NBA: Zach LaVine stays hot, leads Bulls past Kings

Zach LaVine scored 38 points and Coby White chipped in 19 to pace six players in double figures as the host Chicago Bulls sent the Sacramento Kings to their sixth straight defeat with a 122-114 victory on Saturday night.

Chicago won for the third time in four games as LaVine shined again, surpassing the 30-point plateau for the seventh time in eight games and 15th time this season. LaVine shot 15-for-20 from the floor to boost the Bulls to a 59.8 percent effort from the field.

Rookie Patrick Williams contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double, while White drilled five 3-pointers as Chicago went 11-for-23 from distance.

Marvin Bagley III had a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Kings in the first game of a five-game road trip. Buddy Hield followed with 23 points, and De'Aaron Fox added 20 points and nine assists.

Williams heaved in a 52-footer at the third-quarter buzzer to put the Bulls ahead 95-83. The Kings responded by opening the fourth on a 16-6 run, closing to within 101-99 on a Bagley layup with 8:00 to go.

Effectiveness from long range helped Chicago regain control in short order, as Garrett Temple and White drilled treys as part of an 8-2 run over the next 2:04.

Playing without starters Harrison Barnes (strained left foot) and Richaun Holmes (right knee soreness), as well as top reserve Glenn Robinson III (knee), the Kings struggled to build scoring and rebounding depth.

Thaddeus Young (18 points), Temple (14) and Tomas Satoransky (10) rounded out a balanced Bulls attack.

Tyrese Haliburton (16 points) and Hassan Whiteside (12) also were in double figures for the Kings.

Inactive for much of the season, former Bull and Chicago high school product Jabari Parker made his 2020-21 debut for the Kings.

Chicago scored 40 points in the paint in the first half en route to a season-high 66 to take a 68-58 lead into the break. The Bulls shot 62.8 percent in the first 24 minutes compared to 48.9 percent for the Kings, and led by as many as 14.

The Bulls avenged a 128-124 road loss to Sacramento on Jan. 6 while snapping a two-game losing streak in the series.

-reuters

Zach LaVine carries Chicago Bulls past Washington Wizards

WASHINGTON — Chicago Bulls coach Jim Boylen knows that Zach LaVine can’t play as much he’d like due to a recent ankle injury.

But LaVine made the most of his 29 minutes on Friday night, scoring 19 points in the second half, including 11 straight in the third quarter, in the Bulls’ 101-92 victory over the Washington Wizards.

LaVine, who finished with 24 points, shot just three times in the first half, and turned aggressive in the second half, hitting three 3-pointers in a 2:45 stretch of the third quarter.

“He didn’t panic, he wasn’t flustered and the game turned for him,” Boylen said. “He gave it to us the second half.”

Wendell Carter, Jr. had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Lauri Markkanen added 14 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago, which scored 100 points for just the second time in 10 games.


The Bulls have won three of four and are 5-7 since Boylen replaced Fred Hoiberg on Dec. 4.

Bradley Beal led Washington with 34 points.

The Wizards played without John Wall, who was sidelined with a sore left heel. Washington coach Scott Brooks said that he found out during the morning shootaround that Wall would be unable to play, and said he would see a specialist.

The Wizards fell to 13-23. They’ve dropped nine of 11.

Beal remains convinced that Washington can turn the season around, and he refuses to believe that with the team 10 games below .500, the season is too far gone.


“I’ll never say that,” Beal said. “I’ll never think it. I’ll never believe it. My main objective is to make sure we get out of the hole and we will.”

LAVINE TURNS IT ON

Not only did LaVine score 11 straight in the third quarter, but he secured the game with 33 seconds left with a three-point play.

“We took the game over,” LaVine said. “We made some big stops. I think the main thing is that we’re learning how to win.”

PLAYING TOGETHER

LaVine, Markkanen and Kris Dunn started together for the first time this season.

“We talked about it and I feel like we just got to keep working on doing our stuff and we’ll get better,” Markkanen said.

STRANGE LINEUPS

Four of the nine players Brooks used are in their first month with the team. They are forwards Trevor Ariza and Sam Dekker and guards Ron Baker and Chasson Randle.

“You’re going to have some funky lineups,” Brooks said. “There are going to be some strange lineups until some people get back.”

TIP-INS

Bulls: G Brandon Sampson, who was signed to a two-way contract on Thursday, did not travel with the team. . F Bobby Portis was out for his fourth consecutive game with a sprained right ankle. When he suffered the injury, the team said he’d be out one-to-three weeks. Coach Jim Boylen said that he wouldn’t guess on a return. “We’re not going to rush him,” Boylen said. “Knowing Bobby he’ll be rushing himself.”

Wizards: Wall missed his fourth game of the season. He was in the locker room before the game, but did not comment on his condition. . F Otto Porter missed his ninth straight game with a bruised right knee. Brooks said he was getting closer to a return. . F Markieff Morris was out with a neck injury.

UP NEXT:

Bulls: Visit the Raptors on Sunday

Wizards: Host the Hornets on Saturday in their only back-to-back home games of the season.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Harden, Rockets trounce Bulls

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets aren’t where they want to be, but are feeling much better after following a season-high four game skid with consecutive wins, capped by Saturday night’s victory over the Chicago Bulls.

James Harden made six 3-pointers and scored 30 points to help the Rockets down the Bulls 121-105.

The victory comes a night after the Rockets ended their losing streak with a win 136-105 win at San Antonio.

Now coach Mike D’Antoni is looking for his team to maintain this momentum on its upcoming three-game road trip.

“We need to go show everybody who we need to be,” D’Antoni said. “We may not be there yet but we’re getting there … we just need to go get some wins.”

Harden said health is the biggest reason why Houston has played better recently.

“It’s just having a full roster,” he said. “Chris (Paul), Gerald (Green) and Nene coming back in these last few games. Having a full roster and guys that can help each other out is key.”

Houston was up by 12 entering the fourth quarter and used a 13-7 run to start the period and make it 100-82 with 8½ minutes left. Eric Gordon made two 3-pointers in that stretch and P.J. Tucker added a three-point play. Chicago couldn’t cut into the lead after that and the Rockets were up by 20 with about three minutes left when D’Antoni cleared the bench.

Zach LaVine had 29 points for the Bulls, who lost their sixth straight game and for the 10th time in 11 games.

Chicago’s Lauri Markkanen had 10 points and four rebounds in his season debut after missing the team’s first 23 games with a sprained right elbow he sustained in training camp. He entered the game with about 4½ minutes left in the first quarter and played 26 minutes.

“I felt good and I had no problems with my elbow,” he said. “That’s a positive. I was just glad to be out there.”


Clint Capela added 18 points and 15 rebounds for Houston and Paul had 12 points and tied a season high with 13 assists in his second game back after missing three with a sore hamstring.

Houston led by 10 at halftime before the Bulls used a 12-6 run to open the third quarter and cut the lead to four. Parker led Chicago in that stretch, scoring eight points.

The Rockets got back on track after that, scoring the next five points to push the lead to 67-58 with about seven minutes left in the third.

“Coming out of the break, I thought we had great momentum in the second half, and they throw in a couple of bombs,” Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We have to keep fighting and work on being more consistent.”

Houston led by eight later in the third when Harden made a 3-pointer just before the shot clock expired to make it 74-63 with 4½ minutes left in the quarter.

The Bulls added a layup seconds after that, but Houston scored the next six points, capped by a 3 from Harden with Jabari Parker in his face to make it 80-65 about 90 seconds later.

LaVine scored all of Chicago’s points in a 7-2 run later in the third to cut the deficit, but Green made a 3-pointer with a few seconds left in the quarter to put Houston up 87-75 entering the fourth.

TIP-INS

Bulls: Hoiberg said that he will limit Markkanen’s minutes in his first games back. … LaVine has scored at least 20 points in 20 games this season. … Justin Holiday, who had 11 points, has made at least one 3-pointer in a franchise-record 35 straight games. … Parker finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Rockets: Nene had 10 points and four rebounds in his season debut after missing Houston’s first 21 games with a strained right calf. … Harden has scored 30 points or more in six of the last eight games.

REMEMBERING BUSH

The Rockets played a video before the game and had a moment of silence for former President George H.W. Bush, who died on Friday night in Houston at 94. The video featured images of Bush sitting courtside at several games and posing for pictures with various former players and coaches.

UP NEXT

Bulls: Visit Indiana on Tuesday night.

Rockets: Visit Minnesota on Monday night.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Warriors eventually find flow without Green, beat Wolves

OAKLAND, Calif. — Do-everything Draymond Green is fiery, vocal and brings energy on both ends of the court.

On a night the Golden State Warriors were without their emotional leader, it took them a while to find a flow.

Stephen Curry had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Golden State overcame Green’s absence to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 on Saturday night for their 11th straight victory.

“It wasn’t as loud, obviously,” Klay Thompson said of missing Green. “Collectively we had to raise our voices to make up for it.”

Curry shot 13 for 19 with four 3-pointers, while Kevin Durant added 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a career-high six blocked shots — the Warriors’ first time ever having someone finish with at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. Thompson scored 23 points with four 3s.

Durant figured he had to do more.

“Especially tonight. We missed Draymond,” Durant said. “We were a little stagnant early.”

Green sat out a day after bruising his left ankle at Los Angeles in a collision with teammate Ian Clark, who also missed the game after being hit in the throat on the play.

“Without Ian and Draymond our bench was thinned out,” coach Steve Kerr said.

Zach LaVine scored 31 points with five 3s, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 of his 18 points in the first quarter on 6-for-10 shooting. He then quieted down and missed five of his next six attempts before a three-point play with 4:03 remaining to make it a 10-point game.

Without Green, Golden State lacked offensive flow and an interior defensive presence against Towns until finding some rhythm late in the first half and early in the second.

The Warriors went off for a franchise-record 47 assists in their previous home game three nights earlier against the Lakers, but managed only 25 Saturday.

Golden State didn’t get its first field goal of the second quarter until 7:41 remaining on Durant’s three-point play.

“It’s good to see that we can step up in a guy like Draymond’s absence and still have contributions from other guys on the floor,” Curry said.

Kevon Looney made his first career start in place of Green and had six points, three rebounds and two assists in 18 minutes.

Curry’s 17 third-quarter points were his second-most in a quarter this season.

Minnesota handed Golden State one of only two home defeats last regular season, 124-117 in overtime on April 5 — just the Timberwolves’ second win in the last 17 meetings, including Saturday.

The Warriors won their sixth straight home game since a 129-100 season-opening loss to San Antonio, and ninth in 11 meetings with Minnesota dating to 2013.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: Former Warriors G Brandon Rush was welcomed back on the video board during a first-quarter timeout, and he smiled and waved. … A night after getting 15 steals — five by Ricky Rubio — and forcing 26 turnovers, Minnesota managed only nine steals among the 18 turnovers by Golden State. … The Wolves will host the Warriors on Dec. 11, and Golden State has a nine-game winning streak at Minnesota.

Warriors: Curry had his sixth 30-point performance of the season, while he, Durant and Thompson each went over 20 points in the same game for the seventh time. … Golden State’s streak of 10 straight games with 30 or more assists was snapped. … The Warriors are 36-7 in the second game playing on consecutive nights dating to 2014-15, including 3-1 this season. … They shot above 50 percent for the third straight game. … Golden State wore its slate alternate jerseys for the first time at home, improving to 24-2 all-time in that uniform.

THIBODEAU’S INFLUENCE

First-year Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau paid the Warriors a couple of visits last season in his year out of NBA coaching, a chance to observe Kerr’s practices and catch up with old pal Ron Adams, Golden State’s assistant and defensive guru.

“It was fun to pick his brain and share knowledge and insight,” Kerr said.

Thibodeau called the Warriors “something we aspire to be.”

“Golden State was a good model for us,” he said of focusing on improvement. “They went step by step.”

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: Host the Utah Jazz on Monday for a quick two-game visit home.

Warriors: Host Atlanta on Monday in the second game of a five-game homestand and look to beat the Hawks at home for the fifth time in a row.

source: sports.inquirer.net