Clippers rally to beat Celtics in overtime
LOU Williams scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 42 points in their first game together for the Clippers, and Los Angeles rallied to edge the Boston Celtics 107-104 in overtime Wednesday night.
George scored 25 points. Leonard added 17 and blocked Kemba Walker’s potential tying 3-point attempt after injury and rehab had prevented them from playing in the same game over the season’s first 14 games.
The Clippers improved to 9-1 at home after rallying from a 10-point deficit in the fourth.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points and Marcus Smart and Brad Wanamaker added 14 apiece.
Williams hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. After a timeout, Tatum hit a 3-pointer with George falling down defending him to tie it 97-all with 13 seconds left.
MAVERICKS 142, WARRIORS 94
In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 33 of his 35 points in the first half and had yet another triple-double to help Dallas rout short-handed Golden State.
Doncic fell a point short of matching Dirk Nowitzki’s team record set Nov. 3, 2009, against Utah. In just 17 minutes, Doncic was 10 for 11 from the floor, making 6 of 7 3-pointers, and hit 7 of 8 free throws.
The second-year star from Slovenia had 22 points, five assists and five rebounds in the first quarter alone. He played only 25 minutes total, but still managed 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Doncic was coming off a 40-point triple-double Monday night against San Antonio, and has an NBA-best seven triple-doubles in 14 games this season.
The Mavericks never trailed and tied a franchise record with 22 3-pointers while sending Golden State to its worst loss since a 1973 playoff game.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 20 for Dallas. Kristaps Porzingis had 14 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth-straight double-double. Eric Paschall led the Warriors with 22.
NUGGETS 105, ROCKETS 95
In Denver, Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Denver played smothering defense on James Harden and the Nuggets snapped Houston’s eight-game winning streak.
Harden had 27 points, ending his string of eight consecutive games of 36 or more. He was 8 of 16 from the floor as the Rockets were held under 100 points for the first time this season. Denver is 7-0 this season when keeping an opponent below 100.
Russell Westbrook scored 25 points on 8-of-22 shooting for Houston, and Clint Capela had 21 rebounds.
76ERS 109, KNICKS 104
In Philadelphia, Ben Simmons hit the first 3-pointer of his career and had 18 points and 13 assists to lead Philadelphia past New York.
Mike Scott’s fourth 3-pointer with 1:29 left stretched the Sixers’ lead to 99-95 and they held on after New York’s Marcus Morris hit a pair of 3s in the final 10 seconds. Joel Embiid had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Scott scored 12 points.
Simmons did the improbable when he fired a 24-footer from the corner in front of the 76ers’ bench, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Simmons received a lengthy standing ovation for the first 3-pointer after 17 misses (and one more miss in the postseason). /