Darius Garland scored 24 points and dished out 10 assists, Brook Lopez added 20 points and the Los Angeles Clippers ended a seven-game losing streak with a 139-123 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif.
Gradey Dick scored a season-high 15 points and rookie Keaton Wagler added 15 as the Clippers committed a season-low 11 turnovers, well below their NBA-worst average of 20.1 entering the game.
The Clippers shot a season-high 54.8percentfrom the floor and 42.1percent from 3-point range in their highest-scoring game of the season.
Trey Murphy III scored 26 points, while Zion Williamson and Jeremiah Fears each scored 25 points as the Pelicans lost the opener of a two-game West Coast road trip. Saddiq Bey added 13 points for New Orleans, which committed 17 turnovers and had 23 assists compared with 34 for Los Angeles. The Clippers led by as many as 13 in the second quarter before the Pelicans went on an 18-10 run to open the second half. The Clippers moved back in front 94-93 on a Kobe Sanders 3-pointer with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter and never trailed again.
Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 14 rebounds as the visiting Miami Heat beat the Sacramento Kings 114-108 on Sunday night. Klay Thompson made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points for Miami, which shot 41.9% (18-for-43) from beyond the arc and won for the second time in its last three games. Bam Adebayo added 18 points and eight rebounds, Davion Mitchell added 17 points and matched his season high with 11 assists, and Pelle Larsson finished with 11 points.
Darius Acuff Jr. led Sacramento with 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting and added 10 assists. Zach LaVine scored 15, De’Andre Hunter added 14, Keegan Murray had 10 and Precious Achiuwa grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds.
Sacramento fell to 1-9 overall and has lost five straight at home. The Kings trailed for the entire second half but cut the deficit to 104-101 on Acuff’s two free throws with 3:53 left.
Sacramento would get no closer, and Antetokounmpo helped seal the victory with a jumper to put the Heat ahead 112-105 with 59.1 seconds remaining. Paul George scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 21 as the Boston Celtics overcame a slow start to defeat the host Milwaukee Bucks 117-97 on Sunday.—Reuters.
