NBA: Pelicans drop Trail Blazers for third straight win

Brandon Ingram hit for 28 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 22 of his 27 in the second half as the host New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 111-97 on Tuesday night for their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Josh Hart added 20 points, Willy Hernangomez had 13 off the bench, Jonas Valanciunas had 10 points and 16 rebounds and Devonte' Graham scored 10 for the Pelicans.

Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 39 points. Jusuf Nurkic added 17, Norman Powell had 16 and Larry Nance Jr. scored 10.

Powell made a 3-pointer to start the third quarter to give the Blazers a 52-51 lead. But Hart scored seven points during a 14-0 run that gave the Pelicans a 65-52 lead with 8:31 left in the quarter.

New Orleans led by 13 on two more occasions before Powell scored nine, Lillard seven and Nance six as Portland climbed within one. Alexander-Walker made a basket to extend the Pelicans' lead to 81-78 at the end of the third quarter.

Robert Covington's basket started the fourth-quarter scoring and got the Blazers within one point before Alexander-Walker scored 11 straight New Orleans points to give the Pelicans a 92-83 lead with 8:46 left.

Lillard had five points as Portland scored eight straight, but Ingram's basket started a 7-0 New Orleans run that produced a 99-91 lead with 4:31 left, and the Blazers didn't threaten after that.

The score was tied four times and the lead changed hands three times before the Pelicans took a 24-21 lead at the end of the first quarter.

New Orleans pushed the lead to six early in the second quarter before Lillard's 3-pointer completed a 7-0 run that gave Portland a 31-30 lead.

Ingram's jumper gave the Pelicans the lead briefly before Lillard's 3-pointer and Nance's layup gave the Blazers a 36-32 lead.

The Blazers increased the lead to six points twice, but Ingram scored 10 points in the last 2:38 of the quarter as New Orleans took a 51-49 halftime lead.

-reuters

Harden, Westbrook shine as Rockets extend win streak

LOS ANGELES – James Harden scored 36 points and Russell Westbrook bagged a triple-double as the Houston Rockets extended their red-hot winning streak to eight games with a 132-108 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time).

Harden, fresh from a 49-point display in Saturday's win over Minnesota, was once again in commanding form against a Portland team who were always second best at Houston's Toyota Center.

The 2017-2018 NBA Most Valuable Player also had six rebounds and five assists as the Blazers struggled to contain the Rockets' multi-pronged offense.


Westbrook tormented the Portland defense, finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on a night when all five Houston starters finished in double figures.

The win saw the Rockets improve to 11-3 at the top of the Western Conference, neck-and-neck with the pace-setting Los Angeles Lakers (11-2).


C.J. McCollum led the scoring for Portland with 25 points, but team-mate Damian Lillard was kept quiet with only 13 points. Portland fell to 5-9 with the defeat.

Elsewhere Monday, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a 33-point haul as the Milwaukee Bucks outgunned the Chicago Bulls 115-101.

Antetokounmpo's points tally was matched by impressive defensive numbers, with the Greek star pulling down 10 rebounds, forcing eight turnovers and making three steals.

Brook Lopez had 19 points while Donte DiVincenzo added 15 for the Bucks, who improved to 10-3 in the Eastern Conference standings.

In Toronto, O.G. Anunoby and Pascal Siakam sparked the Raptors in a 132-96 demolition of the Charlotte Hornets.

Anunoby had 24 points and Siakam 20 as seven Toronto players finished in double figures against an outclassed Charlotte team.

source: philstar.com

Thunder roll over Blazers

OKLAHOMA CITY – Paul George had a 47-point triple-double, and Russell Westbrook set an NBA record for consecutive triple-doubles as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-111 on Monday night.

George’s 3-pointer with 3:52 to play came on the 10th assist by Westbrook, who clinched his 10th consecutive triple-double. Westbrook finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. Wilt Chamberlain had nine consecutive triple-doubles in 1968.

George, who contributed 12 rebounds and 10 assists, has scored 92 points over the last two games.


The win was the fourth consecutive and 11th in 12 games for the Thunder.

Hampered by a strained left shoulder, James Harden nearly had his streak of consecutive 30-point games end before coming alive down the stretch as host Houston defeated Dallas 120-104.


Harden finished with a game-high 31 points on 9-for-23 shooting that went  with eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

The Rockets relied on a collective effort to build a lead against Dallas, with four others scoring in double figures, including guard Gerald Green, who poured in 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Luka Doncic posted 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to pace the Mavericks.

In Cleveland, New York saw its late comeback bid fall short at Cleveland and took its 17th straight defeat – the longest single-season losing streak in franchise history.     

Other results: Detroit 121, Washington 112; Indiana 99, Charlotte 90; Toronto 127, Brooklyn 125; Milwaukee 112, Chicago 99, Minnesota 130, LA Clippers 120; Denver 103, Miami 87.

source: philstar.com

Warriors take 3-0 series lead over Blazers with 119-113 win

PORTLAND, Ore. — Stephen Curry scored 34 points, Klay Thompson added 24 and the short-handed Golden State Warriors overcame a slow start to take a 3-0 lead in their playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 119-113 victory on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila).

The Blazers led by as many as 17 points in the first half, but couldn't hold off the Warriors, who can clinch the series with a win Monday night in Game 4 at the Moda Center.

Golden State was without Kevin Durant, who was sitting for a second straight game cause of a left calf strain, and coach Steve Kerr stayed back at the team hotel because of illness.

The Warriors took a 108-100 lead after Andre Iguodala's dunk with 4:05 to go.

Noah Vonleh's dunk got Portland within four at 110-106 with 1:29 left, but Curry answered with a 3-pointer that all but sealed it, sending fans streaming for the exits.

CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 32 points, while Damian Lillard added 31.

Portland saw the return of big man Jusuf Nurkic after he missed the final seven games of the regular season and the first two playoff games at Golden State because of a non-displaced fracture in his right leg. There had been speculation that Nurkic, a 7-footer known as the Bosnian Beast, could return for the playoffs because he has been shooting around in warmups. Playing limited minutes, he finished with two points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors routed the Blazers 110-81 in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Durant injured his calf in the third quarter of Sunday's 121-109 Game 1 victory, but finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds.

Energized by a raucous home crowd, Portland jumped out to an early 17-9 lead on Vonleh's dunk. The Blazers led by as many as 10, but Golden State closed the gap to 24-21 on McGee's layup.

Portland extended the lead in the second quarter, with Al-Farouq Aminu and Allen Crabbe showing spark after being largely quiet in the first two games. Crabbe's 3-pointer and a free throw put Portland up 49-33.

A 14-5 run put the Blazers up 65-48, but Curry hit a 3-pointer and a long jumper for the Warriors to close out the half down 67-54. Curry and Thompson were off in the opening half, going 8 of 25 from the field with just two 3-pointers — both from Curry.

The Warriors went on a 21-3 run to pull in front 85-83, capped by a pair of baskets from Iguodala and Draymond Green. Portland led 88-87 going into the final quarter.

Warriors assistant Mike Brown stood in for Kerr, who still experiences lingering symptoms from complications following two back surgeries after the franchise's run to the 2015 championship. He missed the first 43 games last season dealing with symptoms such as headaches, nausea and an aching neck.

Despite his prolonged absence, the Warriors went 73-9 last season and played in the NBA championship game. Kerr was named Coach of the Year.

"I don't know all of the circumstances," Brown said before the game. "He's just not feeling well, and we'll see how he feels later on."

Matt Barnes (right ankle/foot sprain), and Shaun Livingston (right index finger sprain) were also out for the Warriors.

The Warriors defeated the Blazers in five games in the second round last season, en route to the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The surprising Blazers got past the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round after falling to a 2-0 deficit.

Golden State finished atop the conference this season with the best overall record in the NBA (67-15). The Blazers finished eighth after a late-season surge that saw them go 17-6 after March 1.

TIP-INS

Warriors: David West was assessed a flagrant foul for pushing Portland's Evan Turner in the first half. Turner was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct technical. ... The Philadelphia Warriors won the inaugural league title with a Game 5 win against Chicago 70 years ago on Saturday.

Trail Blazers: Portland's bench, which struggled in the first two games of the series, combined for 19 points and 13 rebounds in the first half. ... Lillard has 15 playoff games with 25-plus, second-most in franchise history to Clyde Drexler with 29.

UP NEXT

The Warriors can clinch the series on Monday night (Tuesday in Manila) at the Moda Center.

source: philstar.com