James Harden piled up 44 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists as the visiting Brooklyn Nets held off the Detroit Pistons 113-111 on Friday.
Brooklyn Nets 113 – 111 Detroit Pistons
Harden, who missed Brooklyn’s previous game with a neck injury, made 14-of-30 field goal attempts and 12-of-14 free throws. Blake Griffin, playing against his former team for the first time, supplied 17 points off the bench.
Detroit center Isaiah Stewart was ejected in the second quarter for elbowing Griffin in the face. He retaliated after getting hit by a stray arm from Griffin.
The Pistons hung around and got within one, 102-101, when Reggie Jackson hit two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Saddiq Bey tied the game at 106-all with a shot in the lane, but Harden answered with a three-point play with 2:06 left.
Phoenix Suns 104 – 100 Toronto Raptors
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Highlights of the Toronto Raptors against the Phoenix Suns in Week 14 of the NBA
Deandre Ayton scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists as the visiting Phoenix Suns defeated the Toronto Raptors 104-100 at Tampa.
Devin Booker added 16 points for the Suns, who won both games between the teams this season. Mikal Bridges scored 11 points to help Phoenix prevail for the fourth time in five games overall.
Live NBA: Phoenix @ Charlotte 28.03
Sunday 28th March 6:00pm
Pascal Siakam had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Raptors, who fell for the 10th time in 11 games. Fred VanVleet added 22 points, OG Anunoby contributed 15 points and Kyle Lowry had 11.
Paul Watson and DeAndre’ Bembry did not play for the Raptors because of health and safety protocols.
Boston Celtics 122 – 114 Milwaukee Bucks
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Highlights of the Milwaukee Bucks against the Boston Celtics in Week 14 of the NBA
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 34 points, and Marcus Smart shot seven-of-10 from three-point range en route to 23 points as the Boston Celtics ended the Milwaukee Bucks’ eight-game winning streak, 122-114, in Milwaukee.
Boston shot 22-of-47 from behind the three-point line as a team, including Tatum’s four-of-seven and four-of-nine from Jaylen Brown, who scored 18 points. Kemba Walker, who scored 21 points, added another three treys.
The Celtics’ torrid shooting powered a run that pushed their lead to 18 points with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter. The advantage reached 20 late in the third and 21 with 6:41 left in the fourth before a late Milwaukee rally.
Miami Heat 105 – 110 Charlotte Hornets
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Highlights of the Miami Heat against Charlotte Hornets in Week 14 of the NBA
Malik Monk scored 32 points, Terry Rozier added 26 points and 11 assists as the host Charlotte Hornets earned a 110-105 win over the slumping Miami Heat.
The Hornets, winners of three consecutive games, shot 62.5 per cent from the floor in the first quarter and never trailed. Charlotte, up by as many as 30 points in the second quarter, hit 49.4 per cent of their field-goal attempts for the game, including 18-of-43 (41.9 per cent) from three-point range.
Charlotte are now 18-0 when leading after three quarters. Miami, who are on a season-worst, six-game losing streak, got Jimmy Butler back in the line-up. Butler, who missed one game due to a stomach ailment, had 20 points and nine assists.
Duncan Robinson also scored 20 points for Miami, who dominated the second half but never had the ball with a chance to tie the score late in the game.
Portland Trail Blazers 112 – 105 Orlando Magic
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Highlights of the Orlando Magic against the Portland Trail Blazers in Week 14 of the NBA
Norman Powell made an immediate impact in his first game with Portland as he and CJ McCollum each scored 22 points to lead the Blazers to a 112-105 road victory over the Magic in Orlando.
Playing without Damian Lillard, who sat out the second of back-to-back games with a bruised left knee, Powell shot seven-for-13 including five-for-seven from three-point range.
Powell was acquired by Portland on Thursday in a trade with Toronto for Gary Trent Jr and Rodney Hood.
McCollum struggled from the field, shooting eight-for-26 and two-for-11 from three, but had seven assists and five rebounds.
Enes Kanter provided Portland with a boost off the bench, finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Robert Covington added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and had a key putback and three-pointer during the final five minutes to help Portland seal the win.
Houston Rockets 101 – 107 Minnesota Timberwolves
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Highlights of the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Houston Rockets in Week 14 of the NBA
Karl-Anthony Towns finished two assists shy of a triple-double and was the linchpin of a remarkable closing stretch for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who erased a 19-point, second-half deficit in their 107-101 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday in Minneapolis.
Towns finished with 29 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, tallying 14 points and two assists while the Timberwolves closed the game on a 22-0 run. They ended a three-game losing skid.
DJ Augustin gave the Rockets their biggest lead at 91-72 on a three-pointer with 1:50 left in the third, but the Rockets then missed their final 14 shots and committed five turnovers.
Denver Nuggets 113 – 108 New Orleans Pelicans
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Highlights of the New Orleans Pelicans against the Denver Nuggets in Week 14 of the NBA
Nikola Jokic scored 37 points as the visiting Denver Nuggets held off Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans 113-108.
Michael Porter Jr added 25 points, Jamal Murray had 23 points and 11 assists and Paul Millsap scored 16 as the Nuggets beat the Pelicans by the same score that the Pelicans beat them by last Sunday in Denver.
After Williamson’s layup gave the Pelicans a 108-107 lead, Jokic made consecutive baskets that gave Denver a 111-108 lead with 1:03 left.
New Orleans had a chance to tie but turned the ball over on a shot-clock violation with 5.1 seconds left and Will Barton made two free throws to seal the win.
Live NBA: Dallas @ New Orleans 27.03
Sunday 28th March 3:00am
Indiana Pacers 109 – 94 Dallas Mavericks
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Highlights of the Dallas Mavericks against the Indiana Pacers in Week 14 of the NBA
Malcolm Brogdon sank six three-pointers to highlight his 22-point performance as the visiting Indiana Pacers posted a 109-94 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Domantas Sabonis recorded 22 points and 15 rebounds and Texas native Myles Turner had seven blocks for the Pacers, who have won four of their last five games overall. Indiana also avenged a 124-112 loss to the Mavericks on January 20.
Dallas’ Kristaps Porzingis collected 31 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, with 15 and 13, respectively, coming in the first half. Porzingis’ previous season high in rebounds was 14, set in the Mavericks’ 115-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on March 10.
Tim Hardaway Jr scored 16 points off the bench and Josh Richardson added 11 for Dallas, who were unable to overcome the absence of two-time All-Star guard Luka Doncic
Memphis Grizzlies 114 – 117 Utah Jazz
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Highlights of the Utah Jazz against the Memphis Grizzlies in Week 14 of the NBA
Donovan Mitchell made five three-pointers and recorded 35 points to help the Utah Jazz post a 117-114 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
Rudy Gobert registered 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting and collected nine rebounds as Utah won their fourth straight contest. Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 points and Jordan Clarkson had 14 as the Jazz prevailed in the first of back-to-back games between the teams.
Ja Morant notched 32 points and 11 assists and Dillon Brooks scored 22 points for Memphis, who had a three-game winning streak halted. Grayson Allen added 17 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 18 rebounds and Brandon Clarke had 13 points for the Grizzlies.
Memphis trailed the NBA-best Jazz (33-11) by 21 early in the third quarter but pulled within 117-114 on a three-pointer by Brooks with 34.3 seconds to play. Brooks later had a chance to tie it, but his three-point attempt caromed off the rim with 5.5 seconds left.
Atlanta Hawks 124 – 108 Golden State Warriors
John Collins poured in a career-best 38 points and the Atlanta Hawks made nine consecutive shots in a second-quarter flurry that propelled them to a 124-108 victory over the reeling Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Collins, Trae Young and Clint Capela all recorded double-doubles as the Hawks evened their record four games into their eight-game trip at 2-2.
Andrew Wiggins had a team-high 29 points for the Warriors, who lost their fourth straight and ninth in their past 12.
Los Angeles Lakers 100 – 86 Cleveland Cavaliers
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Highlights of the Cleveland Cavaliers against the LA Lakers in Week 14 of the NBA
Montrezl Harrell had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 17 points as the Los Angeles Lakers came alive to open the second half and pulled away for a 100-86 victory over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Los Angeles ended a four-game losing streak.
Playing without LeBron James for the fourth consecutive game, the Lakers finally figured out how to win without their superstar, using a 19-2 run immediately after half-time to storm past the Cavaliers.
James is out indefinitely with an ankle injury, and team-mate Anthony Davis has been sidelined since mid-February with a calf strain.
