Oubre nets 39 as Suns race to early lead, roll past Rockets
PHOENIX Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a career-high 39 points, Devin Booker added 33 and the Phoenix Suns rolled past the Houston Rockets 127-91 on Friday night.
PHOENIX — Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a career-high 39 points, Devin Booker added 33 and the Phoenix Suns rolled past the Houston Rockets 127-91 on Friday night.
The Suns poured in 46 points in the first quarter and led the rest of the way, turning back a handful of Houston rallies. The Rockets were playing without All-Star guard Russell Westbrook, who was held out for rest one night after Houston beat the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 24-year-old Oubre had a stellar game on his bobblehead night, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Suns a 97-73 lead going into the fourth quarter. He shot 14 of 19 from the field, including 7 of 9 from 3-point range.
The Suns snapped a four-game losing streak overall and a 13-game losing streak against the Rockets that dates to 2016.
James Harden led the Rockets with 32 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter because the Suns were well ahead. He finished 9 of 19 from the field and made five 3-pointers.
WIZARDS 119, MAVERICKS 118
WASHINGTON —Bradley Beal made a layup with 0.2 seconds left to reach 29 points and give Washington a win over Dallas, which has dropped three of five games without Luka Doncic.
Beal’s heroics came after Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. drew a blocking foul and hit one of two free throws with 1.8 seconds left. Beal was 11 of 28 from the field.
Washington made 19 of 38 3-pointers. Davis Bertans was responsible for five of them and finished with 20 points.
Rookie Rui Hachimura took it to Kristaps Porzingis, getting the Mavericks center into foul trouble and finishing with 17. Porzingis, who played without a protective face mask two nights after breaking his nose, had 11 points in just 21 minutes.
Seth Curry led the Mavericks with 20 points off the bench.
Doncic is progressing in his rehab from a sprained right ankle, and the Mavericks hope he can play at least one game before the All-Star break.
RAPTORS 115, PACERS 106
INDIANAPOLIS — Serge Ibaka had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Fred VanVleet added 20 points, leading Toronto past Indiana for its franchise-record 13th consecutive win.
The Raptors haven’t lost since Jan. 15 and beat the Pacers for the second time in three days, winning their first game in Indianapolis in 13 months.
Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Pacers. Victor Oladipo added 15 points and four assists in his first home start since returning from an injured right knee.
Indiana has lost four straight and three in a row at home.
Toronto six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry left with what appeared to be an injured right shoulder or arm. Lowry did not return.
KINGS 105, HEAT 97
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points, Buddy Hield added 21 and Sacramento used 19 3-pointers to beat Miami.
De’Aaron Fox had 16 points and eight assists as the Kings won their fifth in seventh games. Nemanja Bjelica added 15 points and eight assists.
Eight days after setting a franchise record with 21 3-pointers, Sacramento nearly matched it while going 19 of 42 from beyond the arc. Bogdanovic had six 3s, and Hield and Bjelica had five apiece.
Bam Adebayo had 26 points and seven rebounds for Miami. Duncan Robinson added 18 points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Heat played short-handed. All-Star Jimmy Butler did not play after straining his right shoulder in a loss to the Clippers on Wednesday, but got good news after an MRI test on his shoulder came back negative. Newcomers Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder – acquired in a trade from Memphis earlier this week – were also held out.
76ERS 119, GRIZZLIES 107
PHILADELPHIA — Furkan Korkmaz scored a career-high 34 points, Ben Simmons added 22 points and 10 assists and Philadelphia snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Memphis.
Joel Embiid didn’t come out after halftime due to a stiff neck. He finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 16 minutes for the 76ers, who improved to an NBA-best 23-2 at home.
Korkmaz made 13 of 17 shots, including 7 of 9 3-pointers.
Ja Morant had 15 points to pace Memphis, which lost for just the fourth time in 17 games.
CELTICS 112, HAWKS 107
BOSTON — Jayson Tatum had seven 3-pointers and scored 32 points to help Boston hold off Atlanta.
It was Tatum’s eighth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Enes Kanter added 16 points and 15 rebounds as Boston posted its sixth consecutive win.
Atlanta led at halftime, despite having only nine players available and playing without Trae Young, DeAndrew Bembry, Cam Reddish and Bruno Fernando. But the Hawks struggled to make shots in the second half.
John Collins led Atlanta with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Huerter finished with 25 points.
THUNDER 108, PISTONS 101
OKLAHOMA CITY — Chris Paul scored 22 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 21 as Oklahoma City neat Detroit.
Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points, Dennis Schroder 18 and Steven Adams 16 for the Thunder, who have won nine of 10.
Former Thunder guard Reggie Jackson scored a season-high 28 points for Detroit. Christian Wood scored 27 points and Thon Maker added a season-high 19 for the Pistons.
It was Detroit’s first game since trading Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Drummond is a two-time All-Star who leads the league with 15.8 rebounds per game.
Detroit’s leading scorer, Derrick Rose, sat out with a strained left hip. With the trade and injuries, Pistons coach Dwane Casey had just nine available players.
JAZZ 117, TRAIL BLAZERS 114
SALT LAKE CITY — Bojan Bogdanovic had 27 points and Donovan Mitchell scored a go-ahead layup with 19.5 seconds left as Utah overcame a 42-point performance by Damian Lillard and beat Portland.
Mike Conley added 18 points for the Jazz. Mitchell and Rudy Gobert (14 rebounds) chipped in 16 points apiece. Utah snapped a five-game losing streak.
C.J. McCollum scored 27 points, Gary Trent added 16 and Mario Hezonja 11 for Portland, which had only seven healthy players available for the bulk of the final three quarters.