NBA: Miami pulls away for double-OT win over Hornets

Jimmy Butler hit a pair of jumpers in the final 66 seconds of the second overtime as the Miami Heat pulled out a 111-107 road victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night in the last game for each team prior to the All-Star break.

Kyle Lowry scored 25 points, Duncan Robinson tallied 21 points and P.J. Tucker, Bam Adebayo and Butler all had 15 points for the Heat. Omer Yurtseven added 10 points off the bench.

Miles Bridges racked up 29 points and Montrezl Harrell posted 24 points for the Hornets. Kelly Oubre Jr. and P.J. Washington both had 15 points and LaMelo Ball notched 14 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for a triple-double.

Miami was up 107-102 after Butler's late baskets. Bridges countered with a 3 for the Hornets before Lowry's lay-in at the 21.1-second mark.

The Heat didn't score for almost four minutes to begin the fourth quarter, allowing Charlotte to stretch its lead to 78-64 behind seven straight points from Harrell.

Miami came back from an 11-point hole with five minutes in regulation to play to go up 86-85 on a pair of Jimmy Butler with 1:57 remaining. Until Harrell's tying dunk at the 24.6-second mark, Charlotte didn't have a field goal since going up 84-77 with 3:50 to play.

In the first overtime, Harrell made the first free throw but missed the second with 1.7 seconds left, forcing another overtime at 97-97.

Adebayo had 13 rebounds, and Tucker and Butler both pulled in 10 boards.

The biggest key for the Hornets might have been getting sustained defense, and that put Miami in a bind at times.

The Heat was up, 37-30, at the end of the first quarter, shooting 75 percent from the floor. Bridges had 13 points for the Hornets through the first quarter.

Charlotte surged ahead in the quarter, when Miami was stuck with just four points for nearly the first 7 1/2 minutes of the quarter. The Hornets led 54-47 at the break, boosted by eight 3-pointers -- and Oubre had four of those on the way 15 first-half points.

-reuters

Defending champion Raptors lose Lowry, Ibaka to injuries

NEW ORLEANS — The Toronto Raptors say starting point guard Kyle Lowry fractured his left thumb and sixth-man Serge Ibaka a severely sprained an ankle against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lowry said he was hurt in the first quarter Friday night when he tried to swipe the ball away from Pelicans center Derrick Favors on an offensive rebound.


Lowry went to the bench after the initial injury, but returned a couple minutes later. He even made two 3-pointers in the second quarter before subbing out midway through the period and retreating to the locker room.

“Originally, we thought it was something in the nail bed because the nail bed turned black and blue,” Lowry said. “We got some X-rays and we sent the X-rays off to the doctors, and there was a small fracture in the thumb.”

Lowry said the injury is unrelated to the surgery he had in July to repair ligaments in the same thumb.

Ibaka was in a walking boot after the game. He suffered his ankle sprain when he contested a layup by Brandon Ingram with about a minute remaining in the second quarter. Ibaka lay on the floor, writhing in pain as play continued, before a Toroo foul allowed two teammates to help him limp off the floor.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kyle Lowry has big half amid trade rumors as Raptors hold off 76ers

PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Lowry doesn’t want to play for any team but Toronto.

A detour through his hometown is always welcome, though.

Lowry had a big first half amid reports that Toronto has offered him in a trade, Kawhi Leonard finished with 24 points, and the Raptors held off the Philadelphia 76ers 119-107 on Tuesday night in a matchup between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

Lowry, a Philadelphia native and former Villanova star, had 17 points in the first half and finished with 20. He seemed unfazed by a report from Sports Illustrated that Toronto had offered him to Memphis as part of a trade package for Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.

“I personally want to be in Toronto,” Lowry said. “I’ve never asked for a trade. My goal is to try to win a championship here, and that’s what I want to do.”

Serge Ibaka also had 20 points to help the Raptors overcome the Joel Embiid-led Sixers. Embiid had 37 points and 13 rebounds for his league-leading 44th double-double, while Ben Simmons scored 20 points and Jimmy Butler had 18.

With the Sixers trailing by 18 early in the fourth quarter, Embiid ripped off 12 points in a three-minute stretch to slice Toronto’s lead to 108-101 with 6:59 left and get the home crowd on its feet for the first time all night. But the Raptors (39-16) never let the Sixers (34-20) get closer than seven.

“Offensively, defensively, they were just better than us,” Embiid said. “But I’m proud of our effort in the second half.”

After erupting for 40 points in the first quarter behind 11-for-11 shooting from the free-throw line, the Raptors built a 21-point advantage midway through the second quarter. Lowry, who missed Toronto’s last game due to back soreness, fueled the run with three 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch.

“He was awesome,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “You know, that’s Kyle in a super-focused game. He took his 3s, he took his deep ones, he took some drives. Whenever you see him pull that little slam-on-the-brakes, spin-to-the-left fadeaway, you know he’s in the game right.”

Lowry added another 3, which bounced all around the rim before dropping in, four minutes before halftime to help Toronto take a 72-55 lead into the break — the Raptors’ best offensive first half of the season.

“I love playing at home,” Lowry said. “My mom’s in the building. It’s different.”

TOO MANY MINUTES?

The Sixers were without two starters as Wilson Chandler (quad) missed his second straight game while JJ Redick was a late scratch due to nausea.

That led to the team’s Big 3 of Embiid (42 minutes), Simmons (44 minutes) and Butler (39 minutes) all playing more than coach Brett Brown would have liked.

“We got two days off before we played and I just felt like it was our only chance to win,” Brown said. “But it is not an ideal volume of minutes that I played them.”

DEFENSE COMES FIRST

While the Raptors had a big offensive performance, they were mostly proud of the work they put in on the defensive end. That includes forcing Simmons into six turnovers.

“He’s a great player, very good at getting to the basket and finding his teammates,” Leonard said. “I just tried my best to get in the passing lane and stick to our game plan.”

TIP-INS

Raptors: Toronto is now 17-11 on the road this season, the third best mark in the league. The Raptors’ next two games will also be away from home. … Toronto won the season series with Philadelphia, 3-1, with the Sixers’ only win coming on Dec. 22 when the Raptors were missing Leonard and Ibaka, their top two scorers. 



76ers: Tuesday’s game marked the start of a four-game homestand after a 2-2 road swing out West. … Some of the biggest cheers of the night came in the pregame when Sixers great Allen Iverson rang the team’s ceremonial bell at midcourt. … This was Embiid’s NBA-leading 22nd game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT

Raptors: At the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.

76ers: Host the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Lowry scores 23 points, Raptors beat Bucks 116-94

TORONTO, Canada—Kyle Lowry scored 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat Milwaukee 116-94 in the NBA on Monday night to hand the struggling Bucks their sixth straight loss.

DeMar DeRozan added 19 points and Patrick Patterson 18 as Toronto won for the eighth time in nine games. The Atlantic Division leaders ended a five-game home slide against the Bucks, beating them in Toronto for the first time since Jan. 22, 2010.

With newly signed Toronto FC players Michael Bradley and former Tottenham Hotspur striker Jermain Defoe courtside, the victory gave Toronto its first five-game home winning streak for over a year.

Ersan Ilyasova scored a season-high 27 points, Brandon Knight had 16 and Giannis Antetokounmpo 11 for the Bucks, who are winless since beating the Lakers in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. The NBA’s worst team at 7-30, Milwaukee has lost 14 of 16 overall.

Bucks forward Khris Middleton struggled for the third straight game, making just one of eight field goal attempts and finishing with two points.

In New Orleans, Tony Parker capped a 27-point outing with several clutch layups in the final minutes, and the San Antonio Spurs won their fifth straight game, 101-95 over the reeling New Orleans Pelicans.

Tim Duncan scored 18 points before fouling out in the final period in what turned out to be a surprisingly tense contest between the Western Conference-leading Spurs and a depleted Pelicans squad that has now lost six straight since an injury to leading scorer Ryan Anderson.

Anthony Davis had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead New Orleans, while Brian Roberts, starting at point guard for the injured Jrue Holiday, scored 19 points.

Elsewhere, Dwight Howard had 32 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets over Boston 104-92, and send the Celtics crashing to its ninth consecutive defeat, while John Wall and Nene had 19 points apiece as the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 102-88.

Also Monday, the New York Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns 98-96 in overtime, the Dallas Mavericks thrashed the Orlando Magic 107-88 and the Utah Jazz outclassed the Denver Nuggets 118-103.

source: sports.inquirer.net