NBA-best Thunder end skid while Kawhi hits career-high 55

NBA

Washington –  Chet Holmgren scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead reigning champion Oklahoma City over Philadelphia 129-104 on Sunday, snapping a two-game losing streak.

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 27 points, five assists, two steals and two rebounds as the Thunder improved to 27-5.
“We just did a good job getting back to our style of play and our standards,” Thunder reserve Andrew Wiggins said. “We did a good job just course correcting.
“Wiggins scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Thunder, who lost four of their prior six games, three of them to San Antonio.”We had good recovery days and good practice and were just a little more disciplined within the way we want to play,” said Wiggins.
“Did a good job making the right plays and sticking to it the entire game.”Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, had the biggest night, scoring a career-high 55 points in his team’s 112-99 home victory over Eastern Conference leader Detroit.”It was great,” Leonard said. “I’ve got to stay in focus and stay in the zen because we’ve got one day off and games for about two weeks.

“I’m going to enjoy this one tonight and happy we got the win.”

The Clippers (10-21) boosted their winning streak to four games as Leonard surpassed his prior NBA best of 45 points while with Toronto.

Leonard had 51 points by the end of the third quarter as the Clippers routed the Pistons, who own the NBA’s second-best record at 24-8.

Leonard shot 17-of-26 from the floor, 5-of-10 from three-point range and 16-of-17 from the free throw line while contributing 11 rebounds, five steals, three blocked shots and two assists.

James Harden added 28 points for the Clippers while Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 27 points.

Toronto’s Scottie Barnes delivered a triple double with 23 points, 10 assists and a career-high and club record-tying 25 rebounds to lead the Raptors over visiting Golden State 141-127 in overtime.

Immanuel Quickley scored 27 points and Brandon Ingram added 26 to lead Toronto while Stephen Curry scored a game-high 39 points for the Warriors, whose three-game win streak was snapped.

Quickley scored five points in overtime while Barnes and Ingram each added four for Toronto, which opened the extra session on a 10-0 run and never looked back.

Lakers beat Kings 

NBA scoring leader Luka Doncic netted 34 points and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated visiting Sacramento 125-101.

LeBron James added 24 points for the Lakers while Nick Smith had 21 off the bench and DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 22 points.

At Portland, the host Trail Blazers got 26 points from Shaedon Sharpe, 24 points and 10 assists from Deni Avdija and 18 points and 18 rebounds from Donovan Clingan in a 114-108 victory over Boston.

Derrick White’s three-pointer lifted the Celtics within 109-108 but Clingan answered with a three-point play and Boston never scored again.

Jaylen Brown scored 37 points for the Celtics, whose four-game win streak was snapped.

Alex Sarr’s 20 points led eight Washington scorers in double figures as the Wizards beat visiting Memphis 116-112.

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Source: AFP

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