Christian Wood scored 19 points, all in the second half, while John Wall produced a triple as the Houston Rockets snapped their franchise record 20-game losing streak with a 117-99 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Monday.
Wood scored 12 points in the third period, and lifted his hitter at Houston’s 3:08 mark to lead 86-73. However, Toronto closed the third with a 13-2 run that included two Fred VanVleet 3-pointer and Chris Boucher three-point play. The Raptors pulled within 88-87 on a free throw early in the fourth, but Houston didn’t fold.
Wall finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists while Houston’s Jae’Sean Tate contributed 22 points, six boards and five assists. Sterling Brown added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who were without Victor Oladipo, Kevin Porter Jr., Eric Gordon and David Nwaba.
VanVleet led the Raptors with 27 points. Pascal Siakam added 21 points and 10 rebounds, Norman Powell scored 19 points and Kyle Lowry 17. Toronto dropped its ninth consecutive game.
Los Angeles Clippers 119 – Atlanta Hawks 110
Led by its second unit, Los Angeles battled back from a 22-point deficit in the second half to halt Atlanta’s winning streak in eight games. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue struck out his starters midway through the third quarter, and broken reserves led the Hawks to eight points at the end of the third quarter with Luke Kennard’s half-court ear. Kennard finished 8 for 8 for the field, totaling 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 18 minutes.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 25 points, while Terance Mann added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Trae Young finished with 28 points and eight assists to lead the Hawks. John Collins had 23 points and seven rebounds, and Clint Capela notched 14 rebounds and 12 points.
Utah Jazz 120 – Chicago Bulls 95
Rudy Gobert had a career-high 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots, and Utah pulled away to defeat Chicago.
Donovan Mitchell scored a game high 30 points for Utah, and wrapped a five-game road trip with a 3-2 record. Joe Ingles (17 points), Jordan Clarkson (16) and Mike Conley (15) also scored in double digits for the league-leading Jazz.
Zach LaVine finished with 27 points to lead the Bulls. Thaddeus Young contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 132 – Boston Celtics 126 (OT)
Ja Morant scored 29 points and dismissed nine assists to help Memphis edge visiting Boston in overtime.
Morant hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final seconds of the extra period to help Memphis secure its third win in four games. Jonas Valanciunas contributed 16 points and a game-high 19 rebounds for the Grizzlies.
Playing without Jayson Tatum, who sat out due to illness, and Kemba Walker, on the other side due to left knee injury management, the Celts fell to 2-5 since the All-Star break. Jaylen Brown scored 27 points.
Milwaukee Bucks 140 – Indiana Pacers 113
Jrue Holiday recorded season highs of 28 points and 14 assists and held Milwaukee extended its season-best winning streak to seven games with a convincing win over Indiana.
The Bucks played without twice reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) but did not lose their star as they grabbed 83 first-half points. Khris Middleton registered 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Pat Connaughton contributed 20 points and nine rebounds to help Milwaukee win for the 12th time in the last 13 games.
Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, and fell for the ninth time in the last 13 games. Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points, Doug McDermott added 20 and Caris LeVert had 19.
Oklahoma City Thunder 112 – Minnesota Timberwolves 103
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points to lead Oklahoma City past Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Svi Mykhailiuk, playing in his third game with the Thunder after being acquired in a trade earlier in the month, warmed up during a 15-2 run early in the fourth quarter. The surge helped Oklahoma City extend its lead to a game-high 18 points and take control for good.
Oklahoma City’s Ty Jerome shot 5-for-5 from 3-point range and wound up with 15 points, while Aleksej Pokusevski added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 33 points and 10 boards while Anthony Edwards scored 16 points.
Charlotte Hornets 100 – San Antonio Spurs 97
Gordon Hayward scored 27 points and Terry Rozier added 24, 17 of those in the second half, as Charlotte visited to defeat San Antonio.
Malik Monk and Bismack Biyombo added 11 points each for the Hornets, who ended a three-game losing streak, and PJ Washington finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan finished with 28 points for San Antonio. White scored 21, and Mills and Rudy Gay struck for 10 each. Jakob Poeltl accelerated the Spurs with 11 rebounds.
Sacramento Kings 119 – Cleveland Cavaliers 105
De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points, Tyrese Haliburton added a career-high 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting and Sacramento ended its six-game Eastern Conference road swing with a win over Cleveland.
JaVale McGee led the way for the Cavaliers with 18 points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
The Kings used a thrilling third quarter, including a 14-1 run over six minutes and more, to get separation in the second half. They held the Cavaliers to just 17 points in the period.
—Field Media Media