HOUSTON (AP) — Alperon Sengu had 20 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to help the Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs 111-106 on Tuesday night.
Reed Shepard scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Kevin Durant added 18 points to help the Rockets win their third straight game.
advertise
Kick-off was delayed for 22 minutes because a player bent one of the rims during warm-up and had to be replaced.
The Rockets trailed by 16 points at one point and fell behind by 10 before the start of the fourth quarter, closing the gap with a big run.
With about two minutes left in the game, Shepard blocked Julian Champagne’s 3-pointer and the game was tied. Seconds later, Jabari Smith Jr.’s fadeaway shot gave the Rockets a 106-104 lead.
With about 30 seconds left, Xian Gong’s shot extended the lead to 108-104, but Stephon Castle missed a 3-pointer. After that, Shepard made two free throws to seal the victory.
advertise
Champany hit eight three-pointers and scored a Spurs-high 27 points, while Victor Wembanyama only had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Champagnie’s performance comes after setting a franchise record with 11 three-pointers in a Dec. 31 win over the Knicks.
With Houston trailing by five midway through the fourth quarter, Shepard scored all of the team’s points during an 8-2 run that gave the Rockets a 101-100 lead with about four minutes left in the game.
Suns 116, 76ers 110
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Devin Booker scored 27 points, Jalen Green added 12 points in the returning lineup and Phoenix beat Philadelphia in the second game of a back-to-back.
advertise
Grayson Allen and Jordan Goodwin each scored 16 points, Colin Gillespie and Oso Iguodaro scored 12 points each, and the Suns won their third consecutive game and their 12th victory in 16 games.
76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe scored 25 points. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 21 points and Tyrese Maxey scored 20 points. Andre Drummond had 15 rebounds and eight points as the Sixers posted their fourth loss in six games.
Philadelphia was without Joel Embiid (dealing with right ankle injury) and Paul George (dealing with left knee injury).
Green played in only his third game of the season and first since Nov. 8 due to a right hamstring injury. This is his first season with the Suns, having arrived in the offseason as part of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.
advertise
Bulls 138, Clippers 110
CHICAGO (AP) — Coby White scored 27 points and hit six of Chicago’s franchise-record 25 3-pointers in a win over a rising Los Angeles team.
White was back in action after hitting a season-high seven 3-pointers in Sunday’s win over Brooklyn, as the Bulls shot 25-for-47 from beyond the arc.
Matas Buzelis scored 21 points, Ayo Dosunmu scored 18 points and Kevin Huerter scored 14 points. All three players made four three-pointers.
Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and eight rebounds as the Bulls surged ahead. The Clippers have won six straight and 13 of 15 games since a 6-21 start.
advertise
After Chicago tied a season-high with 45 points in the second quarter, it led by 21 points at halftime and put the game away after Los Angeles launched a third-quarter offense.
James Harden led Los Angeles with 24 points. John Collins scored 23 points and hit five three-pointers, tying a season high.
Jazz 127, Timberwolves 122
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Keyonte George scored a career-high 43 points, Jusuf Nurkic had his second career triple-double and Utah rallied to beat Minnesota.
Nurkic had 16 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since January 16, 2019, leading the Trail Blazers to a 129-112 victory over Cleveland.
advertise
Rookie ace Bailey scored 20 points and Isaiah Collier contributed 18 points and 10 assists for the Jazz (15-29), which gave head coach Will Hardy his 100th career victory.
George scored more than 30 points for the third time in the past six games.
Anthony Edwards scored 38 points for the Timberwolves (27-17), who squandered a 15-point lead and ended a four-game losing streak. Julius Randle scored 19 points and Rudy Gobert had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Edwards hit a 3-pointer to pull Minnesota within 121-119, then George drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 59.2 seconds left to give the Jazz a cushion to end their fourth straight loss.
advertise
Bailey went on an 11-2 run with dunks and three-pointers to give the Jazz the lead with 7:47 left in the fourth quarter. The Jazz scored on their first 11 possessions of the final quarter.
