Damian Lillard led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night with career highs of 71 points and 13 3-pointers.
The eighth-most NBA points are 71. Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored 71 earlier this season. Only Wilt Chamberlain (five times, 100), Kobe Bryant (81) and David Thompson (73) have scored more NBA points. Lillard had a franchise-record 41 first-half points.
Portland shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 20 of 39 from 3-point range, with Jerami Grant scoring 13 and Nassir Little 11. Houston has dropped nine straight games and 29 of its last 33. Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Jae’Sean Tate scored 17. Denver defeated Los Angeles in overtime with 40 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists from Nikola Jokic and 29 points and 11 rebounds from Michael Porter Jr. After missing five games with a rib injury, Aaron Gordon returned to the lineup and scored six, Bruce Brown scored 13 points, and Jamal Murray scored 21 points and 12 assists.
Kawhi Leonard led LA with 33 points. Paul George scored 23, Russell Westbrook 17, Nicolas Batum 12, and Bones Hyland 10 against his previous team. For the second time in three nights, the Clippers lost in overtime. Mason Plumlee had 10 rebounds.
104–101 Bucks-Suns
Jrue Holiday scored 33 points, Brook Lopez had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Milwaukee beat Phoenix for its 14th straight win without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
After leaving Friday’s win against the Miami Heat with a quad injury, Antetokounmpo was scratched. The Bucks led Sunday’s 2021 NBA Finals rematch during the second and third quarters sans the 31.2 points-per-game scorer, but never by more than 11 points.
Booker’s 24 points lead the Suns. With 5:47 left, Deandre Ayton scored his last 22 points on a layup to give the Suns their greatest advantage. Ayton led the squad with 11 rebounds and three blocks.
Trae Young scored 34 points and hit the game-winner at the buzzer to give Atlanta its second straight win against Brooklyn. Young joined Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic with 20-plus points for the Hawks. Cam Johnson’s 27 points lead Brooklyn. Mikal Bridges had 24, Cam Thomas 22 and Spencer Dinwiddie 20 and eight assists. Nets have dropped two consecutive and four of five.
Cavaliers 118–93 Raptors
Cleveland beat Toronto for the first time this season behind 22 first-half points from Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell made 13-of-21 field goals, including 8-of-12 3-pointers. The Cavs halted their three-game skid with 23 points and 11 rebounds from Jarrett Allen. Darius Garland scored 18 and assisted 11. Pascal Siakam scored 25 points for the Raptors, who lost their season-high four-game winning streak. On Saturday, the Raptors defeated the Detroit Pistons, and Jakob Poeltl added 13 points and nine rebounds.
109-104 Warriors-Timberwolves
Donte DiVincenzo’s 3-pointer broke a late tie, Klay Thompson saved eight of his team-high 32 points for the final 6:11, and Golden State rallied late to beat Minnesota in San Francisco.
Thompson, who had 42 points and 12 3-pointers Friday against the Houston Rockets, hit 6-for-14 on threes for his eighth 30-point game of the season. DiVincenzo scored 21 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Warriors shot 15-for-42 from 3-point range. Eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals were his team highs. Naz Reid, starting at centre in place of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, scored a career-high 30 points for the Timberwolves. Reid added two blocks, five thefts, and a team-high nine rebounds.
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