SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins returned from a brief ejection and finished with a season-high 55 points, capping a wild day for the hot-tempered big man and sending the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 126-121 on Tuesday night.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins returned from a brief ejection and finished with a season-high 55 points, capping a wild day for the hot-tempered big man and sending the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 126-121 on Tuesday night.
Hours after he was fined by the Kings for his profanity-laced tirade against a newspaper columnist last week, Cousins pulled down 13 rebounds and rallied Sacramento in the fourth quarter.
He made two huge 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the fourth to avenge an earlier overtime loss this season in Portland. The win snapped Sacramento’s seven-game losing streak to the Blazers.
It appeared Cousins’ night was over before the game had ended. In the final minute, he put the Kings back in front when he drove the lane for a layup and was fouled by Mason Plumlee.
Cousins initially was given a second technical foul and ejected for spitting his mouth piece in the direction of Portland’s bench after making the shot. He ran into the locker room, but the officials huddled and changed the call.
Cousins returned to the court and made the free throw for a three-point play, giving the Kings a 122-119 lead with 35 seconds left.
CAVALIERS 114, BUCKS 108, OT
MILWAUKEE — LeBron James made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds left in overtime and Cleveland held on for a victory over Milwaukee to avenge a late November loss.
Milwaukee took a 108-107 lead on a tip-in by Giannis Antetokounmpo with 1:12 left. Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving missed a 3-pointer from the left corner on the next possession, but Jabari Parker’s lay-in attempt at the other end curled out.
James was fouled on the rebound by Antetokounmpo, his sixth. James then hit the deep 3-pointer to put Cleveland up 110-108.
Parker was fouled on a layup attempt on the ensuing possession but missed both free throws. Irving hit a pair of free throws with 15.7 seconds left to make it 112-108.
James had 34 points and Irving 28 for Cleveland, which had lost at Milwaukee 118-101 on Nov. 29. Parker had 30 points and Antetokounmpo added 25. The two teams meet again Wednesday night in Cleveland.
WARRIORS 104, JAZZ 74
OAKLAND, Calif. — Stephen Curry scored 25 points with four 3-pointers, Kevin Durant had 22 points and Golden State whipped Utah after a slow start.
Klay Thompson added 17 points and Draymond Green had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals as Golden State handed the Jazz their worst defeat of the season.
Joe Johnson scored 14 points for Utah in its seventh straight defeat to the Warriors. The Jazz have also lost seven in a row and 10 of 12 at Oracle Arena.
The teams combined to begin 2 for 25, but the Warriors got going in the second quarter and the rout was on. They shot 61.9 percent in the period to lead 55-33 at halftime, and Utah had the lowest total in any half by a Golden State opponent this season.
SPURS 102, ROCKETS 100
HOUSTON — Patty Mills hit a 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left to lift San Antonio over Houston.
Eric Gordon missed a 3-point attempt after that before Manu Ginobili missed two free throws to give Houston one last chance, but James Harden’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
The victory is San Antonio’s fifth straight and improves the Spurs to 15-1 on the road. It also snaps Houston’s NBA-long 10-game winning streak.
CLIPPERS 119, NUGGETS 102
LOS ANGELES — J.J. Redick scored 27 points, including 7-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers, Chris Paul had 16 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds, and Los Angeles beat Denver.
DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Luc Mbah a Moute added 14 points for the Clippers, who won for the fifth time in six games. Los Angeles was playing for the first time since losing leading scorer Blake Griffin up to six weeks after knee surgery.
Will Barton led the Nuggets with 22 points off the bench, with Danilo Gallinari adding 17 points. Denver snapped a three-game win streak.
The Clippers shot 44 percent on 3s (16 for 36), led by 29 points in the third quarter, and rested all their starters in the fourth quarter.
HORNETS 117, LAKERS 113
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kemba Walker had 28 points and 10 assists, Marco Belinelli scored 11 fourth-quarter points and Charlotte rallied from 19 down to beat Los Angeles.
Walker had 15 points in the third quarter and a key rebound with 27.9 seconds left in the fourth to set up a tiebreaking jumper by Nicolas Batum with 13 seconds remaining.
Batum had 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added 10 assists. Belinelli finished with 13 points.
Jordan Clarkson paced the Lakers with 25 points with 7-of-9 3-point shooting, and Nick Young added 24 points while hitting 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
CELTICS 112, GRIZZLIES 109, OT
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Isaiah Thomas scored a career-high 44 points, including 36 after halftime to lead Boston past Memphis in overtime.
After the Grizzlies took a 106-105 lead on a rebound basket by Tony Allen with 1:10 left in the extra period, the Celtics scored the next five points.
Al Horford had 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half to win their third straight. Avery Bradley added 16 points.
Thomas also matched his career best for 3-pointers, going 7 of 10 from outside the arc.
Marc Gasol and Troy Daniels led Memphis with 24 points apiece. Mike Conley had 19 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies, who lost their third in a row — all at home.
MAGIC 136, HEAT 130, 2 OT
MIAMI — Nik Vucevic had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Evan Fournier scored 26 and hit the 3-pointer that put Orlando up for good, and the Magic topped Miami in double overtime.
Elfrid Payton scored 22 points and Serge Ibaka added 20 for the Magic, who beat Miami for the third time in the last 19 meetings.
KNICKS 118, PACERS 111
NEW YORK — Carmelo Anthony matched a season high with 35 points and New York used a big second-half turnaround to beat Indiana.
The Knicks fell behind by 15 in the third quarter, then suddenly seized control to snap a three-game losing streak. Anthony scored 26 in the second half.
Derrick Rose had 24 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 21 for the Knicks, who returned home after a poor finish to their five-game trip out West. They improved to 10-4 at home.
RAPTORS 116, NETS 104
TORONTO — Kyle Lowry had 23 points, Norman Powell scored a season-high 21 and Toronto defeated Brooklyn.
Lowry, who shot 8 of 12 from the field and 3 of 5 on 3-pointers, added eight assists and four rebounds before sitting out the final 6 minutes as the Raptors (20-8) won their second straight.
Six different Raptors scored in double figures. Toronto never trailed and led by as many as 23.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 19 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Nets (7-20), who lost their third straight and fifth in six games. It was the 10th straight road loss for the Nets. They are 1-13 away from home this season.
PELICANS 108, 76ERS 93
PHILADELPHIA — Anthony Davis had 31 points and 16 rebounds to lead New Orleans over Philadelphia in a matchup of struggling teams.
Davis scored 11 in New Orleans’ dominant second quarter and Terrence Jones finished with 17 points and 10 boards for the Pelicans (10-20), who avenged a Dec. 8 home loss to the 76ers while winning for only the third time in 11 games.
