Jimmy Butler had a season-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds and eight assists, leading the host Miami Heat to a 124-116 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
Donovan Mitchell had 30 points for the Jazz, who have the best record in the NBA and are 22-3 since Jan. 8. Mitchell shot 11-for-26, including 2-for-9 on 3-pointers. The Jazz also got 17 points from Bojan Bogdanovic as well as 15 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks from Rudy Gobert.
Miami has won five straight games. During the past week, the Heat have beaten the NBA’s two most recent champions: the Toronto Raptors (2019) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2020).
Aside from Butler, the Heat also got 26 points off the bench from Goran Dragic. Heat center Bam Adebayo, who played despite being a game-time decision due to sore knees, had 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Boston Celtics 118 – Indiana Pacers 112
Kemba Walker scored a season-high 32 points as slumping Boston shook off a slow start to beat visiting Indiana.
Daniel Theis had 17 points and Jaylen Brown 15 as the Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak, winning for just the fourth time in their last 12 games.
Domantas Sabonis, named an All-Star as a replacement earlier in the day, had 24 points and nine assists to lead the Pacers, who dropped their second straight.
Los Angeles Lakers 102 – Portland Trail Blazers 93
LeBron James recorded 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots to lead Los Angeles to a victory over visiting Portland.
James’ stellar outing halted the Lakers’ season-worst four-game losing streak and helped them win for just the second time in seven games. Dennis Schroder scored 22 points for the Lakers after missing the previous four games due to COVID-19 protocols.
Damian Lillard had 35 points and seven assists but couldn’t prevent Portland from losing its season-worst fourth straight game. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points and Enes Kanter had 11 points and 17 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Golden State Warriors 130 – Charlotte Hornets 121
Draymond Green vented his frustration on Charlotte with a career-high 19 assists as part of a triple-double, and Golden State extracted a measure of revenge with the win in San Francisco.
After drawing two technical fouls and getting ejected from Golden State’s 102-100 loss to the Hornets last week, Green bounced back with the most assists by a Warrior since Baron Davis also had 19 against the Memphis Grizzlies in January 2008. The 19 assists tied the NBA season high, set last week by Phoenix’s Chris Paul at New Orleans.
Charlotte rookie LaMelo Ball, playing his first NBA game in his home state of California, accumulated 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Hornets lost for the second time in three stops on their six-game trip.
Toronto Raptors 122 – Houston Rockets 111
Kyle Lowry had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Norman Powell had 30 points and host Toronto sent Houston to its 10th straight loss in the game played in Tampa.
Lowry recorded his 16th career triple-double as a Raptor as the Rockets took their 10th straight loss. The Raptors were without Pascal Siakam, coach Nick Nurse and five assistant coaches because of health and safety protocols. Assistant coach Sergio Scariolo took Nurse’s place on the bench.
Fred VanVleet added 25 points for the Raptors, who had lost their two previous games. Victor Oladipo had 27 points for Houston and John Wall had 21 points and 12 assists.
Phoenix Suns 106 – Chicago Bulls 97
Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton scored 22 points apiece, and visiting Phoenix rallied to end Chicago’s three-game winning streak.
Chris Paul added 14 points and 15 assists for Phoenix, which notched its 13th win in the past 16 games. Chicago-area native Frank Kaminsky added 15 points off the bench for the Suns.
Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 24 points. Coby White scored 19 points and Thaddeus Young had 13 points and 10 boards for Chicago.
Los Angeles Clippers 119 – Memphis Grizzlies 99
Kawhi Leonard’s 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists helped Los Angeles flip the script on host Memphis. The Grizzlies had routed the Clippers 122-94 on Thursday.
Lou Williams recovered from a nine-point effort in 20 minutes on Thursday by scoring 17 points for Los Angeles. The Clippers shot 55 percent overall, made 14 of 35 3-point attempts and had 34 assists on 44 made field goals.
Jonas Valanciunas, who played through a sore left thigh, managed 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Ja Morant finished with 20 points but was ejected after getting two technical fouls with 2:18 to play.
Sacramento Kings 110 – Detroit Pistons 107
De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points to lead Sacramento to a win over host Detroit to end a nine-game losing streak.
Harrison Barnes scored 21 points, and Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes each added 19 for Sacramento. Holmes also grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds.
Jerami Grant scored a game-high 30 points, and Saddiq Bey and Dennis Smith Jr. each added 17 points for the Pistons, who have lost five of six.
Oklahoma City Thunder 118 – Atlanta Hawks 109
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points to help host Oklahoma City to a win over Atlanta.
Gilgeous-Alexander was 9 of 16 from the floor. He is averaging 31 points over his last four games. The Thunder had 31 assists, one off their season high. Theo Maledon’s 12 assists marked the most by an NBA rookie this season, and Maledon tied Russell Westbrook for Oklahoma City’s rookie record for assists in a game.
John Collins led Atlanta with 25 points, scoring 12 in the first quarter. Trae Young and Clint Capela added 17 each. Young, still searching for his first pro win in his home state, was just 7 of 21 from the field.
–Field Level Media
