National Basketball Association Game Capsules
New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – Zach LaVine made four free throws in the final 10.7 seconds of overtime to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves over the New York Knicks, 95-92, on Thursday night. Minnesota (15-53) ended a six-game losing streak and snapped a tie with the Knicks (14-54) for the NBA’s worst record. LaVine ended with 20 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who also snapped a seven-game skid on the road. Kevin Martin and Andrew Wiggins had 22 and 20 points, respectively, with Wiggins also pulling down seven rebounds. Langston Galloway finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for the Knicks, who were coming off a 104-100 overtime triumph over the San Antonio Spurs Tuesday.
Final Score: Houston 118, Denver 108
Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – James Harden scored a career-high 50 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Houston Rockets’ 118-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. Harden made four 3-pointers and went 22- of-25 from the foul line for the Rockets, who have won three in a row. Trevor Ariza and Josh Smith tallied 17 and 12 points, respectively. Wilson Chandler and Randy Foye each scored 23 points for the Nuggets, who have dropped two straight following a four-game winning streak. Kenneth Faried contributed 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Final Score: Phoenix 74, New Orleans 72
Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) – Markieff Morris scored 17 points, Brandan Wright added 16 and the Phoenix Suns grinded out a 74-72 win over the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday in a battle of playoff hopefuls. The Pelicans entered the game a half-game behind the Thunder for the eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff race and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Suns. They found out before the contest they would be without star Anthony Davis, who rolled his left ankle during shootaround and had to sit out. Wright also finished with eight rebounds and seven blocks, while P.J. Tucker totaled 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns, who have won three of their last four. Eric Gordon paced the Pelicans with 14 points, while Tyreke Evans was held to nine on 4-of-16 shooting. New Orleans lost for the second time in three games.
Final Score: Utah 80, LA Lakers 73
Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Gordon Hayward had 22 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals as the Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 80-73 on Thursday night. Trey Burke netted 17 points and Derrick Favors added 14 points and seven boards for the Jazz, who have won seven of their last eight games. Tark Black posted 13 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has dropped nine of its last 10 games.
Categorized in: NBA