Dec. 8 – Rookie Simone Fontecchio landed a game-winning last-second dunk just after Malik Beasley hit a 3-pointer as the Utah Jazz scored five points in the final 7.8 seconds to claim an unlikely 124-123 victory on the Golden State Warriors Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
Jordan Poole led all scorers with 36 points in a game in which both teams lacked key players.
Poole made 1 of 2 free throws with 13.3 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a seemingly secure four-point lead after trailing by 11 early in the fourth quarter, but the Jazz then picked up a victory with a wild ending.
The late rally started with Beasley’s 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left. Nickeil Alexander-Walker then brought the Jazz to life with 4.3 seconds remaining by stealing the ball from Poole in a frantic moment. The ball was advanced to Beasley, who connected with Fontecchio for the winning bucket with 1.4 seconds left.
Celtics 125, Suns 98
Boston looked like the best team in the NBA, putting in a dominating effort in Phoenix. Five players scored in double figures for the Celtics, who had a 45-point lead with 5:30 left in the third quarter.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored a team-high 25 points. The Celtics took their road record to 10-3 and improved to 7-0 against Western Conference teams.
Josh Okogie led the Suns with 28 points off the bench and Devin Booker scored 17. Chris Paul returned after missing 14 games with a heel injury, and he finished with four points, four assists and four rebounds in 24 minutes.
Grizzlies 123, Thunder 102
Ja Morant had 26 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and 11 assists to lead Memphis to an easy win over Oklahoma City, the Grizzlies’ fourth straight and sixth in their last seven games.
Morant took over in the third quarter after Oklahoma City cut Memphis’ lead to 75-73 with 5:37 left. He scored seven consecutive points, in various ways. Morant came to the free throw line, drained a 3-pointer and hit a finger roll as the Grizzlies extended their lead to nine, their biggest of the game at the time.
Morant landed the triple-double with a steal and pass to Brandon Clarke for a dunk with just over three minutes left. The triple-double was Morant’s second of the season and sixth of his career, setting the Grizzlies’ all-time mark since the franchise moved to Memphis.
Dollars 126, Kings 113
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 35 points, Jrue Holiday was nearly as productive with 31 and Milwaukee pulled out late to defeat visiting Sacramento.
All five starters scored in double figures as the Bucks won their third in a row in their first meeting of the season with the Kings. It was the second time this season that Antetokounmpo and Holiday each eclipsed 30 points in the same game.
Domantas Sabonis had a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, who reached a point with 10:27 remaining but couldn’t catch the hosts.
Nets 122, Hornets 116
Kyrie Irving had 33 points and nine assists as Brooklyn took a big first-half lead and held on for a victory over Charlotte in New York.
Kevin Durant added 29 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Nets set a season high for first-half points (73), improved to 5-1 in their seven-game home game games, the season high, and rebounded from Sunday’s 11-point loss. to the Boston Celtics. Durant and Irving combined for Brooklyn’s last 15 points.
Terry Rozier led the Hornets with 11 of 29 points in the fourth. Kelly Oubre added 28, but despite shooting 53.4%, Charlotte lost for the fourth time in five games. Rozier got through Irving and Seth Curry for a layup to make it 118-116 with 67 seconds left. Following a deflection from Charlotte that left six on the shot clock, Irving had two free throws with 44.3 seconds left and a floater in the lane with 13.7 left for the game’s final points.
Magic 116, Clippers 111 (OT)
Moritz Wagner went for a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double, Bol Bol scored another 20 points and Paolo Banchero sank six free throws down the stretch to cap his 23-point effort as Orlando broke a long skid loser with an overtime loss to visit Los Angeles.
Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum each scored 16 points in the loss, with Zubac also grabbing 13 rebounds. Leonard finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Cole Anthony came off the bench to score 13 points for Orlando, which last won Nov. 18.
Raptors 126, Lakers 113
Pascal Siakam scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Fred VanVleet had 25 points and seven assists as host Toronto beat Los Angeles exhausted.
The Lakers were deprived of their two stars LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (illness). OG Anunoby scored 23 points for Toronto, who led by 23 at halftime and never looked back. Gary Trent Jr. contributed with 18 points, Chris Boucher with 16 points and Scottie Barnes with 13 points and a career 17 rebounds.
Dennis Schroder scored 18 points for the Lakers. Russell Westbrook added 16 points and nine rebounds, Thomas Bryant had 16 points, Kendrick Nunn had 15 points, Lonnie Walker IV scored 12 points and Austin Reaves had 10 points.
Bulls 115, Wizards 111
DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine carried the charge for host Chicago, which ended a three-game losing streak by defeating Washington.
DeRozan scored 27 points — 21 of them in the second half — to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Vucevic and LaVine had 25 points each, with the former adding 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. LaVine had seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Kristaps Porzingis carried Washington with a full stat line: 28 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. Kyle Kuzma added 21 points and five boards, and Monte Morris contributed 17 points and eight assists.
Pelicans 104, Pistons 98
Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas each had a double-double and New Orleans won its fifth straight game as it fended off visiting Detroit.
Williamson had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Valanciunas added 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Pelicans won for the 10th time in 12 games. Trey Murphy III scored 20 points and Naji Marshall added 17 off the New Orleans bench.
Saddiq Bey scored 25 points while Killian Hayes had 17 points and 12 assists to lead the Pistons, who finished a straight game after winning 116-96 at Miami on Tuesday.
Knicks 113, Hawks 89
Julius Randle posted a double-double and scored 19 third-quarter points for host New York, which earned a victory over understaffed Atlanta.
Randle finished with 34 points, two shy of his season high, and grabbed a season-best 17 rebounds. RJ Barrett added 15 points while Mitchell Robinson had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks.
Quentin Grimes contributed a season-high 23 points and shot 5-for-7 from 3-point range for the Knicks, who have won two straight. New York, which beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 92-81 on Sunday, had never had an opponent below 100 points this season.
Timberwolves 121, Pacers 115
D’Angelo Russell scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Anthony Edwards added 26 on the night as Minnesota scored the game’s final six points in a win over Indiana at Minneapolis.
Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 21 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who led up to 23 in the second quarter before the Pacers came within two at halftime. Jaylen Nowell had 14 points and Jaden McDaniels had 12 for the winners.
Buddy Hield scored seven 3-pointers and finished with 26 points for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton had 26 points and 15 assists, Myles Turner had 23 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14.
–Field-Level Media
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
