LAKERS 112, MINNESOTA 104
MINNESOTA.- LeBron James had 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Dennis Schröder scored 24 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers extend the lead and beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 112-104 on Tuesday.
Montrezl Harrell contributed 17 points for the Lakers, who ended a seven-game losing streak at Minnesota. They hadn’t won at the Target Center since March 25, 2015.
Minnesota rookie Anthony Edwards posted a career-high 28 points, plus seven rebounds and five assists. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 points for the Timberwolves, who were outscored 17-5 early in the fourth quarter after a spirited effort in the first three quarters.
The Lakers played the first of several games in which they will not have star Anthony Davis, who is out with an Achilles tendon injury. The ailment worsened in Sunday’s loss at Denver, which ended Los Angeles’ seven-game winning streak.
PORTLAND 115, OKLAHOMA 104
OKLAHOMA CITY.- Damian Lillard scored 31 points, including 12 in the last 4:11 minutes, for the Portland Trail Blazers to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-104 on Tuesday night.
The Blazers squandered a 24-point lead in the second half, before regaining control on the back of Lillard, who made all four of his 3-pointers during the final streak, when he had already accumulated five fouls.
Gary Trent Jr., had 19 points, while Enes Kanter added eight and grabbed 21 rebounds for Portland, which has won five in a row. Lillard averages 30.2 points per game during the winning streak.
The Blazers have looked despite CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic being absent for the past month. McCollum fractured his left foot and Nurkic broke a bone in his right wrist.
Lu Dort scored 23 points and Hamadou Diallo added 17 for the Thunder.
Also for Oklahoma City, Al Horford had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
BROOKLYN 128, PHOENIX 104
PHOENIX – James Harden celebrated the opportunity to share the offensive load when he joined the star-studded Brooklyn Nets this season.
But with his All-Star teammates cheering from the stands in street clothes, Harden showed he is still capable of filling the score and pulling off whatever fourth-quarter feats are necessary.
Harden scored 38 points, Joe Harris had 22 and the Brooklyn Nets overcame a 24-point deficit to defeat the Phoenix Suns 128-124 on Tuesday.
Although Harden was the undisputed star for the Nets, his teammates also provided moments of brilliance. The bench had 40 points and Harris scored 15 in the second half.
“It’s the true definition of a team,” Harden said. “One or two men fall, the next one gets up.”
The Nets were playing without two of their top three stars, but Harden was more than capable of keeping up against the Suns. Kevin Durant suffers a hamstring injury, while Kyrie Irving was left out with lower back discomfort.
Harden’s 3-pointer with 31 seconds left put the Nets in the lead for the first time all game, at 126-124, before scoring two free throws with 11.3 seconds to go. The Suns didn’t score in the final 2:48 of the game.
Brooklyn won his fourth straight game in a triumphant return to Phoenix for his coach, Steve Nash. The Suns saw their six-game winning streak end.
“Right now it’s all excitement (in the locker room),” Nash said. “They are rightly excited, it’s great for morale. Running out of Kevin and Kyrie and finding a way to overcome a 24-point deficit. They showed a lot of character ”.
Chris Paul scored 29 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts. Devin Booker added 22.
TORONTO 124, MILWAUKEE 113
MILWAUKEE.- Fred VanVleet scored 33 points, Pascal Siakam added 23 and the Toronto Raptors overcame the loss of Kyle Lowry through injury to defeat the sagging Milwaukee Bucks 124-113 on Tuesday night.
Lowry left the game with a sore left ankle in the third period. However, he had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes.
The ankle problem caused Lowry to leave for the locker room in the closing moments of the first half, although he returned to start the third period. Then, he left the meeting definitively.
Milwaukee scored his fourth victory despite Giannis Antetokounmpo adding 34 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The Bucks had not lost four in a row since the final of the 2019 Eastern Conference, when they were eliminated precisely by Toronto.
In that series, the Raptors rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
Antetokounmpo came close to achieving his second consecutive “triple-double.” The MVP of the previous two seasons had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists on Sunday in a 114-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
NEW ORLEANS 144, MEMPHIS 113
MEMPHIS.- Zion Williamson scored 31 points, dominating in the paint and the New Orleans Pelicans ended a three-game losing streak, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 144-113 on Tuesday night.
Williamson, who had 13 of 16 shooting from the field, added seven rebounds and six assists for the Pelicans to score the most points this season. Josh Hart had 27 points, his most this season, and Brandon Ingram had 22 for New Orleans.
Ja Morant had 28 points, making 12 of 16 field goals for Memphis. Kyle Anderson finished with 19 points and Dillon Brook 18, with four of six triples.
The Pelicans won their fifth straight game against the Grizzlies in the most recent meeting between Williamson, the top pick in the 2019 draft, and Morant, who was second.
The Pelicans, who beat Memphis 118-109 on Feb. 6 in New Orleans, extended their lead in the third quarter as they outscored Memphis 38-23 to take a 101-81 lead at the end of the quarter.
Memphis was not a threat to the Pelicans, who had a 34-point lead in the fourth quarter.
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