Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., Jan.28, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) Eric Gordon scored a career-high 50 points, Danuel House Jr. chipped in a double-double, and the short-handed Houston Rockets pulled off a stunning 126-117 victory over the red-hot Utah Jazz on Monday in Salt Lake City.
With James Harden (thigh), Russell Westbrook (rest) and Clint Capela (heel) all unavailable for the second game of a back-to-back set at altitude, Gordon carried Houston with a scintillating performance.
The veteran guard shot 14 of 22 from the floor, drilled 6 of 11 3-point attempts and hit 16 of 20 free throws to lead the way.
His three-point play through a Rudy Gobert foul extended the Houston lead to 118-105 with 1:39 remaining and snuffed out the final hope Utah had at capping a comeback.
House added 21 points with 11 rebounds while adding five steals, and Austin Rivers contributed 21 points for Houston.
Gobert posted 12 points and 14 rebounds for Utah, which got 36 points from Donovan Mitchell and 30 from Bojan Bogdanovic. The Jazz had won 14 of their previous 15 games.
Zach LaVine hit a pair of go-ahead free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to cap a 23-point effort, and Denzel Valentine added 16 points to lift host Chicago over San Antonio.
San Antonio’s DeMar DeRozan missed the second of two free throws with 0.2 seconds remaining and missed a put-back try at the buzzer as the Spurs lost their third straight game.
Chicago relied on seven double-figure scorers to earn successive wins for the first time since Dec. 18-21.
LaVine scored 14 points in the final 12 minutes to help the Bulls erase an 11-point deficit. DeRozan scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Patty Mills added 25 points for the Spurs, who were without LaMarcus Aldridge (thumb).
Final scores Chicago Bulls 110 – San Antonio Spurs 109.
Collin Sexton scored 23 points, Kevin Love supplied 20 points (all in the first half), and Cleveland snapped a seven-game losing streak by thumping host Detroit.
Tristan Thompson had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Alfonzo McKinnie contributed 15 points off the bench for Cleveland. The Cavaliers outscored Detroit 65-49 in the second and third quarters.
Reggie Jackson topped the Pistons, who have lost three straight, with 16 points. Andre Drummond had 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit.
Final scores Cleveland Cavaliers 115 – Detroit Pistons 100.
Center Bam Adebayo recorded the third triple-double of his career — 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists — as host Miami defeated Orlando.
The Heat also got 21 points from Duncan Robinson — he made 6 of 9 3-point attempts — and 19 points and seven assists from Jimmy Butler, who had left Miami’s previous game with a sprained ankle.
With the win, the Heat tied the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers for best home record in the NBA (21-2).
Orlando, which had won nine of its previous 13 games against in-state rival Miami, was led by Nikola Vucevic’s double-double: 13 points and 12 rebounds. Aaron Gordon added 13 points, but just two after halftime.
Final scores Miami Heat 113 – Orlando Magic 92.
Nemanja Bjelica broke the fifth tie of overtime with two free throws with 48.3 seconds left, and Sacramento, after an improbable rally that forced the extra session, held off Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Buddy Hield scored a career-high 42 points off the bench for the Kings, including 12 during a 21-4 regulation-ending flurry that erased a 17-point deficit in the final 2:49.
Andrew Wiggins scored 36 points, including seven 3-pointers, for the Timberwolves, who set season highs for threes (23) and 3-point percentage (50 percent).
Final scores Sacramento Kings 133 – Minnesota Timberwolves 129 (OT).
Luka Doncic scored 29 points to lead Dallas to a road win over Oklahoma City, snapping the Thunder’s five-game winning streak. Doncic was just 2 of 8 from the field in the opening quarter but 8 of 16 the rest of the way.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 points for the Mavericks while Kristaps Porzingis and Delon Wright scored 14 each. Wright added a season-high 12 rebounds.
For Oklahoma City, Dennis Schroder was forced into the starting lineup for the first time this season as Chris Paul missed the game one day after the death of his close friend, Kobe Bryant. Paul and Bryant played on two Olympic teams together. Schroder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were a combined 11 of 36 from the floor. Schroder led the Thunder with 21 points.
Final scores Dallas Mavericks 107 – Oklahoma City Thunder 97. (Reuters/NAN)
