The Sacramento Kings survived a late rally attempt from the Golden State Warriors, while the Brooklyn Nets had an easy time dispatching the Portland Trail Blazers, in separate NBA games, Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time).
Brooklyn improved to 41-29, good for fourth in the East. Golden State stayed 1.5 games ahead of the Houston Rockets for sixth out West, while Portland moved up to 33-37, and Sacramento, out of the running for the playoffs, improved to 25-46.
At the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, the Warriors lost an early 27-24 lead after the first quarter and couldn't make up for it with a late rally, versus the Kings.
The visitors led by as much as 13, 81-68, versus the Warriors, 11:14 left in the game, but a 9-2 blast by Golden State cut their deficit to five, 93-88, on a Harrison Barnes lay-in, 3:29 on the clock.
Off an repossession by Patrick Patterson however, Isaiah Tomas canned a big triple to stop the bleeding for the Kings, 2:43 still to play. A pair of scores by Jarret Jack sandwiched a jumper from Tyreke Evans, getting their deficit to six, 98-92. Forced to foul, Toney Douglas nailed both charities, but then Stephen Curry got a score, a steal, and another score, for a four-point deficit, 100-96, 20.1 ticks to go.
Off a timeout, Thomas managed just a split, leaving the door slightly open for a Warriors comeback. Off a timeout, the Warriors got another Jack lay-in, but they still had to foul. Unfortunately for the home side, Evans proceeded to make both free throws, and then Klay Thompson's triple failed to connect. Another foul sent Thomas to the stripe and he converted both as well, effectively ending things with 3.5 seconds left.
Thomas finished with 31 points and seven assists to pace the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins added 14 points and six rebounds, but turned the ball over five times, while Marcus Thornton scored 13.
All-Star forward David Lee managed 20 points and 10 boards, while Stephen Curry also had a double-double with 17 markers and 12 assists.
Over in the Rose Garden at Portland, the Brooklyn Nets used a 37-17 first quarter to take the fight out of the Portland Trail Blazers early, on the way to a 111-93 win.
LaMarcus Aldridge drew first blood for the Trail Blazers, scoring on a jumper on the opening possession of the game, but it was all Nets after that, courtesy of an 18-4 run.
In the third, an and-one play by Reggie Evans made it a 30-point game, 91-61, with 2:32 left to play, putting Brooklyn in cruise control mode. However, halfway through the fourth, the Nets' buffer was sliced down to 14, 101-87 courtesy of a 26-10 run by Portland, necessitating the return of the Nets starters.
Scores by Reggie Evans, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez and Deron Williams settled things down, restoring their lead to 20, 107-87, with 3:32 left. That proved to be a big enough deficit that the Blazers couldn't get rid off, allowing Brooklyn to pick up the win.
Brook Lopez led six Nets in double-figures with his 28 points, plus five boards. Reggie Evans added 22 markers and 26 boards, while Gerald Wallace, Andray Blatche and MarShon Brooks had 12 apiece.
Deron Williams scored just six points on 3-of-11 shooting but dished out 10 assists to just one turnover.
LaMarcus Aldridge paced Portland with 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting. Rookie Damian Lillard chimed in with 15, while Meyers Leonard made 11 points and nine boards. - AMD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
