Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Washington — Chris Paul scored 23 points, reserve Jamal Crawford added 21 and the Los Angeles Clippers again overcame Blake Griffin’s absence, beating the Washington Wizards 108-91 on Monday night.
DeAndre Jordan had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who got 54 points from the substitutes in their third straight win — second since Griffin was ruled out for at least two weeks with a quadriceps strain.
Even the 6-foot Paul helped make up for the loss of Griffin inside with a rare two-dunk performance. The Clippers never trailed and led by at least 10 throughout the last three quarters.
Hornets 108, Lakers 98
Charlotte, n.c. — Kemba Walker scored 18 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, and Charlotte defeated Los Angeles in Kobe Bryant’s final game against the team that drafted him — and promptly traded him — nearly 20 years ago.
Cody Zeller had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Nicolas Batum added 15 points and 11 assists for the Hornets, who have won two straight.
Bryant, who received a taped message from Hornets owner Michael Jordan before the game, finished with 20 points on 5-of-20 shooting. He had only three points in the second half, making just one of 10 shots.
Nets 111, Heat 105
Miami — Wayne Ellington tied a career best with seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points, Brook Lopez added 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Brooklyn rallied from 16 points down in the third quarter to beat Miami.
Jarrett Jack scored 18 for the Nets, who had lost seven consecutive games to the Heat going back to the 2014 playoffs. Shane Larkin had seven assists in the third quarter alone to spark Brooklyn’s comeback, its biggest of the season.
Magic 104, Pelicans 89
Orlando, Fla. — Nik Vucevic scored 28 points and matched his career high with seven assists, leading Orlando over the New Orleans.
Anthony Davis led the Pelicans with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Pacers 93, Hawks 87
Indianapolis — Monta Ellis scored 26 points and Indiana beat Atlanta, ending the Hawks’ six-game winning streak.
Ellis had 15 points in the first half, and Ian Mahinmi finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
With the Pacers leading by three, Ellis pulled up for a 3-point attempt with 16 seconds to play. The ball bounced off the rim, but Mahinmi was waiting for a tip-in that gave Indiana a five-point lead.
Bulls 104, Raptors 97
Chicago — Tony Snell and Pau Gasol each had 22 points, Derrick Rose added 20 and Chicago pulled away late.
Snell, who was back in the rotation because of an injury to Doug McDermott, had 19 points in the final 17½ minutes to spark the Bulls.
Aaron Brooks had 17 points and rookie Bobby Portis added 12 as the Chicago reserves outscored their counterparts 51-27.