NBA ROUNDUP
Monday’s games
Clippers 149, Hawks 144: Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and the visiting Clippers finished off a long road trip in style. James Harden had 30 points and 10 assists, and Paul George scored 18 for Los Angeles. Trae Young, the Eastern Conference player of the week, had 25 points and De’Andre Hunter matched a season high with 27 off the bench for the Hawks, who had won four in a row. Los Angeles shot 60% from 3-point range, while the Hawks were at 51.3%. The 149 points were the Clippers’ second-most of the season.
Cavaliers 136, Kings 110: Donovan Mitchell had 29 points, Max Strus added 22 and the host Cavaliers won their sixth straight win and 14th in 15 games. The Cavs are a league-best 19-4 since Dec. 16 – when starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley went down indefinitely with injuries – and they have climbed to No. 3 overall in the Eastern Conference. Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis had 12 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists for his 15th triple-double this season, tying him with Denver’s Nikola Jokic for the league lead.
Lakers 124, Hornets 118: D’Angelo Russell scored 28 points, Anthony Davis had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double and the visiting Lakers held on for their third straight win. LeBron James added 26 points for the Lakers (27-25), who finished 4-2 on their road trip to build some much needed momentum before the upcoming All-Star break. Miles Bridges (Michigan State) erupted for a career-high 41 points and rookie Brandon Miller scored 33 points with five 3-pointers for the Hornets.
Mavericks 118, 76ers 102: Kyrie Irving had 23 points and eight assists and Luka Doncic scored 19 points in one of the duo’s rare games together to lead the visiting Mavericks. The Sixers dropped to 4-11 this season without two-time scoring champion Joel Embiid, who’s set for surgery this week to address an injury to the lateral meniscus in his left knee. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 19 to lead Philadelphia. The Mavericks blew the game open the fourth and led by 20. They finished 17 of 43 from 3-point range.
Warriors 109, Nets 98: Stephen Curry scored 29 points, Jonathan Kuminga added 28 and the visiting Warriors shook off a poor start. Cam Thomas scored 18 points, but shot 4 for 21 for the Nets, who had won three of four. Thomas scored 41 points in a loss in San Francisco in December, the most allowed by the Warriors this season.
Pelicans 138, Raptors 100: Brandon Ingram highlighted a 41-point outburst with a career-high eight 3-pointers – hitting six during a dazzling third quarter – and the host Pelicans routed the struggling Raptors. Ingram hit 16 of 21 shots and also dished out nine assists in 30 minutes. He capped his performance by hitting five straight 3s at the end of the third, after which he went to the bench smiling widely as he soaked in a prolonged standing ovation. CJ McCollum scored 20 points – accounting for six of New Orleans’ 19 made 3-pointers. Zion Williamson added 16 points, while Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Pelicans, who won their third straight while dropping the Raptors to their eighth loss in nine games.
NBA to play on glass court for some All-Star events
For the first time, the NBA will play on glass.
Part of All-Star weekend in Indianapolis — including the entire All-Star Saturday Night lineup — will be played on a state-of-the-art, full video LED court that will be installed at Lucas Oil Stadium, the league said Monday.
That means the skills competition, the 3-point contest, the slam dunk competition and the shooting matchup between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will take place on the glass floor on Feb. 17, as will the celebrity game on Feb. 16. The actual All-Star Game itself on Feb. 18 will remain on a wooden court.