Spurs beat Hornets behind 17 from Aldridge, Gasol
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge each had 17 points and seven rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs held the Charlotte Hornets to 37 percent shooting in a 106-86 victory on Saturday night.
Rudy Gay added 15 points for the Spurs, who snapped Charlotte's three-game home win streak.
The Hornets entered the game 7-2 at the Spectrum Center, but shot just 22 percent from the field in the first half, fell behind by 11 at halftime and could never make a serious run at the Spurs.
Kemba Walker, who left the game briefly in the third quarter with a left shoulder injury, returned to finish with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He didn't get much help as Charlotte's four other starters - Nic Batum, Dwight Howard, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marvin Williams - were a combined 6 of 29 from the field.
CELTICS 108, PACERS 98
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Kyrie Irving scored 25 points and Al Horford added 21 to lead Boston over Indiana.
Boston (18-3) outscored Indiana 37-16 in the third quarter to turn a nine-point deficit into an 82-70 lead entering the final quarter. Horford had 12 points during a period that saw Indiana record two three-minute scoring droughts.
The Pacers (11-9) were led by Myles Turner, who had 19 points but spent much of the night in foul trouble. Lance Stephenson had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Damontas Sabonis had 17 points and eight boards.
Victor Oladipo, leading Indiana with 22.9 points per game, did not play for the first time this season. He sat with a bruised right knee sustained in Friday's 107-104 win over Toronto.
WARRIORS 110, PELICANS 95
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Stephen Curry bounced back after an 0-for-10 start and scored 14 of his 27 points in the third quarter, Klay Thompson added 24 points and Golden State held on to beat New Orleans.
Draymond Green had six points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors. Andre Iguodala added 14 points.
Golden State won its second in two nights without NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant. Durant sat out for the third time in four games with a sprained left ankle.
Anthony Davis had 30 points and 15 rebounds for New Orleans, which had won three straight. Jrue Holiday added 24 points, including 17 in the first quarter. DeMarcus Cousins scored 15 points with seven rebounds.
MAVERICKS 97, THUNDER 81
DALLAS (AP) - Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 19 points, rookie Dennis Smith held his own against Russell Westbrook on the rookie guard's 20th birthday and Dallas beat Oklahoma City.
A night after blowing a 15-point lead in the second half of a one-point loss to Detroit that followed a dominant win over Kevin Durant and Golden State, the Thunder fell behind for good in the first quarter of the best performance of the season from the suddenly surging Mavericks.
Smith finished with 15 points and four assists while Westbrook had 28 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Carmelo Anthony finished with 16 points, while Paul George scored just two points on 1-of-12 shooting but had a game-high 10 assists for the Thunder.
76ERS 130, MAGIC 111
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - J.J. Redick hit eight 3-pointers and scored 29 points, and Philadelphia cruised without the injured Ben Simmons past skidding Orlando.
Joel Embiid shook off a cold to score 18 points and grab 14 rebounds and T.J. McConnell had 15 points and 13 assists filling in at point guard for Simmons, who missed his first game of the season with swelling in his left elbow.
Redick hit six first-half 3s, four coming in the final 3:10 of the second quarter, as the Sixers built a 70-55 halftime lead.
Elfrid Payton had 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in another miserable defensive performance for the Magic, who have lost eight straight.
TRAIL BLAZERS 108, WIZARDS 105
WASHINGTON (AP) - C.J. McCollum scored 26 points, including seven straight during a 10-0 game-closing run, and Portland overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat short-handed Washington.
Damian Lillard scored 29 points for Portland, which won for a second consecutive night on the East Coast in dramatic fashion after a 127-125 victory at Brooklyn on Friday.
Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points and Noah Vonleh grabbed 10 rebounds for the Blazers.
Bradley Beal scored 26 points and Otto Porter added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Washington in the first game of what the team expects to be a two-week stretch without All-Star point guard John Wall.
ROCKETS 117, KNICKS 102
HOUSTON (AP) - James Harden had 37 points and 10 assists as Houston rallied from an early deficit to beat New York.
The Rockets erased New York's early 22-point lead by making 18 3-pointers and getting 44 points from their bench, led by 17 from Ryan Anderson.
New York starters Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter sat out the game because of back ailments, and Michael Beasley and Kyle O'Quinn started. Beasley had a season-high 30 points, while O'Quinn had his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
RAPTORS 112, HAWKS 78
ATLANTA (AP) - Norman Powell scored 17 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 16 and Toronto blew out Atlanta.
Toronto dominated the game so completely that it needed just 28 minutes from DeMar DeRozan, one of the NBA's most prolific scorers. DeRozan handed out a game-high eight assists and finished with just two points on 1-for-5 shooting before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Kyle Lowry had 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as the Raptors snapped a two-game skid. Seven players finished in double figures for the Raptors.
Dennis Schroder scored 14 points and Taurean Prince and Marco Belinelli each had 10 for the Hawks. Atlanta was coming off Friday's rally to beat New York, but it had nothing left after leading by one point late in the first quarter.
JAZZ 121, BUCKS 108
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points and Utah made a season-high 18 3-pointers in a victory over Milwaukee.
Mitchell had 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Jazz broke open the game open and finished with a season-best 56.8 percent shooting from the field.
Rodney Hood scored 21 and Derrick Favors added 16 for the Jazz, who have defeated the Bucks seven times in a row.
Giannis Antetokoumnpo had 27 points and 13 rebounds after missing the last game with a sore knee, but showed frustration several times during the contest as the Bucks played from behind most of the game.
CLIPPERS 97, KINGS 95
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Blake Griffin made a 10-foot jumper with 3.2 seconds remaining and had a season-high 33 points to lead the Clippers over Sacramento.
The Clippers squandered a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead, but Griffin sent them home from their five-game road trip with a pair of victories.
Lou Williams made four 3-pointers and had 18 points for the Clippers, who have beat the Kings 10 straight times in Sacramento. Austin Rivers added 14 points and DeAndre Jordan had 16 rebounds.
Buddy Hield had career highs of seven 3-pointers and 35 points for the Kings. Hield missed a wild, running left-handed shot at the buzzer.
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