Clippers win in OT as Suns drop 9th straight

Tobias Harris had 33 points and eight rebounds, and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers ended a two-game losing streak with a 123-119 win over Phoenix Suns on Monday.

Danilo Gallinari scored 25 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 16 for the Clippers.

Deandre Ayton contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Richaun Holmes (19), Mikal Bridges (19) and Josh Jackson (18) all scored their season highs for the Suns, who have lost nine straight.

Phoenix never led in overtime. Troy Daniels tied the game 119-119 with 51.3 seconds left on a reverse layup, but Patrick Beverley made two free throws with 33.3 seconds left and Avery Bradley sank two more with 1.6 seconds remaining for the final margin.

Phoenix's De'Anthony Melton made a step-back 9-footer from the baseline to tie the score at 111-111 with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Gallinari then missed a long, heavily contested try at the buzzer.

The Clippers took an 88-86 lead into the fourth quarter, the same two-point advantage they brought into halftime. 

However, the Suns bridged an 11-3 run from the third quarter and into the fourth to take a 95-91 lead with 9:26 left, their biggest margin since early in the second quarter.

Phoenix went up 104-95 on a basket by Holmes with 7:09 remaining, but that would be the last field goal until Bridges made a 3-pointer with 1:16 left to end a 12-0 run by Los Angeles and pull the Suns within 109-108.

The only time the Suns led in the third quarter was when Holmes made two free throws with 1:07 lead for an 84-83 advantage, but Milos Teodosic sank an 18-foot jumper on the other end to put the Clippers back ahead.

The Clippers didn't hold a lead until Beverley scored with 7:59 left in the first half for a 37-35 advantage.

Suns leading scorer Devin Booker (23.5 points per game) missed his fourth consecutive game due to a hamstring injury. Second-leading scorer T.J. Warren (17.7 ppg) returned under restricted minutes after missing the previous five games with an ankle injury. He scored six points in 12 minutes.

Lou Williams, the third-leading scorer for the Clippers (17.6 ppg), left midway through the second quarter with a sore left hamstring and did not return. He scored seven points in 12 minutes off the bench.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Clippers put 9 in double figures, rout Wizards

Tobias Harris had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Lou Williams scored 17 off the bench, and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the visiting Washington Wizards 136-104 on Sunday night.

Avery Bradley chipped 15 points, and Montrezl Harrell and Boban Marjanovic contributed 13 each for the Clippers, who had nine men in double figures and never trailed.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 20 points, and John Wall had 18.

The Clippers led by 15 at halftime and by 17 early in the third quarter before Beal capped a mini-Wizards run with a 3-pointer that got Washington within 81-71.

Los Angeles responded with 16-0 run led by three 3-pointers from Patrick Beverly and five points from Danilo Gallinari. The Clippers led by 20 points after three quarters.

Washington converted just 5 of 27 (18.5 percent) from 3-point range while the Clippers made 16 of 29 (55.2 percent).

The Clippers have won four of their past five, while the Wizards fell to 1-3 on a five-game road trip that ends Tuesday at Memphis.

Los Angeles was without forward Luc Mbah a Moute (sore left knee) while Washington center Dwight Howard (lower back soreness) has yet to play this season.

Wizards forward Markieff Morris left the game after taking an elbow to the face in the second quarter and did not return due to concussion symptoms.

The game marked the return to Los Angeles of guard Austin Rivers -- son of Clippers coach Doc Rivers -- who was dealt to Washington on June 26 in exchange for center Marcin Gortat. Rivers finished with nine points and three assists in 22 minutes. Gortat had four points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander swished a running half-court 3-pointer as the first quarter ended, and Harrell's layup capped a 17-4 run and gave the Clippers their largest lead of the first half, 42-24, with 9:24 left in the second quarter.

The Clippers led 69-54 at intermission.

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Without Paul, Rockets fall to 1-2 in loss to Clippers

Tobias Harris scored 23 points and Danilo Gallinari added 20 to help the Los Angeles Clippers post a 115-112 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Sunday night at Staples Center.

Montrezl Harrell recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Clippers won their second straight game since losing their season opener. Lou Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points apiece for Los Angeles, which made all 26 of its free-throw attempts.

James Harden had 31 points and 14 assists but missed a tying 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Rockets lost for the second time in three games. Clint Capela scored 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting and Eric Gordon added 21 for Houston.

The Rockets played without point guard Chris Paul, who served the first of a two-game suspension for his role in Saturday's scrap with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was suspended for putting his finger in Rajon Rondo's face and throwing multiple punches.

Houston trailed by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter but crept within 110-106 with 2:47 left after 3-pointers by Gerald Green (11 points) and Harden. Harris drained a 3-pointer 20 seconds later and Harrell delivered a dunk with 1:43 remaining to give Los Angeles a 115-106 lead.

Harden scored six straight points -- including a four-point play with 29.5 seconds left -- to cut Houston's deficit to three. But his 3-pointer from the left flank under defensive pressure by Gallinari was off the mark as time expired.

The Rockets were 15 of 35 from 3-point range and shot 48.3 percent overall. The Clippers were 5 of 25 from behind the arc and shot 47.2 percent overall.

Houston led by five points early in the third quarter before Los Angeles went on a 14-3 surge. Gallinari scored the final five points to give the Clippers a 70-64 advantage with 6:40 remaining.

The Rockets responded with a 14-4 spurt with Green supplying the final five points for a 78-74 edge with 4:17 left in the period.

Los Angeles answered with 12 straight points with Luc Mbah a Moute capping the run with a three-point play with 2:01 left for an eight-point lead.

Harrell later capped the 39-point quarter with a three-point play with 1.2 seconds to go to give the Clippers a 93-84 lead entering the final stanza.

The Los Angeles lead reached 11 on a basket by Lou Williams with 9:58 left in the contest. Houston moved within 104-98 on Green's three-point play with 5:42 left but the Clippers pushed their lead back to 10 on Harrell's putback dunk to make it 110-100 with 3:39 left.

Harris had 17 for the Clippers and Harden had 17 for the Rockets as Los Angeles led 54-53 at the break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Pistons snap Thunder streak

Marcus Morris scored 24 points and the Detroit Pistons snapped Oklahoma City's eight-game winning streak with an 88-82 victory Tuesday at The Palace.

The Thunder rested All-Star small forward Kevin Durant and power forward Serge Ibaka after defeating the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Oklahoma City scored at least 110 points throughout the streak, but it shot 37.8 percent against Detroit without the two starters.

Tobias Harris had 17 points, and Andre Drummond supplied 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the sixth time in seven games. Detroit (40-35) moved into seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, a half-game ahead of the Indiana pacers, who lost to the Chicago Bulls.

Russell Westbrook, who recorded his eighth triple-double of the month against the Raptors, shot 8-for-28 from the field while scoring 24 points against the Pistons. He added four rebounds and six assists. Enes Kanter finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma City (52-23).

The teams combined for 35 turnovers, 19 by the Thunder.

Oklahoma City scored just nine third-quarter points -- its lowest scoring quarter of the season -- as Detroit grabbed a double-digit lead. The Thunder shot 3-for-20 and committed seven turnovers during the quarter.

The game took a sudden turn with the Thunder leading 51-48 early in the third period. Morris made a layup to set off a 20-2 Pistons run. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who missed his first eight field-goal attempts, put the Pistons on top with a steal and layup.

Morris also hit three consecutive jumpers during that outburst, and Caldwell-Pope finished it off with two free throws. That made it 68-53, and Detroit carried a 71-57 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Thunder's previous low for a quarter was 11 points against the Boston Celtics on Nov. 15.

Detroit failed to score for the first 3:51 of the fourth, allowing the Oklahoma City to pull within eight.

A Kanter 3-pointer made it a one-point game, but Oklahoma City couldn't finish off the comeback. Reggie Jackson's dunk with 1:29 left extended Detroit's lead to 82-77.

Jackson (13 points) sealed the victory with four free throws.

Westbrook overcame a slow start to ring up 16 points by halftime as the Thunder led 48-46 at the break.

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