Rockets gain a costly win
Leading scorer Sengun injured, left court in a wheelchair in the 4th
Fred VanVleet scored 22 points, Jalen Green added 19 and the Houston Rockets beat the host Sacramento Kings 112-104 on Sunday.
The Rockets may have lost leading scorer Alperen Sengun to a right knee injury when he landed awkwardly while challenging a shot by the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis with under a minute to play in the fourth. Sengun appeared to be in immediate distress and he left the court in a wheelchair after several minutes on the baseline, with his hands covering his face.
The 21-year-old Sengun, who had 14 points prior to the injury, is averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game in his third season.
Other games
Bucks 124, Clippers 117:
Damian Lillard scored 16 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter of Milwaukee’s first victory on its California road trip against short-handed Los Angeles. Lillard hit three of his seven 3-pointers during a stellar shooting display in the fourth, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Pacers 111, Magic 97:
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam each scored 20 points and Indiana beat host Orlando to close within a game of the Magic in the Eastern Conference standings. T.J. McConnell added 17 points for Indiana. Aaron Nesmith had 16.
Pelicans 116, Hawks 103: Trey Murphy III had 28 points off the bench to help visiting New Orleans complete a perfect three-game road trip with a win against Atlanta. Zion Williamson had 27 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Pelicans, who have won four straight overall and snapped the Hawks’ three-game winning streak.
Wizards 110, Heat 108: Kyle Kuzma scored 32 points and Washington held on to beat host Miami for their second win in a row after ending a 16-game skid. Corey Kispert finished with 22 points, Deni Avdija added 16 and Tyus Jones had 12 points and 16 assists for the Wizards, who got their first road victory since Jan. 29, ending an eight-game skid away from home.
Nets 120, Cavaliers 101:
Cam Thomas scored 29 points in 31 minutes, Mikal Bridges had 25 points and visiting Brooklyn pulled away to beat injury-riddled Cleveland. Dennis Schroder added 17 points and eight assists, and Nic Claxton had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn.
Thunder 124, Grizzlies 93:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points and six assists in three quarters and host Oklahoma City rolled past Memphis to win its third straight. Rookie Cason Wallace scored a season-high 23 points, Josh Giddey had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Lu Dort scored 14 points and made all four of his 3-point tries for the Thunder.
76ers 79, Knicks 73:
Buddy Hield led the 76ers with 18 points and 10 rebounds as visiting Philadelphia beat New York in a very low-scoring affair. Jalen Brunson paced the Knicks with 19 points.
Notes
The NBA fined Minnesota center Rudy Gobert $100,000 on Sunday, two days after he implied that referee Scott Foster was not calling games fairly and further suggesting that gambling is having a detrimental impact on the outcome of games.