NBA Wrap: Mavericks rout Clippers, Warriors edge past Bulls

Stephen Curry became the third NBA player to amass 2,500 career 3-pointers as he scored 36 points in Golden State Warriors' win over Chicago Bulls.

Published : Dec 28, 2020 13:18 IST

Kyle Kuzma scored 20 points in the first half as the Lakers beat Timberwolves.
Kyle Kuzma scored 20 points in the first half as the Lakers beat Timberwolves.
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Kyle Kuzma scored 20 points in the first half as the Lakers beat Timberwolves.

Luka Doncic scored 24 points and the Dallas Mavericks led by a NBA-record 50 points at halftime in a 124-73 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Josh Richardson added 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 18 points for the Mavericks.

The Clippers trailed 77-27 at halftime, with their 50-point deficit being the largest at the break in the shot-clock era, which began in 1954-55.

Paul George led the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers with 15 points before sitting out the second half. Serge Ibaka added 13 points and nine rebounds over three quarters of the team’s first loss. The Clippers opened with victories over the defending NBA champion Lakers and Denver.

Leonard sat out after needing eight stitches in his mouth after accidentally getting elbowed by the 7-foot Ibaka going for a rebound in Friday’ night at Denver.

Warriors 129 -128 Bulls

Damion Lee hit a 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining and Stephen Curry scored 36 points, sending Golden State past Chicago for its first victory of the season.

Curry was 11 for 25 from the field, including 5 of 15 on 3-pointers — a day after making 105 straight 3s to finish practice at the Bulls’ facility.

 

Late in the third quarter, Curry set a Warriors record for most consecutive made free throws with his 61st dating to last season. He finished 9 for 9 for the game to run his streak to 64. Rick Barry set the previous record of 60 in 1976.

 

Lakers 127 - 91 Timberwolves

Kyle Kuzma scored 20 points in the first half while starting in Anthony Davis’ place, and LeBron James added 18 points in Los Angeles' win over Minnesota.

Kuzma had a phenomenal opening half in his first start. He hit three consecutive 3-pointers to open the scoring in a wire-to-wire win for Los Angeles, which led by 20 in the first quarter and 36 in the third.

 

Marc Gasol had 12 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in just 21 minutes for the Lakers, while James tied Kevin Garnett for fourth place in NBA history by scoring at least 10 points for the 1,260th time.

No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards had 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting in the Timberwolves’ first loss of the season.

 

Cavaliers 118 - 94 76ers

Andre Drummond had 24 points, 14 rebounds and three steals to help Cleveland beat Philadelphia for its third straight victory to start the season.

Collin Sexton added 22 points and Darius Garland had 14 points and seven assists for Cleveland. The Cavaliers had the second-worst record in the NBA last season at 19-46. They Cavaliers are 3-0 for the first time since winning six in a row to begin 2016-17.

 

Tobias Harris had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Philadelphia, which fell to 2-1 and played without center Joel Embiid (back tightness).

 

Pacers 108 - 107 Celtics

Domantas Sabonis scored on a layup with 8.4 seconds left and had 19 points and 10 rebounds for his 100th double-double, helping Indiana beat Boston.

Malcolm Brogdon scored a season-high 25 points as Indiana improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season.

 

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 25 points, but missed a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds to go as the Celtics lost their second straight.

 

Magic 120 - 113 Wizards

Markelle Fultz and Terrence Ross each scored 26 points and Orlando rallied to beat Washington for its first 3-0 start since 2009-10.

Nikola Vucevic scored in the post to give Orlando a 114-113 lead with 25.1 seconds as the Magic scored the final 10 points of the game in beating the Wizards for the sixth straight game.

 

Vucevic had with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Evan Fournier added 19 points.

Bradley Beal had 29 points and seven assists for Washington. Russell Westbrook was held out for rest.

Knicks 130 - 110 Bucks

Tom Thibodeau’s first victory as Knicks coach came surprisingly easy against a top opponent, as New York routed Milwaukee.

 

Julius Randle had 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, Elfrid Payton scored 27 points in his best game as a Knick, and New York led by as much as 28 against the team that had the best record in the NBA the previous two seasons.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks.

 

Pelicans 98 - 95 Spurs

Brandon Ingram had 28 points and 11 rebounds and New Orleans held off San Antonio.

The Spurs had a chance to tie it after Steven Adams, whose put-back dunk put New Orleans up 97-91 with two minutes left, missed a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to go. But Eric Bledsoe blocked DeMar DeRozan’s 3-point attempt from behind in the final seconds to preserve the victory.

 

Zion Williamson had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, scoring about half of his points on dunks. Lonzo Ball had 16 points and five steals.

Rudy Gay scored 22 points for the Spurs. They opened with two victories.

Suns 116 - 100 Kings

Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, Cameron Johnson had 21 in 21 minutes and Phoenix pulled away with two second-half runs to beat Sacramento.

Devin Booker added 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Deandre Ayton had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Suns, a night after a 106-103 loss in the opener of the two-game set in Sacramento. The loss snapped the Suns’ winning streak at nine.

 

Bridges was 9 of 15 from the field, going 4 of 8 from long range. Johnson was 7 of 9, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers. He made all four of his free throws.

Buddy Hield scored 17 points for Sacramento. First-round draft pick Tyrese Haliburton added 15 points and six assists.

Hornets 106 - 104 Nets

Gordon Hayward had 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Charlotte handed Brooklyn its first loss of the season.

Terry Rozier added 19 points, including two clutch free throws, and P.J. Washington finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hornets.

Kevin Durant led the Nets with 29 points, and Kyrie Irving had 25 points.

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