San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Wizards go long to beat Celtics
Bradley Beal scored 36 points, Kyle Kuzma added 17 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, and the Wizards outlasted the Celtics 115-112 in two overtimes Saturday in Washington.
Montrezl Harrell added 20 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out in the second overtime for Washington, which is 5-1 after its second victory over Boston in three games.
“We’re just having fun, man,” Beal said of a team that was dramatically restructured in the offseason. “We embrace each other on the daily. And it’s amazing to be where we are. But … we have that humble and hungry mentality. We haven’t scratched the surface yet.”
Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points and sank the final Washington basket as the Wizards overcame 36.5% shooting (38-for-104) for their second overtime win of the season.
“It just shows our resilience,” Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “I keep using that word, but it’s who we are and who we have to be. And every night somebody else finds a way to step up.”
Jaylen Brown had 34 points for the Celtics (2-4), who lost for the second time in three overtime games this season. The Celtics, who are in a period of transition like Washington without the success, played four overtimes last season. Bulls 107, Jazz 99: DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and Zach LaVine 26 as host Chicago handed Utah its first loss.
After Donovan Mitchell hit two free throws to cut the Bulls’ lead to 100-95 with 1:39 remaining, Nikola Vucevic responded 3 for Chicago and, after Rudy Gobert scored for the Jazz, drove for a layup to make it 105-97 with just under a minute remaining.
Mitchell scored 30 for Utah. Gobert added 17 points and 19 rebounds.
Spurs 102, Bucks 93: Dejounte Murray had 23 points and nine assists as visiting San Antonio snapped a four-game slide. Derrick White added 17 points and Bryn Forbes scored 16 against his former team to help the Spurs take down the defending NBA champions.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 28 points and 13 rebounds and Khris Middleton had 19 points for the Bucks.
Heat 129, Grizzlies 103: Jimmy Butler scored 27 points and Tyler Herro added 22 for visiting Miami. Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry scored 15 points each, and Lowry added eight assists as the Heat made 21 3-pointers, one short of the franchise record.
Ja Morant and De’Anthony Melton led the Grizzlies with 20 points each.
Nuggets 93, T’wolves 91: Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 19 rebounds as visiting Denver completed a late rally to win its 12th in a row against Minnesota. Playing for the second straight night on an injured knee, Jokic, the NBA’s reigning MVP, went 10-for-23 from the floor, dished seven assists and frustrated Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points) inside.
76ers 122, Hawks 94: Tobias Harris had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Joel Embiid added 19 points and Philadelphia routed visiting Atlanta.
Six Sixers finished in double figures with Tyrese Maxey (16), Seth Curry (15), Matisse Thybulle (11) and Shake Milton (11) all adding to the scoring party. Cam Reddish led the Hawks with 16 points.
Knicks 123, Pelicans 117: R.J. Barrett made six 3-pointers and poured in a career-high 35 points to lead New York in scoring for a second straight game, and the Knicks beat host New Orleans. Evan Fournier hit five from deep and scored 19, and Kemba Walker made four 3s and also scored 19 for the Knicks, who never trailed.
Suns 101, Cavaliers 92: In Phoenix, Devin Booker scored 27 points and Deandre Ayton added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns.
The Suns used a 50-12 run to break open the game. The dominant stretch — which included a lot of Suns fast-break buckets and a lot of Cavs turnovers — lasted from the middle of the second quarter to late in the third and turned a 14-point deficit into a 24-point lead.
Raptors 97, Pacers 94: Scottie Barnes scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help Toronto win on the road.
Barnes, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft this year, hit two free throws with 6.2 seconds remaining to give the Raptors the final margin. Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Pistons 110, Magic 103: Jeremi Grant scored 22 points, No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham added seven rebounds in his NBA debut and host Detroit beat Orlando for its first win. Cunningham missed the preseason and the first four games of the regular season with a sprained ankle.
Durant fined: Kevin Durant was fined $25,000 by the NBA for forcefully throwing the ball into the stands, a play that a referee acknowledged should have led to the Nets star’s ejection Friday night.
Durant was fouled with 4:40 left in the third quarter of Brooklyn’s 105-98 home victory over the Pacers. He then grabbed the ball and threw it well past the basket into the crowd. Durant was called for a technical foul, but crew chief Sean Wright said after the game that he should have been thrown out.