NEW YORK (AP) — Isaiah Thomas scored 27 points, Marcus Smart made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 47 seconds left after Boston blew a late lead, and the Celtics beat the New York Knicks 119-114 on Sunday. More
The Houston Rockets will get a chance to pad their already gaudy 3-point-shooting numbers Wednesday night when they run into one of the league’s weakest defensive teams, the Phoenix Suns, for the first time this season.
The Rockets are shooting 3’s at a record-setting pace this season, having already attempted 1,128. They’ve made 423, which already is approaching some teams’ season total from last year.
The scary part is the Rockets have posted those numbers despite not having seen the Suns yet.
Phoenix has allowed 3-pointers to be made at a 38.7-percent rate, the second-highest in the league.
The game can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona and FOX Sports Go, starting at 6:30 p.m.
While the sight of the Suns should bring smiles to the Rockets, so should their Talking Stick Resort Arena, where Houston has prevailed in its last five visits.
In fact, last year’s season series between the Rockets and Suns was dominated by the road team. After the Rockets recorded 111-105 and 116-100 wins at Phoenix, the Suns finished off the three-game series with a…
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Zach Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Devon Thomas added a career-high 17 points and Texas Tech held off Richmond 79-72 on Saturday for the Red Raiders’ first true road win of the season. More
PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan spent an off night in town at Villanova watching the best basketball team in the Philly area dominate in another victory. A night later, Lowry and DeRozan ditched the courtside seats to team up and keep Philadelphia the worst team in the NBA. More
Cousins recorded 28 points (9-25 FG, 0-6 3Pt, 10-12 FT), 12 rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block across 36 minutes in Friday’s 103-100 loss to the Knicks.
Cousins came up empty from three-point range for the first time in 13 games…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eric Bledsoe had 30 points and nine assists, Leandro Barbosa added 21 points and the Phoenix Suns snapped their three-game losing streak with a 119-115 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.
Devin Booker had 15 points before fouling out for the Suns, who hit a season-high 13 3-pointers and withstood a late rally by the short-handed Lakers.
Lou Williams hit six 3-pointers and scored 35 points in another monster game for the Lakers, who have lost five straight after a promising start to their first post season since Kobe Bryant retired.
Los Angeles has faltered during a busy portion of its December schedule while playing without four injured regulars: D’Angelo Russell, Nick Young, Tarik Black and Jose Calderon.
Alex Len had 14 points and 13 rebounds, but the Suns blew most of an 18-point lead in the second half. Phoenix hung on for just its seventh victory of the season…
OAKLAND, Calif. — Get out your erasers, NBA historians. The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors could be shooting for a record when they meet for the first time this season Thursday night.
The Rockets will put their streak of having made at least 10 3-pointers in 17 straight games on the line against a team that owned the NBA perimeter last year.
Houston’s James Harden (55), Eric Gordon (55) and Trevor Ariza (52) all rank among the Top 10 this season in 3-pointers made, and Ryan Anderson (45) isn’t far outside the group, lifting the Rockets (13.8 per game) into a tie with Cleveland for the team lead.
Both are attempting to unseat the Warriors as the reigning 3-point kings. Golden State (13.1) easily outdistanced the field in 3-point success last year.
Along the way, the Warriors (21) combined with the Dallas Mavericks (18) to set an NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a game (39) on March 25, 2016.
The Warriors and Rockets get their first crack at bettering that mark this season on Thursday night.
Houston has moved ahead of Golden State in the category this season by shooting more often from 3-point distance and doing it with greater accuracy.
In their first season under coach Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets have increased their 3-point attempts from 30.9 per game to 36.6, and their percentage of success from 34.7 to 37.8.
Other than embracing the up-tempo style…
CLEVELAND (AP) Upon arriving at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers received commemorative watches, the latest gifts to celebrate their NBA championship.
The Los Angeles Clippers then handed them a second straight loss.
J.J. Redick scored 23 points, Blake Griffin matched a career high with 11 assists and the Clippers bounced back from a brutal loss with a 113-94 victory on Thursday night over the Cavs, who have lost two straight for the first time since winning their title.
Afterward, there was no panic inside Cleveland’s locker room, but rather a measured response to the first real adversity this season. The Cavs also lost in Milwaukee on Tuesday, but LeBron James isn’t worried – yet.
”Two pretty poor games for sure,” said James, who scored 16 but had five turnovers. ”You’re hoping they’re not back-to-back, but it happens. Now, three games in a row? That’s something to talk about. We need to figure it out. It’s different from football where you have to wait a whole week to redeem yourself.
”We get right back at it tomorrow night so we’ll be all right.”
Chris Paul shook off some early foul trouble and scored 16 and DeAndre Jordan had 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who came in hungry after blowing an 18-point lead and falling in double overtime at Brooklyn on Tuesday.
”It’s who we are, I really believe that,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. ”We actually played to our potential. We had some adversity, which is great. Chris got in foul trouble and we extend the lead. It was a team win.”
Los Angeles took control with a 13-2 run to open the third quarter.
Kyrie Irving scored 28 and Kevin Love 16 for the Cavs, who were outplayed for the second game in a row. During Tuesday’s loss, coach Tyronn Lue pulled his starters in the second half and J.R. Smith wandered off the floor during play and gave…
BOSTON (AP) Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Patty Mills scored 19 to lead the San Antonio Spurs past Boston 109-103 Friday for their eighth straight victory. Mills made a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left after the Celtics made it a one-possession game.
David Lee had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and rookie Davis Bertans scored a career-high 15 to help the Spurs improve to 9-0 on the road this season. San Antonio beat Boston for the 10th straight time.
Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points with eight assists and Avery Bradley had 19 points and eight rebounds for Boston, which had won three in a row. Al Horford had 12 points and 10 rebounds in his second home game since signing a four-year, $113-million contract with Boston this summer. Jae Crowder added 18 points for Boston.
CAVALIERS 128, MAVERICKS 90
CLEVELAND (AP) – Kevin Love scored 27 points, Kyrie Irving added 25 and Cleveland led by as many as 45 points in a rout of Dallas.
Love hit seven 3-pointers while Irving, who made his first 10 shots, scored 19 points in the first quarter. Irving’s big quarter came two nights after Love scored an NBA-record 34 in the first against Portland.
LeBron James, playing in his 1,000th regular-season game, had 19 points and 11 assists.
The defending NBA champions faced little resistance from the team with the league’s worst record. Dallas scored the game’s first basket before the Cavaliers turned the game into a rout. Cleveland led 36-16 after one quarter and was ahead 68-28 late in the second.
Dirk Nowitzki, who appeared in only his fifth game of the season because of an injured right Achilles, scored 15 points for Dallas.
KNICKS 113, HORNETS 111, OT
NEW YORK (AP) – Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 35 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, and New York beat Charlotte.
Derrick Rose added 16 points and blocked Kemba Walker’s 3-pointer that would have won it just before the buzzer. Kristaps Porzingis also scored 16 points in the Knicks’ sixth straight home victory.
Former Hornets guard Courtney Lee finished with 12 points in the opener of a home-and-home series.
Marco Belinelli scored 19 points, Nicolas Batum had 18 and Walker added 17 for the Hornets, who have lost four straight games.
PISTONS 108, CLIPPERS 97
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and a career-high 10 assists as Detroit beat Los Angeles.
Detroit won its second straight and improved to 7-2 at home, as opposed to 1-7 on the road. The Clippers lost for just the second time in 13 games, falling to 7-1 on the road.
Marcus Morris scored 17 points and Andre Drummond had 16 points and 10 rebounds, as the Pistons got at least 15 points from all five starters. Jon Leuer added 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
J.J. Redick and Blake Griffith each had 24 points for the Clippers, while Chris Paul had eight points to go with 15 assists.
JAZZ 95, HAWKS 68
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Gordon Hayward scored 24 points as Utah beat…
Boston (AFP) – Kawhi Leonard scored nine points in the final 7:17 as the San Antonio Spurs kept rolling with a spirited 109-103 win over the Boston Celtics that extended three winning streaks.
LaMarcus Aldridge clinched the Spurs come-from-behind victory with an offensive rebound and two free throws with 17 seconds remaining.
“It was a great win for us against the really active team,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Spurs, who trailed by 14 points in the first half, improved to 13-3 on the season in front of a crowd of 18,600 Friday at the Boston Garden arena.
San Antonio rallied for their eighth straight NBA win, their ninth in as many games on the road this season, and also beat Boston for the 10th straight time.
Leonard, who finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, scored nine points in the fourth quarter.
Former Celtic Patty Mills tallied a season-best 19 points and rookie Davis Bertans and veteran David Lee added 15 points apiece.
That…