Celtics Clip Pistons Late
(Auburn Hills, MI) — Al Horford sank a out-back layup with 1.3 seconds left to lift the Celtics over the Pistons 94-92 in Auburn Hills. Horford also blocked the final attempt to tie the game as time expired and Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 24 points and eight assists. The Celtics improved to 7-and-6. Detroit, now 6-and-8, was paced by Marcus Morris with 24 points. Andre Drummond finished with 20 points and 17 boards in defeat as the Pistons fell for the sixth time in the last eight games.
Heat Hang On, Clip Struggling Wizards
(Washington, DC) — Goran Dragic led the way with 22 points to help the Heat past the Wizards 114-111 at the Verizon Center. Hassan Whiteside contributed a double-double with dropping 18 points with 18 rebounds in the winning effort. All of the Miami starters ended in double digits as they moved to 4-and-8. Bradley Beal and John Wall each had 34 points to pace Washington as it fell to 3-and-9. Marcin Gortat was the only other Wizard to reach double digits with 10 point plus 16 rebounds and five blocks. The Wizards have dropped four-of-five.
Sixers Roll Past Suns
(Philadelphia, PA) — Joel Embiid scored a career-high 26 points to pace the Sixers past the Suns 120-105 at the Wells Fargo Center. Nik Stauskas helped with 21 off the bench as Philly moved to 3-and-9. Sergio Rodriguez dished out 11-assists in the winning effort. Eric Bledsoe led the way for Phoenix with 27 points in defeat. Devin Booker added 10 and Brandon Knight contributed 12 off the bench as the Suns fell to 4-and-10.
Rockets Down Jazz
(Houston, TX) — A James Harden double-double and a career-game by Clint Capela lifted the Rockets past the Jazz, 111-102, in Houston. Harden finished with 31 points and 10 assists and Capela scored a career-high 20 points in the win. Eric Gordon added 20 points as the Rockets improved to 4-and-1 at the Toyota Center. Rodney Hood led the Jazz with 25 points. Utah is on a three-game skid.
Pelicans Down Hornets In Overtime
(New Orleans, LA) — The Pelicans are now 2-and-0 with Jrue Holiday and 2-and-10 without following a 121-116 overtime win over the Hornets in New Orleans. Anthony Davis posted 38 points and 16 rebounds for the Pelicans, and Holiday scored 22 points and dished out nine assists in his second game back with the team. Langston Galloway added 23 points in the win. Kemba Walker keyed the Hornets with 25 points. Marco Belinelli finished with 22 points and 10 boards for Charlotte, which fell to 8-and-4.
Magic Pull Away From Mavericks
(Orlando, FL) — The Magic pulled away from the Mavericks late in a 95-87 win in Orlando. D.J. Augustin scoerd 18 points off the bench and Nik Vucevic finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Evan Fournier [[ forn-yay ]] nailed a key three-oinnter with 2:04 left to put the game out of reach. Orlando is 6-and-7. Jonathan Gibson, who signed with Dallas on Friday, led the team with 26 points off the bench and shot 5-of-9 from deep. The Mavs fell to 2-and-10 and 1-and-7 on the road.
Grizzlies’ Defense Shuts Down Timberwolves
(Memphis, TN) — A day after holding the Mavericks to 64 points, the Grizzlies’ defense shut down the Timberwolves in a 93-71 win in Memphis. JaMychal Green scored a team-high 19 points and Zach Randolph added 18 off the bench. The Grizzlies held the T-Wolves to a season-low 39-percent shooting from the field and have now won four games in a row. Zach LaVine finished with 22 points for Minnesota, which is 1-and-5 away from home. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 17 points in defeat.
Warriors Hold Off Bucks
(Milwaukee, WI) — The Warriors held off a late rally by the Bucks to score a 124-121 win in Milwaukee. Kevin Durant led the charge with 33 points, and Klay Thompson scored 25 of his 29 in the second half. The duo combined to shoot 10-of-18 from deep. Stephen Curry finished with 20 points as Golden State improved to 11-and-2. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points. Jabari Parker added 28 for Milwaukee, which fell to 5-and-7.
Clippers Get Past Bulls
(Los Angeles, CA) — Mareese Speights had a big fourth quarter as the Clippers got past the Bulls 102-95 in Los Angeles. Spieghts scored 11 of his 16 points in the final quarter as the Clippers rallied out of a 19-point hole for the win. Blake Griffin posted 26 points and 13 rebounds. L.A. is 12-and-2. Chris Paul added 19 points and eight assists in the win. Dwyane Wade paced the Bulls with 28 points. Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double, posting 10 rebounds, nine points, eight assists. Chicago’s four-game win streak is over.
Kings Top Devils
(Los Angeles, CA) — Four different Kings found the back of the net as they topped the Devils, 4-2, in Los Angeles. Alex Martinez and Tanner Pearson started the scoring for L.A. in the second period, with Jeff Carter and Jake Muzzin padding the lead in the third. Peter Budaj [[ BOO-digh ]] knocked away 21 shots for the Kings, who have won two straight after losing four in a row. John Moore scored in the first for New Jersey and Nick Lappin added a goal in the third. The Devils are on a two-game skid.
Panthers Shake Off Senators
(Ottawa, Ontario) — The ageless Jaromir Jagr had a goal and two assists as the Panthers shook off the Senators, 4-1, in Ottawa. Jagr started the scoring with a goal in the first for Florida. Roberto Luongo stopped 39 of 40 shots sent his way and and Aleksander Barkov added two assists in the win. The Panthers have won three of their past four games. Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the lone goal for Ottawa in the final period. The Senators fell to 10-7-and-1.
Blues Cruise Past Predators
(St. Louis, MO) — Jake Allen stopped 30-of-31 shots as the Blues slipped past the Predators 3-1 at the Scottrade Center. Third period goals from Kyle Brodziak and Vladimir Tarasenko pushed St. Louis to the win, improving its record to 10-6-and-3. David Perron also lit the lamp in the victory, the Blues have won three straight. Mike Ribeiro scored the lone goal for Nashville on a power play in the second. Pekka Rinne made 31 saves in defeat as the Preds fall to 7-7-and-3.
Sabres Clip Penguins In Shootout
(Buffalo, NY) — Andrers Nilsson stopped 46 shots and all three shootout attempts to lift the Sabres over the Penguins 2-1 at the KeyBank Center. William Carrier staked Buffalo to a lead in the first period with his first goal of the season. Cal O’Reilly was the only player to find the back of the net in the shootout as the Sabres improved to 6-8-and-4. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby scored his 12th goal of the year to tie the game in the third. Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves in defeat as the Penguins fell to 11-4-and-3.
Flyers Blanked By Lightning
(Philadelphia, PA) — Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped all 32 shots he faced to help the Lightning shut-out the Flyers 3-0 at the Wells Fargo Center. Tyler Johnson put Tampa Bay on top in the first period with a power-play goal. Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin would also light the lamp in the winning effort as the Lightning improved to 12-6-and-1. Steve Mason was sub-par in defeat giving up three goals on only 18 shots. Philly was 0-for-5 on the power play as it fell to 8-8-and-3.
Blackhawks Clip Canucks In Overtime
(Vancouver, British Columbia) — Marian Hossa scored the winning goal in overtime as the Blackhawks rallied to clip the Canucks 4-3 in Vancouver. Chicago trailed 3-0 entering the third but goals from Artemi Panarin, Vincent Hinostroza, and Ryan Hartman sent it to overtime. Along with his first goal Hinostroza also recorded two assists in the winning effort. Chicago is 13-4-and-2. Goals from Loui Eriksson, Bo Horvat, and Brandon Sutter staked the Canucks to the big lead after two periods. Jacob Markstrom made 28 saves in defeat as Vancouver fell to 7-10-and-2.
Coyotes Top Sharks In Overtime
(Glendale, AZ) — Martin Hanzal scored the winning goal 1:16 into overtime as the Coyotes topped the Sharks, 3-2, in Glendale. Hanzal also assisted on Max Domi’s power play goal and Tobias Reider lit the lamp in the first for Arizona. Mike Smith racked up 43 saves as the ‘Yotes improved to 6-9-and-2. Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels put San Jose back in the game with goals in the third period. The defending Western Conference champions are 9-8-and-1.
Avalanche Stun Wild
(St. Paul, MN) — The Avalanche reeled off three goals in the final period to stun the Wild, 3-2, at the Xcel Energy Center. Mikko Rantanen put the Avs on the board in the third, and Carl Soderberg tied the game less than three minutes later. Nathan MacKinnon scored the winning goal as Colorado jumped to 8-9-and-0. Calvin Pickard notched 41 saves for the Avs. Charlie Coyle and Tyler Graovac lit the lamp for the Wild. Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves but gave up all three goals in defeat.
Rhode Island Drops Cincinnati
(Uncasville, CT) — E.C. Matthews finished with 18 points as number-22 Rhode Island dropped 25th-ranked Cincinnati, 76-71, in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Connecticut. Kuren Iverson finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the Rams improved to 4-and-0. They’ll face Duke today for the tournament title. Jacob Evans scored 25 for Cincinnati and Kyle Washington added 23. The Bearcats fell to 2-and-1.