– Taurean Prince outdueled Julius Randle in a battle of performances that flirted with history Monday night, hitting all eight of his 3-point shots and scoring the insurance basket with 10.4 seconds remaining as the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves edged the New York Knicks 140-134.
Prince racked up 35 points and finished one 3-pointer shy of tying the NBA record for most 3-pointers without a miss, held by Ben Gordon (twice) and Latrell Sprewell. Prince is just the seventh player to hit at least eight 3-pointers without a miss.
The Timberwolves needed every bit of Prince’s effort to overcome a 57-point performance by Randle, who tied Richie Guerin (Dec. 11, 1959, against the Syracuse Nationals) for the third-most points in a game in team history and finished five points shy of tying Carmelo Anthony’s franchise mark, set Jan. 24, 2014, against the Charlotte Hornets.
Mike Conley (24 points, 11 assists) had a double-double for the Timberwolves, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Jaden McDaniels scored 18 points while Rudy Gobert had 16. Jalen Brunson supplied 23 points for the Knicks.
Bulls 109, 76ers 105 (2OT)
Zach LaVine scored 26 points, DeMar DeRozan added 25 and Chicago outlasted host Philadelphia 76ers.
DeRozan hit consecutive shots to tie the game before LaVine and Coby White sealed the victory with two free throws apiece in the final 51.4 seconds of the second overtime. Joel Embiid had 37 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Sixers. Embiid fouled out with 3:54 remaining in the second extra period trying to block LaVine’s shot.
Embiid’s driving layup gave the Sixers a 99-97 advantage with 47.6 seconds left in the first overtime, but DeRozan tied the game at 99 on a layup with 37 seconds to go. Following a turnover by James Harden, the Bulls had one last chance to win the game but DeRozan misfired on a 3-pointer to force a second extra session.
Jazz 128, Kings 120
Rookie Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 27 points to lead short-handed Utah to a victory over Sacramento in Salt Lake City.
Agbaji, who led Kansas to the NCAA championship a year ago, made several key plays down the stretch to help the Jazz win despite the absence of injured starters Lauri Markkanen (back), Jordan Clarkson (finger) and Collin Sexton (hamstring). Kelly Olynyk tallied 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for Utah.
De’Aaron Fox produced 37 points and seven assists and Keegan Murray had 22 points, but the Kings saw their three-game winning streak end. A Domantas Sabonis dunk cut the gap to 123-120, but Agbaji restored a five-point advantage with a pair of free throws with 41.3 seconds remaining and Utah closed it out.
Hornets 115, Pacers 109
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 points and Charlotte wiped out a 21-point first-half deficit to defeat visiting Indiana.
Terry Rozier racked up 23 points and Gordon Hayward hit a pair of key fourth-quarter baskets to finish with 22 points as the Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak by winning the finale of a five-game homestand. Nick Richards supplied 14 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
Myles Turner and Buddy Hield both had 20 points for the Pacers, who couldn’t overcome a five-minute scoring drought down the stretch. Bennedict Mathurin notched 18 points, Isaiah Jackson had 12 and Jalen Smith added 10.
Warriors 121, Rockets 108
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 59 points as Golden State snapped an 11-game road losing streak with a victory over Houston.
Curry finished with 30 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Thompson added 29 points and seven rebounds. They combined to shoot 21-for-44 overall and 10-for-28 from 3-point range to pace the Warriors.
Jonathan Kuminga chipped in 17 points off the bench for Golden State, which won on the road for the first time since a Jan. 30 victory at Oklahoma City. All five starters scored in double figures for the Rockets. Rookie Tari Eason posted his seventh double-double with 21 points and 12 boards while fellow rookie Jabari Smith Jr. also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Grizzlies 112, Mavericks 108
Memphis trailed by 13 points at the end of three quarters but outscored Dallas 29-12 in the fourth to earn a hard-fought home win.
Jaren Jackson Jr. played most of the game in foul trouble but led Memphis with 28 points, while Santi Aldama scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 14 boards to earn his fourth double-double of the season. Kyrie Irving led Dallas with a team-high 28 points. He also added four rebounds and two blocks.
Jackson picked up his fourth and fifth fouls within a span of three seconds and he left the game with 7:10 left in the third. With Jackson out, the Mavericks outscored the Grizzlies 22-16 the remainder of the quarter and took a 96-83 lead into the final frame before Memphis came back.
Source : Reuters
