105-90.
Conley had five three-pointers and shot 11 of 21 from the field, including a long three with four minutes left that thwarted Charlotte’s fourth-quarter rally and sent the crowd streaming towards the exits.
Marc Gasol was dominant in the first half and narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. The Grizzlies led by 24 at half-time after shooting 58% from the field, including 10 of 16 from three-point range.
Frank Kaminsky turned in perhaps his best game as a pro for Charlotte, tying a career high with 23 points on nine-of-11 shooting.
Houston’s James Harden had 28 points and 11 assists to lift the Rockets over Detroit 99-96.
Clint Capela added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who won their third straight game.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 26 points and Andre Drummond had 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons.
With the Rockets clinging to a two-point lead and 4.6 seconds to go, Drummond missed two free throws before Harden made one of two. Caldwell-Pope missed a halfcourt heave at the buzzer.
San Antonio stretched their winning sequence to six games with a 96-91 win against Texan rivals Dallas.
Kawhi Leonard had 24 points for the Spurs, who won despite resting veterans LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker.
Dallas guard Seth Curry matched a career high with 23 points.
With the Mavericks trailing 92-91, Manu Ginobili rebounded and hit a pair of free throws, and Curry missed a three-pointer with six seconds remaining.
San Antonio have won six straight against Dallas and 12 in a row at home.
At two-11, Dallas are off to their worst start since 1993-1994, when the Mavericks opened 1-23 in a 13-win season.
Boston rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to beat Minnesota 99-93.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first triple-double of the season to lead the Bucks over Orlando 93-89.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid had 22 points, including four late free throws that steered the 76ers past Miami 101-94.
Washington’s Bradley Beal scored a career-high 42 points and John Wall shook off an awful shooting night with seven key points down the stretch as the Wizards beat Phoenix 106-101. —