NBA Raptors deny Spurs’ Popovich 1,000th career win
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TORONTO — James Johnson scored a season-high 20 points in his return to the starting lineup, DeMar DeRozan had 18 and the Toronto Raptors beat San Antonio 87-82 Sunday night, denying Spurs coach Gregg Popovich his 1,00th career victory.
Amir Johnson added 15 points, Kyle Lowry 12 and Jonas Valanciunas had a season-high 16 rebounds as Toronto improved to 8-2 at home against Western Conference opponents. The Raptors snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Spurs and won for the first time in five home meetings.
Tim Duncan and Marco Belinelli each scored 12 points, Kawhi Leonard had 11 and Tony Parker 10 as the Spurs shot 31 for 93 (.333), their worst performance of the season. San Antonio’s previous low was .344 at Houston on Nov. 6 in a 98-81 defeat.
Parker’s 3 tied it at 75-all at 5:02, and Duncan made a pair of free throws at 3:40 to give San Antonio its first lead of the fourth quarter.
Lowry tied it again with a fadeaway jumper but Belinelli’s 3 at 2:20 restored San Antonio’s advantage.
James Johnson scored a layup, Parker answered with a hook shot but Amir Johnson’s dunk at 1:33 cut it to 82-81.
After the Spurs turned it over on a shot-clock violation, James Johnson hit a 3 with 49 seconds left, putting Toronto up 84-82.
Manu Ginobili and Belinelli both missed 3s and James Johnson was fouled as he grabbed the rebound on Lowry’s miss at the other end, making one of two with four seconds remaining.
Trail Blazers 109, Rockets 98
HOUSTON — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points and Damian Lillard added 23 to help the Portland Trail Blazers fight off a late charge from the Houston Rockets for a victory.
James Harden tied a season high with 45 points for the Rockets, who are playing without star center Dwight Howard, out indefinitely with knee swelling.
The Trail Blazers led by 17 in the second half, but a big third quarter helped Houston to a slim lead early in the fourth quarter. Portland scored seven straight points to break a tie and take a 92-85 lead midway through the period, with five points from Meyers Leonard in that stretch.
Pacers 103, Hornets 102
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — George Hill’s baseline layup with 4.9 seconds left lifted the Indiana Pacers to a come-from-behind victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
C.J. Watson had 22 points and David West, Luis Scola and Rodney Stuckey each had 15 as the Pacers came back from 21 points down in the third quarter to get their third straight win.
Al Jefferson had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and Brian Roberts added 19 points in the loss.
After Marvin Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to put the Hornets up by one, Hill drove the right side of the line. He got underneath the basket, turned around to find himself alone near the low block and converted the easy layup for the go-ahead basket.
Grizzlies 94, Hawks 88
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Mike Conley had 21 points and six assists, Marc Gasol finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Atlanta Hawks.
The game was tied at 86 after Mike Scott’s 3-pointer with 3:24 left before Memphis scored the next eight points to put away the game.
Zach Randolph had 11 points and 15 rebounds, while Kosta Koufos finished with 10 points and seven rebounds as Memphis outrebounded the Hawks 55-37.
One of those rebounds provided the tiebreaking basket, with Tony Allen tipping in Randolph’s miss to make it 88-86 with 2:28 remaining.
Bulls 98, Magic 97
ORLANDO, Fla. — Pau Gasol dunked in the rebound of Derrick Rose’s missed layup with 9.4 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls rallied for a victory over the Orlando Magic.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 27 points, and Gasol finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Joakim Noah added 18 points and nine rebounds.
Chicago led by as many as 16 points, before finding itself in a six-point hole with just over 2 minutes to play.
The Magic had two opportunities to win the game in the closing seconds. But Nik Vucevic’s hook rolled off the rim, and Tobias Harris overshot a potential game-winning tip-in as time expired.
Cavaliers 120, Lakers 105
CLEVELAND — Kevin Love scored a season-high 32 points, LeBron James flirted with a triple-double and the Cleveland Cavaliers quickly got back to winning with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavs had their 12-game winning streak snapped Friday, a run that started when they beat the Lakers on Jan. 15. This time, Love made five 3-pointers in the second quarter and two more in the third as Cleveland opened a 26-point lead.
James scored 22 with 10 rebounds and eight assists in three quarters. All-Star guard Kyrie Irving added 28 points and 10 assists.
Rookie Jordan Clarkson scored a career-high 20 for the Lakers, who matched a franchise worst with their 10th straight road loss. Los Angeles hasn’t won away from Staples Center since Dec. 30 at Denver. The Lakers also lost 10 in a row on the road in 1957-58 and 1963-64.
Thunder 131, Clippers 108
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kevin Durant scored 29 points to lead the Thunder to a win over the Los Angeles Clippers, who were without All-Star Blake Griffin.
The Clippers announced before the game that Griffin will be out indefinitely because of a staph infection in his right elbow. Without him, the Clippers fell to their most lopsided loss of the season.
