Raptors use 70-point first half to rout Kings
Raptors 124, Kings 101: Chris Boucher matched his season high with 17 points, Yuta Watanabe had a seasonbest 12 points and 10 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors used a 70-point first half to rout the Sacramento Kings on Monday night. Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes each scored 16 points, Fred VanVleet had 12 and Gary Trent Jr. added 10 as Toronto made a seasonmost 53 field goals. Malachi Flynn scored 14 points, Svi Mykhailiuk had 11 and Justin Champagnie finished with 10 for the Raptors, who wrapped up a 4-3 homestand – their longest of the season.
Cavaliers 105, Heat 94: Kevin Love made five 3-pointers and scored all 23 of his points in the second half, leading the Cavaliers to their fourth straight win, over the Miami Heat on Monday night. Love made 6 of 10 field goals, 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, and hit all six of his free throws in his highest scoring game of the season. He also added nine rebounds. The Cavaliers have four straight double-digit wins and moved into fourth place in the Eastern Conference at 17-12. Isaac Okoro had 18 points, Jarrett Allen didn’t miss a shot in scoring 17 points with eight rebounds, and Darius Garland had 16 points and five assists for Cleveland.
Warriors 102, Pacers 100: Stephen Curry finished one 3-pointer shy of the NBA career record on Monday, making five 3-pointers and scoring 26 points to help the Golden State Warriors rally late for a win over the Indiana Pacers. Curry is closing in on Ray Allen’s record of 2,973 and is likely to break it Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. A near-sellout crowd was less interested in the result of the game than watching history. The crowd roared each time Curry lined up a 3, gasped when he’d drive to the basket and erupt each time he inched closer to the record.
Celtics 117, Bucks 103: Jayson Tatum scored 16 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics beat the
Bucks on Monday night. Jaylen Brown returned to the lineup after missing five games with a tight right hamstring and scored 19 points in 30 minutes for Boston. Grant Williams had 17 points, and Robert Williams III and Al Horford each scored 10. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Milwaukee a day after posting his 26th career triple-double in a victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Rockets 132, Hawks 126: Eric Gordon scored 32 points, D.J. Augustin added 22 and the Houston Rockets handed the Atlanta Hawks their fifth straight home loss, rallying from 19 points down for a victory Monday night. Houston won on the road for only the second time this season, overcoming a 41-point performance from Trae Young. The Rockets trailed much of the game and were down 101-88 heading to the final quarter. But Augustin hit a 3pointer with 3:31 remaining that gave Houston its first lead, 121-119, since the opening quarter.