National Basketball Association Game Capsules

Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) – The Milwaukee Bucks won their first road game in over eight months Tuesday and gave the Indiana Pacers a hint of a long, arduous season about to come. Brandon Knight netted a game-high 23 points and Milwaukee picked up a rare 87-81 victory at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Bucks had dropped 16 straight on the road since winning in Philadelphia on Feb. 24. They also snapped a six-game losing streak to the Pacers and won in Indiana for the first time in four years. Seven Bucks scored at least eight points, with Giannis Antetokounmpo netting 11 and Jabari Parker and Jerryd Bayless each chipping in 10 for the victors. Indiana took all four meetings against its Central Division rivals last season by an average of 11 points, but a slew of injuries have turned the reigning No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference into a decidedly less fearsome club. Chris Copeland scored all but one of his team-high 19 points in the second half, while Roy Hibbert donated 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks in the Pacers’ third straight loss.

Final Score: Houston 108, Miami 91

Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Chris Bosh chose Miami over Houston during the offseason, but the Rockets have fared just fine without him. James Harden was a rebound shy of a triple-double, tallying 25 points and 10 assists as the Rockets beat the Heat 108-91 in a battle of unbeaten teams on Tuesday night. Houston and Miami were two of four undefeated teams — Memphis and Golden State being the others — coming into Tuesday’s showdown. Harden, who was 10-of-10 from the foul line, is 61-of-64 from the charity stripe so far this season. Dwight Howard posted 26 points and 10 boards and Trevor Ariza nailed five 3-pointers and netted 19 points for Houston, which is off to its first 5-0 start since opening 6-0 during the 1996-97 season. Bosh had 21 points and eight rebounds and Dwyane Wade added 19 points for Miami, which was looking to go 4-0 first the first time since winning its first five to start the 2011-12 campaign.

Final Score: Washington 98, New York 83

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple scored 17 points apiece to lead a balanced effort as the Washington Wizards defeated the New York Knicks, 98-83, on Tuesday. Kevin Seraphin tallied 15 points off the bench, Andre Miller contributed 12 points in a reserve role and John Wall added 11 points with a team-high seven assists in the win. Drew Gooden added 10 points for the Wizards, who have won three straight. Washington had not won three of its first four games to start the season since 2005-06. The Wizards have also had New York’s number over the past year, winning four straight overall and three in a row at Madison Square Garden. Iman Shumpert and Carmelo Anthony were the lone Knicks in double figures, scoring 19 and 18, respectively.

Final Score: Toronto 100, Oklahoma City 88

Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) – The Raptors had eight players score at least eight points on Tuesday. The Thunder finished the same game with just six available players. DeMar DeRozan led a balanced scoring attack with 16 points as Toronto upended the depleted Thunder, 100-88, at Air Canada Centre. Patrick Patterson donated 14 points and eight rebounds, while Tyler Hansbrough and Lou Williams each added 12 points off the bench for the Raptors, who improved to 3-1 on the young season. The Thunder not only fell to 1-4 but also lost another key contributor when Perry Jones suffered a right knee injury early in the third quarter. Jones was helped into the locker room after colliding with Patterson, and his absence, coupled with Sebastian Telfair’s late ejection, forced Oklahoma City to play the last two minutes with just six healthy bodies. Head coach Scott Brooks described Jones’ injury as a knee contusion and said the third-year forward will be re-examined on Wednesday. Serge Ibaka led OKC with 25 points and 11 boards, and Reggie Jackson chipped in 13 points and 14 assists in his second game back from injury.

Final Score: Chicago 98, Orlando 90

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Jimmy Butler scored 21, Pau Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls won again without Derrick Rose, beating the Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night. Rose missed his second game after spraining both ankles against Cleveland on Friday, and the Bulls also played without Joakim Noah, who sat because of an illness. But Taj Gibson returned after missing a game with a sprained ankle and had 16 points, and Aaron Brooks and Doug McDermott combined to score 25 off the bench for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic collected 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who fell to 0-4 for the first time since starting 0-6 in 1990-91, their second season in the NBA. Tobias Harris led Orlando with 21 points and Evan Fournier scored 13. Following a game with 20 lead changes, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau gave a lot of credit to his bench players, who outscored Orlando’s 37-19. Nikola Mirotic had eight of those points, all in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3s during a 12-2 run that erased a two-point lead for the Magic and gave the Bulls an eight-point edge with 6 1/2 minutes left.

Final Score: New Orleans 100, Charlotte 91

New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) – Anthony Davis gave a salute after throwing down Jrue Holiday’s alley-oop pass with a monstrous one-handed slam in the third quarter. It was an exclamation point on a dominant frame from the blossoming third-year star. Davis had 12 of his 24 points in the third and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Charlotte Hornets 100-91 on Tuesday night. The Kentucky product also added 13 rebounds and three blocks for the Pelicans, who had dropped their previous two games. Holiday posted 16 points and nine assists, Tyreke Evans supplied 16 points and 10 rebounds and Omer Asik added 10 points and 11 boards in the triumph. The Pelicans used to own the Hornets moniker. They spent 14 seasons in Charlotte before relocating to New Orleans in 2002 and changed their name to the Pelicans last season. Gary Neal netted 21 points off the bench and Al Jefferson provided 20 for Charlotte, which has lost three in a row. Charlotte returned to the NBA with the Bobcats in 2004 and the team was renamed last summer.

Final Score: Portland 101, Cleveland 82

Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) – Damian Lillard scored 27 points with seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a gritty 101-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wesley Matthews finished with 21 points, while Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge added 19 and 16 points, respectively, in the win. Portland, which snapped a two-game losing streak, has beaten the Cavs in seven of the last eight meetings in the series. Kevin Love led Cleveland with 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds and LeBron James scored 11 points — all in the first half. Tristan Thompson chipped in 10 points and eight boards off the bench for the Cavs. Despite the Cavs making their first 10 shot attempts from the floor, Portland did a nice job limiting their opponent to just 31-of-85 shooting for the game.

Final Score: Phoenix 112, LA Lakers 106

Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas combined to score 48 of the Suns’ 53 bench points and Phoenix defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 112-106 on Tuesday night. Green netted 26 on 11-of-19 shooting and the Suns’ leading scorer, Thomas, deposited 22 to go with nine assists for Phoenix, which moved to 3-1 on the young season with a five-game home stand upcoming. Markieff Morris had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Goran Dragic added 16 points and seven boards in the triumph. Kobe Bryant poured in 39 points to go with nine rebounds, but was just 14-of-37 from the floor for the Lakers, who have dropped their first five games and are off to their worst start in Los Angeles history. The 1957 Minneapolis Lakers had the worst start in franchise history, losing their first seven.

Categorized in: NBA