Bottom-back jumper, Jrue Holiday, with two seconds remaining, powered the Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-111 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies held Thursday.
Holiday’s shot over Dillon Brooks’ extended hand capped a wild 39.1-second final where the two teams exchanged the lead five times.
The nonsensical piece featured a goal call against Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Memphis’s Ja Morant scoring the last of his game-high 35 points on a sidewalk in traffic, just seconds before the winner of the Holiday game. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Khris Middleton contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. Brooks scored 23 points for Memphis. Washington Wizards 119 – Los Angeles Clippers 117
Bradley Beal scored 33 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Washington host handed Los Angeles its third straight loss.
Russell Westbrook added 27 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Wizards. Moritz Wagner contributed 12 points to help Washington grab a two-game skid.
Kawhi Leonard led the short-handed Clippers team with 22 points. Patrick Beverley added 17 and Lou Williams 16 in the loss.
Miami Heat 103 – New Orleans Pelicans 93
Jimmy Butler returned from a two-game absence to score 29 points as the visiting Heat defeated the Pelicans, who were without Zion Williamson (toes).
Butler, who had been sidelined by right knee inflammation, scored 10 points in the final six minutes as the Heat captured his Pelicans return.
Brandon Ingram scored 17 points and Steven Adams added 15 to lead the Pelicans.
Denver Nuggets 113 – Indiana Pacers 103
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Denver won its fourth straight road game, beating Indiana at Indianapolis.
Jamal Murray scored 23 points and Will Barton had 16 for Denver, which improved to 4-0 on its road trip. The Pacers enter the All-Star break with five losses in their last six games.
Myles Turner had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Domantas Sabonis had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and Doug McDermott finished with 20 points for the Pacers.
Phoenix Suns 120 – Golden State Warriors 98
Host Phoenix finished the first half of the NBA in second place in the Western Conference after shadowing Stephen Curry-less Golden State.
The Suns won for the 16th time in their last 19 games. Reserve Cameron Payne led seven Phoenix players in double figures with 17 points to go with a game-high 10 assists. Devin Booker scored 16 points and Deandre Ayton had a team-high 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Jordan Poole, who was recalled from the G League earlier in the week, poured a career-high 26 points in 26 minutes off the bench to lead the Warriors. Andrew Wiggins had 16 points, and James Wiseman contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Boston Celtics 132 – Toronto Raptors 125
Jayson Tatum had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown scored 20 of his 21 points in the second half and held Boston down Toronto to extend its winning streak to four games. Grant Williams added a season-high 17 points off the bench for the Celts.
Chris Boucher scored a career-high 30 points, Norman Powell 25 and Terence Davis 22 as the Raptors lost for the second straight night. Kyle Lowry had 14 points and a career-high 19 assists.
Toronto once again played without three starters – Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby – and retains Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw due to health and safety protocols. Head coach Nick Nurse and members of his staff were also unavailable.
New York Knicks 114 – Detroit Pistons 104
Julius Randle had 27 points and 16 rebounds as New York defeated Detroit.
New York played without point guard Derrick Rose for the second consecutive game due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Several negative tests for COVID-19 returned before the game, but the league ruled that he was ineligible to play against his former team.
All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. RJ Barrett scored 21 points and had five assists and four rebounds. The Pistons spread the points even more, finishing with eight players in double figures. Wayne Ellington led with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting.
Portland Trail Blazers 123 – Sacramento Kings 119
Damian Lillard matched the season’s best of 44 points and eight 3-pointers and added seven assists to lead Portland to victory over visiting Sacramento.
Lillard scored 12 points over the final three minutes as the Trail Blazers improved to 3-0 against the Kings this season. Enes Kanter contributed 22 points and 21 rebounds and Carmelo Anthony scored 16 points for Portland, which earned a third consecutive victory.
De’Aaron Fox scored 18 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and added 12 assists for Sacramento. Buddy Hield scored 21 points as the Kings lost for the 11th time in the last 13 games.
Oklahoma City Thunder 107 – San Antonio Spurs 102
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points, including a big 3-pointer in the final minutes, as Oklahoma City came from behind to win in San Antonio.
Mike Muscala added 18 points off the bench, with Luguentz Dort scoring 15 and Darius Bazley recording 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Thunder played a second back-to-back road game after losing in Dallas on Wednesday.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 20 points. Trey Lyles added 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Dejounte Murray chipped in with 14 points.
—Field Media Media