Zion Williamson injured in Pelicans’ loss to Jazz
Lauri Markkanen scored 31 points, and Kelly Olynyk made a layup with 3.1 seconds left in overtime as the visiting Utah Jazz defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 122-121 on Sunday night.
Markkanen added 12 rebounds, Olynyk finished with 20 points, Jordan Clarkson scored 18, and Jarred Vanderbilt added 15 points as the Jazz prevailed in a pairing of teams that had both won their first two games.
CJ McCollum had 28 points and 12 assists to lead the Pelicans, who overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit to force the extra period despite losing Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson to injury.
Williamson scored 25 points before going to the bench for good midway through the fourth quarter after taking a hard fall and having his hip or back checked by trainers. Trey Murphy III had 16, and Larry Nance Jr. and Ingram had ten. Ingram, who had scored 28 points in the Pelicans’ first two games, left the game for good after colliding with a teammate early in the second quarter.
Suns 112, Clippers 95
Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (22) gets a rebound against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Devin Booker scored 35 points, and Chris Paul added 11 assists against his former team as visiting Phoenix earned a victory over Los Angeles.
Deandre Ayton added 13 points for the Suns, who led by as many as 22 while returning from an overtime defeat at Portland on Friday. Marcus Morris Sr. scored 22 points, and John Wall added 17 for the Clippers.
With his first two assists of the game, Paul reached 11,000 for his career. The milestone pass led to an alley-oop dunk by Ayton as Paul became the first player in NBA history with at least 20,000 points and 11,000 assists.
Trail Blazers 106, Lakers 104
Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) shoots the ball against Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) during the fourth quarter in game five of the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jerami Grant made a driving layup with three seconds left and, visiting Portland, held on for a win against Los Angeles.
LeBron James missed a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer for the Lakers, who are 0-3 for the second time since James arrived in Los Angeles before the 2018-19 season.
Damian Lillard scored 41 points, and Grant had 16 for Portland, which is 3-0 for the first time since 2011. James had 31 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, Anthony Davis had 22 points and ten rebounds, and Lonnie Walker IV scored 15 points for the Lakers.
Cavaliers 117, Wizards 107 (OT)
Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards guard Delon Wright (55) during the second half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points to lift host Cleveland to an overtime victory over Washington.
Mitchell has a franchise-record three straight games of at least 30 points to start the season. Cedi Osman scored 16 points off the bench, and Jarrett Allen collected 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who played their second straight game without All-Star guard Darius Garland (eye).
Bradley Beal scored 27 points, and Kristaps Porzingis added 18 and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who sustained their first-season loss.
Hornets 126, Hawks 109
Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Charlotte Hornets forward Gordon Hayward (20) is defended by Atlanta Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter (12) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Short-handed Charlotte got a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds from Nick Richards as it beat host Atlanta.
Richards was one of six players to score in double figures for the Hornets, who were playing without leading scorer Terry Rozier (right ankle sprain), Cody Martin (left quad soreness), and LaMelo Ball (left ankle sprain). The Hornets also got 24 points and ten rebounds from Kelly Oubre Jr. and 18 points from Dennis Smith Jr.
Atlanta was led by Trae Young with 28 points and nine assists and Dejounte Murray with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Timberwolves 116, Thunder 106
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) dribbles the ball around Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) during the second half at Paycom Center. Minnesota won 116-106. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Anthony Edwards scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Minnesota over host Oklahoma City.
Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15. Gobert was 7-for-8 from inside the arc.
The Thunder were without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who suffered a hip contusion late in Saturday’s loss to Denver. Luguentz Dort led the Thunder with 20 points but was just 6 of 15 from the field. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 15 points.
Warriors 130, Kings 125
San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) dribbles against Sacramento Kings guards Terence Davis (3, left) and Malik Monk (0) during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Stephen Curry scored 28 of his game-high 33 points in a record-setting first half, and Golden State outlasted visiting Sacramento in Mike Brown’s return to San Francisco.
Brown, in turn, witnessed a fireworks show in the first half, in which the Warriors outscored the Kings 89-71. The first-half points explosion included a franchise-record 50 by the Warriors in the second period. Curry had six 3-pointers to account for most of his 28 points in the first two periods, contributing to the 89 first-half points, which were the fifth-most in the history of the NBA. Curry finished with 33 points for the game.
The Kings also had four players in double figures in the first-half shootout. De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 26 points, followed by Domantas Sabonis with 19.
–Field Level Media
