Clippers rally to beat Bucks, improve playoff hopes

LOS ANGELES — Tobias Harris scored 19 points, DeAndre Jordan had a double-double and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied after blowing a 16-point lead to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-98 on Tuesday night and boost their playoff hopes.

The Clippers hit six 3-pointers in the fourth, when they were down by five and launched a 13-0 run to go back in front 96-88.

They made 3-pointers on four straight possessions — by four different players — for a 105-96 lead.

Jordan had 12 points and 16 rebounds, and Lou Williams added 16 points off the bench.

Los Angeles trails Minnesota by 1 ½ games for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff berth.

Milos Teodosic got their 3-point run going in the first quarter, when he made four of the Clippers’ seven 3-pointers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 26 points and Khris Middleton added 22 for the Bucks, who opened a four-game Western Conference swing by having their two-game winning streak snapped.

The Clippers came out strongly to start the second quarter, extending their lead to 16 on a dunk by Williams.

But Middleton and the Bucks chipped away, outscoring the Clippers 26-15 in the third. Antetokounmpo had 10 points to help send Milwaukee into the fourth leading 82-78.

The Bucks ended the third on a 9-0 run, including back-to-back baskets by Tyler Zeller that gave them their first lead since the initial basket of the game.

TIP-IN

Bucks: Backup C Thon Maker sat out with a right groin strain. … Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers attended.

Clippers: They have won five of seven against the Bucks, including a 127-120 win last week. … F Danilo Gallinari (right hand contusion, non-displaced fracture) could return Friday at Portland or Sunday against Indiana. He’s missed 17 games with the latest in a string of injuries this season.

UP NEXT

Bucks: Visit Golden State on Thursday. They lost to the Warriors 108-94 at home on Jan. 12.

Clippers: Visit Phoenix on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back, their last one of the season. They are 3-7 on the road in the second game.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Lakers hold off Nuggets to snap latest losing streak

LOS ANGELES, California—D’Angelo Russell sometimes seems to be playing at a higher frequency than his Los Angeles Lakers teammates, who occasionally struggle to be in the right place for their point guard’s clever passes.

Everybody was playing at Russell’s speed for most of their win over Denver, even when things went a little haywire in the final minutes.

Nick Young scored 23 points, Lou Williams added 21 and the Lakers survived a frantic fourth quarter to snap their seven-game home losing streak against Denver, beating the Nuggets 120-116 on Tuesday night.

Rookie Ivica Zubac scored a career-high 17 points for the Lakers, who snapped their three-game skid despite getting outscored 40-39 in the wild final period. His pick-and-rolls with Russell in the fourth quarter were one big component of an impressive offensive finish.

“He was our leader on the court, and he was making all the right plays,” the 19-year-old Zubac said. “He needs to play like that, and I think he can do it every night.”

Russell finished with 22 points, a career-high 10 assists and seven rebounds in his return from a three-game absence with a pair of mild leg injuries.

“Guys were making shots right and left,” Russell said. “We were getting stops, and it just made it easier for me. I know how easy it is to get assists, but you have to attack, and we’re realizing that.”

Wilson Chandler scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth for the Nuggets, whose three-game winning streak ended with just their third loss in 10 games. Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 17 rebounds, but managed only two points and three boards after halftime.

“Just a poor, poor defensive performance,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “Disappointing.”

Both teams were without key big men.

The Lakers played their second straight game without starting forward Julius Randle, who is recovering from pneumonia. Tarik Black moved into the starting lineup and had six points and eight rebounds. The Lakers hope Randle will be ready for their upcoming road trip.

The Nuggets played their second straight game without rising Serbian star Nikola Jokic, who has a strained hip flexor. Jokic did light work in practice, and Malone calls him day-to-day. Jusuf Nurkic struggled as the starting center, going 0 for 7 in 12 minutes of play.

The Nuggets hit their first six 3-point attempts and scored 11 consecutive points to open the fourth, but Williams scored 13 points in the final period and Zubac added eight. Williams put the Lakers ahead to stay on a layup with 2:17 left. Zubac and Russell added jumpers on the Lakers’ next two possessions. Los Angeles went 14 for 21 in the final period.

“They were able to score on us on every possession in the last few minutes of the game,” said Danilo Gallinari, who scored 17 points.

The Nuggets beat the Lakers at Staples Center two weeks ago, and they hadn’t lost a road game in this rivalry since November 2012. That was during the Lakers’ most recent playoff season, when Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant had hoped to team up with Steve Nash in a superteam.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Butler scores 40 to push Bulls past Lakers

LOS ANGELES — Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 40 points and Isaiah Canaan added a season-high 17 in the Chicago Bulls’ fifth victory in six games, 118-110 over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.

Nikola Mirotic had 15 points and 15 rebounds and the Bulls held off Los Angeles’ late rally for their third win in four stops on their annual circus road trip.

Rajon Rondo had four points, nine rebounds and 12 assists despite a sore left ankle. He hit a floater in the lane with 28.6 seconds left to secure the Bulls’ win after Los Angeles trimmed a 15-point lead to five.

Lou Williams scored a season-high 25 points and Larry Nance Jr. had a career-high 18 for the Lakers (7-7), but their other young stars mostly struggled in their second straight loss.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Lakers stun Warriors, end Curry’s 3-point streak

LOS ANGELES — Lou Williams scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped Stephen Curry’s NBA-record streak of 157 games with a 3-pointer in a 117-97 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

Julius Randle had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the rebuilding Lakers, who pulled off their second straight shocking home upset of the mighty Warriors with an impressive effort from their exciting young roster.

Lakers coach Luke Walton also won his first meeting with his former team and his coaching mentor, Steve Kerr.

Curry scored 13 points while going 0 for 10 from 3-point range, ending several incredible long-distance streaks. He had hit a 3-pointer in every regular-season game since Nov. 11, 2014.

Including the postseason, Curry had at least one 3 in 196 straight games, and he had also hit in 116 straight regular-season road games – both NBA records.

Walton was Kerr’s assistant during the Warriors’ 2014-15 championship season and again last year, when he led Golden State to a 39-4 start while Kerr was recovering from a back injury.

Golden State didn’t lose its second game under Walton that year until Dec. 30, but these reconfigured Warriors are off to a 4-2 start with this shocker coming one night after an important victory over Oklahoma City.

The young, exciting Lakers jumped to a 21-point lead in the third quarter with ball movement resembling the Warriors’ style. They fought off star-studded Golden State’s challenge in the fourth quarter with huge games from Williams and Randle, their versatile forward. D’Angelo Russell added 17 points, and rookie Brandon Ingram had 12.

Golden State lost 112-95 to the Lakers at Staples Center in March, one of the biggest regular-season upsets in NBA history and one of the Warriors’ mere nine losses last season.

One night after Kevin Durant scored 39 points against his former Thunder teammates, the Warriors got off to an awfully slow start in LA.

The Warriors scored a season-low 15 points in the first quarter. That’s also the fewest points allowed by the Lakers in any quarter this season.

Golden State missed its first seven 3-pointers, only getting its first on Andre Iguodala’s buzzer-beater. Durant, Curry and Klay Thompson were a combined 5 for 18.

source: sports.inquirer.net