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ESPN And WatchESPN: Rockets-Timberwolves; Lakers-Mavericks Live

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HOUSTON, TX — ESPN and WatchESPN will provide live streaming coverage of two NBA games on Friday night.

Houston Rockets will play host to Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks will visit the Los Angeles Lakers in the All-Western Conference encounters on the night.

The Rockets (44-13), who are 23-6 at home, take on the struggling Mavericks, seeking to extend their current winning form, having won 10 straight entering this game.

Tip-off on ESPN for this game is set for 8:00 pm ET with WatchESPN also streaming the action.

Houston is led by one of the MVP frontrunners, James Harden, who is averaging 31.3 points, 9.0 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game this season.

Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets
Chris Paul of the Houston Rockets

Chris Paul, with 19.2 points, 8.3 assists and 5.7 rebounds this season, as well as Clint Capela, who is averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11 rebounds, are also some of the other players making an impact his season

Eric Gordon, Gerald Green, Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson are also scoring in double figures this term.

Meanwhile, Minnesota, which sits fourth in the Western Conference standings, but leads the Northwest Standings ahead of Oklahoma City.

The Timberwolves (36-25) beat the Lakers in the last outing and are 5-5 in the last 10 games.

They lost the two previous meetings with the Rockets this season, including a 116-98 defeat in Houston on Jan. 18.

Jimmy Butler leads the team in scoring, with 22.4 points per game, while Karl-Anthony Towns, who is scoring 20.2 points per game, leads the club in rebounds, with 12.1 per contest.

Four other players are scoring in double figures for the T-Wolves this season.

Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers
Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers goes for layup

In the night’s second game, Dallas Mavericks will visit the Los Angeles Lakers, live at 10:30 pm.

ESPN will have the television broadcast from this game at STAPLES Centre, with WatchESPN also streaming the action.

Dallas (18-40) has dropped four of the last five games and eight of its last 10.

But it’s the off the court issues that have not made the bulk of headlines for the Texas-based franchise, which is going on the road with a 7-21 record this term.

An unsatisfactory campaign was hit by further setbacks of the last 10 days.

Negative reports focused on off the court issues involving a Sports Illustrated report claiming the franchise has a hostile workplace for women and team owner Mark Cuban’s comments that his club should tank the remainder of its fixtures, has diverted the media from basketball.

Los Angeles (23-34) comes into this game with losing three straight and is 5-5 over the last 10 games.

The Lakers are expected to have rookie point guard Lonzo Ball back for the game on Friday night.

Ball has been out for nearly six weeks because of injury, but the team is expecting the ball handler to make his return to a Lakers side that was shaken up on trade deadline day.

Harden, Rockets Knock-out Mavs In Game 5

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James Harden of Houston Rockets reacts. Linked Photos

HOUSTON (Sporting Alert) — MVP candidate James Harden scored 28 points and Josh Smith added 20 off the bench and the Houston Rockets beat the Mavericks 103-94 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Houston, after losing Game 4 and missed out on the sweep, won the series 4-1 after the latest result.

Harden, who shot 9-of-19 from the field and connected on four of his three-point attempts, also dished out eight assists for the Rockets, who secured their first playoff series win since 2009.

“It means a lot (to win the series),” Harden said. “We have a lot of guys banged up.

“Guys have been in and out of the lineup but guys competed and battled through it, and that’s what makes this more special.”

Smith went 7-of-12 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds, with Dwight Howard adding 18 points, 19 rebounds, four steals and four blocks and Terrence Jones scoring 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for Houston in the victory.

Monta Ellis paced the Mavericks with 25 points, seven assists and four steals, but committed six turnovers in the defeat.

“Our fans and our organization are really proud of how we battled, and I certainly am,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.

“It’s always disappointing when it’s over but we did some good things this year, and we’re proud of our guys.”

Dirk Nowitzki was just 8-of-23 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range, but finished with 22 points and 14 boards for Dallas, which shot 35-of-92 for 38.0 percent from the floor and just 5-of-26 from long-range on the night.

Houston gave up 27 points off 21 turnovers, but outscored the Mavs 52-36 in the paint.

The injured hit Mavericks played without Chandler Parsons, who was out with a right knee problem. The forward has been sidelined since playing close to 40-minutes in Game 1, while Richard Jefferson and Raymond Felton saw no game time on Tuesday night.

Houston Rockets now await the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs series.

Game 5: Clippers vs San Antonio Live Stream: TNT Overtime

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LOS ANGELES (Sporting Alert) — The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers face-off in a pivotal Game 5 of the Western Conference quarterfinals series on Tuesday night.

TNT Overtime will provide live streaming coverage of this game from LA, starting at 9:30 CT.

San Antonio and LA Clippers are locked at 2-2 in the series and the two Western Conference powerhouses are determined to take a step closer of eliminating each other and move on to the conference semis.

In Game 4 on Sunday, Chris Paul scored 34 points and seven assists in the Clippers’ 114-105 victory and the All-Star point guard hopes the team can continue that run in the fifth game.

Paul also admitted that they do not want a repeat of the 100-73 performance that ended in a disappointing defeat in Game 3 on Friday.

“We tried to come out aggressive, on both ends, offensively and defensively,” he told the team’s official website.

“We’ve got to find a way to not let things like Game 3 happen for us, and respond like this. The great teams come out that way regardless, and hopefully we learned something.”

Paul was well supported on Sunday by Blake Griffin, who ended with 20 points and 19 rebounds, while DeAndre Jordan finished with 14 boards and four blocks for Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, the defending champions San Antonio knows that the Clippers do not have a good record when playing in Game 5 and 6.

In fact, according to ESPN Stats, Doc Rivers side is 1-7 in Games 5 and 6 since returning to the playoffs in 2012 and the travelers will look to take advantage of that disastrous run.

Kawhi Leonard was the main contributor for the Spurs in Game 4 with 26 points, while Tim Duncan added 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in the defeat.

San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich was happy with Leonard’s offensive contribution, but the veteran coach expects more from the Defensive Player of the Year along with Danny Green, in guarding the Clippers’ players, especially J.J. Redick, who shot 50 percent from the field in Game 4 after struggling in Game 3.

“No matter who we had on him, both Kawhi and Danny, didn’t do a very good job of playing him the way he needs to be played,” Popovich said.

“So he had the better of them through the whole evening for sure.”

Also in action on Tuesday night, is the Game 5 battle between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.

The Mavericks (1-3) are in a win or go home situation on Tuesday night and they will need another demanding performance like Game 4 if they are to extend their season.

Monta Ellis inspired the Mavs with 31 points, while J.J. Barea added 17 and Dirk Nowitzki and Al-Farouq Aminu each finished with 16 in the victory.

Highlights: Stephen Curry Scores 51 Points In Warriors Win Over Mavs

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Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry (R) and Klay Thompson after Warriors win over the Mavs. Photo Linked

OAKLAND, Calif. (Sporting Alert, Box Score | Photo Gallery) — Stephen Curry scored 36 of his 51 points in the second half to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 128-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Video Highlights of Curry Scoring 51 points for Warriors v Mavericks

In fact, Curry, who buried 10-of-16 from three-point range and 16-of-26 from the field overall, scored 26 of his total points in the third quarter, as Golden State (39-8) rallied from an early 22-point deficit to secure victory in the Western Conference showdown.

“If I had any kind of daylight off the pick-and-roll, I was going to shoot it,” Curry told reporters after the win. “I had a good feel and a good rhythm.”

Winning head coach Steve Kerr was full of praise for Curry, who was scoring a season-high points and netting the second highest points scored in any quarter this term.

His 26 points in the 3rd quarter was also a career-high for the All-Star point guard in any quarter.

“Sometimes Steph plays his best when we’re down big and he just senses that he has to put the Superman cape on,” Kerr said.

“And he’s so good at it. He loves the freedom of being down and saying, ‘All right. I’m going to let it fly and bring us back.’ And that’s what he did.”

Klay Thompson added 18 points and five assists, Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa each finished with 14 points, while Harrison Barnes collected 12 points and six rebounds in the win for the Warriors, who trailed 42-25 after the first quarter.

Chandler Parsons paced the Dallas Mavericks (33-18) with 24 points, and Tyson Chandler collected 21 points and 17 rebounds in the defeat.

Dirk Nowitzki was held to just 4-of-15 from the floor for 15 points, Monta Ellis scored 14 points and Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 points and seven rebounds for the visitors in Oakland.

J.J. Barea ended with 10 points, five assists and four boards for the Mavericks, who were without Rajon Rondo for the third game in a row. The star point guard remains out indefinitely with a broken orbital bone in his left eye and a fractured nose.

Golden State, which sealed its third successive win on Wednesday night, shot 52 percent on 45-of-86 shooting from the field, as well as going 19-of-38 from behind the arc for 50-percent.

Dallas’ quick start saw them rushing off to a stunning 24-4 lead to take control of the game with 5:13 left in the first quarter before Curry got going.

Up next for the Mavericks is a trip to Sacramento to take on the Kings on Thursday, while the Warriors are at Atlanta on Friday.

Results from Wednesday, February 4

Indiana 114, Detroit 109
Atlanta 105, Washington 96
Boston 104, Denver 100
Brooklyn 109, Toronto 93
Houston 101, Chicago 90
Milwaukee 113, LA Lakers 105 (OT)
Minnesota 102, Miami 101
Oklahoma City 102, New Orleans 91
San Antonio 110, Orlando 103
Memphis 100, Utah 90
Golden State 128, Dallas 114

Atlanta Hawks Beat Portland Trail Blazers, 105-99; Streak At 18

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ATLANTA (Sporting Alert) — Paul Millsap scored 21 points and led five of his teammates into double-digit scoring and the Atlanta Hawks secured a 105-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Millsap, who shot 6-of-14 from the floor, also grabbed eight rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes of action on the court, as the Hawks extended its win streak to 18 straight games.

Al Horford had 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks for an all-round package, while Kyle Korver finished with 16 points and six boards in the victory for Atlanta, which shot 47.6 percent on 40-84 shooting.

Jeff Teague added 13 points, eight assists and seven boards, with Kent Bazemore collecting 12 points off the bench for the Hawks (39-8, 22-3 home), who replaced the Golden State Warriors as the club with the best record in the NBA this season.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for the Trail Blazers with 37 points on 15-of-24 shooting. The All-Star forward also pulled down 11 rebounds on the night.

“This Hawks teams is good,” Aldridge admitted. “We could have played better, but they’re good.

“Defensively, they’re definitely better than what people think.”

Wesley Matthews finished with 16 points and Damian Lillard ended with 13 points and 11 assists for Portland (32-15, 12-10 away).

The Trail Blazers, who ended the night shooting 44.8 percent from the floor, were suffering back-to-back defeats after going down 99-94 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

The team has also dropped four of the last five games and seven in the last nine.

At the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, FL, the Charlie Villanueva connected on 6 of his 11 three-point attempts to score a season-high 20 points and lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 93-72 victory over the Miami Heat, which played without Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng.

Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis each finished with 12 points, while Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 13 boards for Dallas (31-17, 17-9 away).

Hassan Whiteside, who pulled down 10 rebounds in the opening four-minutes, collected 24 overall and scored 16 points for the Heat, who led 45-32 at halftime, but scored just 27 points in the last two quarters.

James Ennis had 15 points, Chris Bosh contributed 12 and Mario Chalmers scored 10 for Miami (20-26, 8-15 home), which sits seventh in the Eastern Conference Standings.

ESPN Sources: Forward Josh Smith To Join Rockets

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MIAMI (Sporting Alert) — Free agent Josh Smith is set to join the Houston Rockets, according to reports from ESPN.com sources on Wednesday morning.

Smith, who was waived by the Detroit Pistons on Monday, with two years and closed to $26 million remaining on his contract, has been on the lookout for a team that can win an NBA title and it is understood that the Rockets have the best deal to offer and have ‎”assured the player that he would start.”

The experienced forward had been linked with the Miami Heat as well, but according to ESPN’s NBA analyst Chris Broussard, the 29-year-old has decided to move to Texas instead.

Dallas Mavericks, who recently landed All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo from the Boston Celtics, were also in the running for Smith as they search for another big-man who is capable of creating his own shots and grab defensive rebounds.

Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings were believed to be in the running as well for the small forward, who scored 13 points and six rebounds in his last outing, which was a 110-105 defeat at the Brooklyn Nets last Sunday.

The ten-year veteran Smith, who has a career average of 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, was averaging 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.75 blocks per game with the Pistons this season.

He was shooting 39.1 percent from the field 153-of-391 attempts, while grabbing 202 total rebounds, including 150 at the defensive end from the 28 games he played for the Pistons.

Smith is averaging 32-minutes per game this campaign.

He will join an already star-studded Houston (20-7) side that also includes good friend and star center Dwight Howard, as well as the league’s leading scorer James Harden, who is averaging 27.0 points per game and is shooting 42.1 percent from the field.

The Rockets will take on the Memphis Grizzlies on the road on Friday night before traveling to face defending champions San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

FINAL SCORES: Lakers Win Again, NBA Scores on Nov. 19

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HOUSTON, TX (Sporting Alert) — A late turnover by LeBron James helped San Antonio beat Cleveland, while Wesley Johnson, Nick Young and Kobe Bryant hit late free throws and the Lakers win at the Rockets Wednesday night.

At the Toyota Center in Houston, Bryant scored 29 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds, while Jordan Hill and Young each added 16 points and the Los Angeles Lakers earned a battling 98-92 victory over the Houston Rockets. Hill also pulled down 10 boards in the win.

The victory saw the LA Lakers (3-9) picking up back-to-back wins for the first time this season, after making a depressing 1-9 start on the term.

“Look, we had a bad start,” Bryant told reporters after the win. “Are we a 3-9 team?

“No. We’re a much better team than that. We got off to a really bad start, but we’ll (get better).”

James Harden led the Rockets (9-3) with 24 points and seven assists, with Kostas Papanikolaou adding a season-high 19 points to go with six rebounds off the bench in the defeat.

Patrick Beverley scored 15 points and Trevor Ariza collected 13 points and seven boards for Houston, who were without All-Star center Dwight Howard, who withdrew from the contest late because of a strained right knee.

Carlos Boozer finished with a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds and Ed Davis ended with 11 valuable rebounds to go with his six points for Los Angeles, who will stay in Texas to play the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

JAMES TURNS IT OVER, CAVS LOSE TO SPURS

Meanwhile, at the Quicken Loans Arena, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were beaten 92-90 by defending champions San Antonio Spurs.

With the ball in his hand coming out of a timeout and his team down by two points, James lost the ball to Tim Duncan with 0:01 second left after he tried to dribble behind his back.

The four-time MVP immediately held his hand up and took the responsibility for the error as he and his Cavs teammates walked off the court.

“I went behind my back and just lost it,” James said after the game. “That’s how the ball rolls sometimes.”

James finished the game with 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds, but also had five turnovers in the defeat.

The Spurs (7-4) were led by Duncan, who scored 19 points, 10 rebounds three assists, two steals and two blocks and Boris Diaw, who grabbed scored 19 points, seven assists, six boards and three steals.

“The Cavs, what you see now, you can multiply by two or three,” San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said.

“They’re going to be one hell of a team. It’s a new system, new bodies.

“It doesn’t happen quickly. I’m glad we’re playing them now. They’re going to be a whole lot tougher later on in the year.”

Anderson Varejao scored 23 points and actively grabbed 11 rebounds and two blocks, with Kyrie Irving adding 20 points and Kevin Love supporting with 10 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the Cavs (5-5).

“We’ve got to continue to play, continue to watch film, continue to go over situations, continue to be in situations and you learn from it,” James noted.

“I think we learned from the game Monday and we came with a defensive mindset that we haven’t had this year against a very, very good team — a great team.”

In other NBA scores on Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Orlando Magic, 114-90, Boston Celtics handed the Philadelphia 76ers its 11th consecutive defeat of the season with a 101-90 results, Dallas Mavericks topped the Washington Wizards, 105-102, the New York Knicks fell 115-99 to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Milwaukee Bucks had a 122-118 triple overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

NBA SCORES, RECORDS AND RESULTS

Dallas Mavericks 105 (9-3), Washington Wizards 102 (7-3)
Toronto Raptors 96 (9-2), Memphis Grizzlies 92 (10-2)
Los Angeles Lakers 98 (3-9), Houston Rockets 92 (9-3)
San Antonio Spurs 92 (7-4), Cleveland Cavaliers 90 (5-5)
Milwaukee Bucks 122 (7-5), Brooklyn Nets 118 (4-7) 3OT
Phoenix Suns 88 (7-5), Detroit Pistons 86 (3-9)
Los Angeles Clippers 114 (6-4), Orlando Magic 90 (5-8)
Indiana Pacers 88 (5-7), Charlotte Hornets 86 (4-8)
Boston Celtics 101 (4-6), Philadelphia 76ers 90 (0-11)
Minnesota Timberwolves 115 (3-7), New York Knicks 99 (3-10)
Denver Nuggets 107 (4-7), Oklahoma City Thunders 100 (3-10)

Updated: Rockets Beat Duncan-less Spurs; Portland Cruised Past Mavs

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HOUSTON (Sporting Alert) — Dwight Howard poured in 32 points and 16 rebounds in guiding the Houston Rockets to a comfortable 98-81 win over an inferior San Antonio Spurs team at Toyota Center on Thursday night.

Howard had an easy night without any real big players to guard him and the center went 12-of-18 from the field and 8-of-13 from the free throw line for Houston (6-0), which beat a Spurs side that was playing without Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, who were both rested by coach Gregg Popovich.

Another key player, Tiago Splitter, also missed the came due to a right calf problem.

James Harden collected 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocks, while Jason Terry knocked down 4-of-5 from long range on his way to scoring 16 points in the win for the Rockets, which won its sixth consecutive game to start the season.

Cory Joseph scored 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting off the bench to lead the Spurs, who dropped to 2-2 on the season.

Aron Baynes had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Danny Green finished with 10 points in the defeat for San Antonio, which went 0-for-12 from three-point range in the 1st half.

Marco Belinelli missed the game with a strained right groin and he was replaced in the starting lineup by Matt Bonner, who scored just five points in the defeat.

All-star point guard Tony Paker was just 3-of-8 from the floor for six points in 26 minutes.

Both teams will have Friday night off, with the Spurs playing host the New Orleans on Saturday and the Rockets entertaining Golden State on the same night.

In the other NBA game played on the night, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds, while Damian Lillard added 18 points, including 10 in a dominant Portland fourth quarter and the Trail Blazers beat the Dallas Mavericks 108-87 at Moda Center.

Portland (3-2) also collected 13 points from C.J. McCollum and 12 points each from Wesley Matthews and Chris Kaman.

The Trail Blazers outscored the Mavericks 62-37 in the second quarter, including 35 points in the third.

“Coming out of the locker room (at halftime), we picked up our aggressiveness,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “There was a lot to like.”

Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 points to lead Dallas (3-2), with Monta Ellis finishing with 14 in the defeat.

“We couldn’t get the stops we needed as the game turned into a walk-up-the-court game and that’s not us,” Nowitzki said.

“We’ve got to get stops to get the ball moving.”

Dallas coach Rick Carlisle echoed Nowitzki’s views, adding that his team most also improve defensively.

“We have to get better fast at the defensive end,” Carlisle said.

“We have been doing a lot of good things, but our defense has been inconsistent. We have to make a stand there.”

He added: “Our first half was OK, but the second was very poor. I’m going to take responsibility for all of that.

“I have to do a better job getting these guys ready to play an entire 48 minutes. That’s where it’s at.”

Up next for the Mavericks is a trip to the Utah Jazz on Friday night, while the Trail Blazers, which had also dominated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers before Thursday’s win, travel to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

Lopez Returns To Lead Nets; Rockets Improve To 4-0 – NBA Scores

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NEW YORK (Sporting Alert) — The Brooklyn Nets jumped all over the Oklahoma City Thunder early and never let up on their way to a 116-85 victory at Barclays Center on Monday night.

Brook Lopez scored 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks and Alan Anderson scored 18 points off the bench to lead the way for Brooklyn (2-1).

“I can’t put it in words,” Lopez was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. “It was great to be back out there.

“I’ve missed it for a long time and our team definitely took care of business tonight. Our guys make it easy.”

“It was just good to see him have that bounce, explosion,” Kevin Garnett, who scored six points and six rebounds for the Nets said about Lopez’s return.

“We know he’s having foot problems. He’s playing through a lot, man. And like I’ve said, if we’re going to be anything, we’re going to need the big fellow.”

Deron Williams finished with 17 points and nine assists, Joe Johnson added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 12 points in the victory for the Nets, which shot 52 percent from the field.

Reggie Jackson, making his season debut after recovering from an injury, led the way for the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-high 23 points.

Perry Jones and Sebastian Telfair each had 16 points for the Thunder (1-3), who was dropping its third game on the road this season.

Serge Ibaka collected 15 points and nine boards in the defeat for Oklahoma City, which continues to be without the injured Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

OKC guard Andre Roberson left the game after playing just 11 minutes of the first half with a sprained left foot.

The short-handed Thunder will be back in action again on Wednesday night at Toronto on Tuesday, while the Brooklyn Nets play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

At the STAPLES Center, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Utah Jazz 107-101 to bounce back from the defeat to the Sacramento Kings.

Blake Griffin scored 31 points and nine rebounds and Jamal Crawford, back in the rotation after resting the last game, added 19 points and five assists off the bench for the Clippers (3-1).

Chris Paul collected a triple-double of 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds and Reggie Bullock hit 4-of-6 from three point range to score 12 points in the win.

Gordon Hayward poured in 27 points, and pulled down seven rebounds and five assists to lead the way for the Jazz (1-3). Enes Kanter added 17 points and nine boards and Alec Burks finished with 16 in the defeat for Utah.

Also on the night, James Harden scored 35 points, nine rebounds and five and Trevor Ariza added 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds and the Houston Rockets (4-0) picked up their fourth successive victory with a 104-93 result over the winless Philadelphia 76ers (0-4).

NBA SCORES AND RESULTS

Houston Rockets 104 (4-0), Philadelphia 76ers 93 (0-4)
Brooklyn Nets 116 (2-1), Oklahoma City Thunder 85 (1-3)
Memphis Grizzlies 93 (4-0), New Orleans Pelicans 81 (1-2)
Dallas Mavericks 118 (3-1), Boston Celtics 113 (1-2)
Sacramento Kings 110 (3-1), Denver Nuggets 105 (1-2)
Los Angeles Clippers 107 (2-1), Utah Jazz 101 (1-2)

Spurs Start Title Defense With Win; NBA Opening Night Recap

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SAN ANTONIO (Sporting Alert) — The San Antonio Spurs began the defense of their NBA title with an exciting 101-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at the AT&T Center on Tuesday night.

San Antonio, who shot 52.9 percent from the field on 37 of 70, was recording its fourth one-point victory on opening night, which is the second most of any NBA team, Elias Sports reported.

Point guard Tony Parker, who delivered the acceptance speech, following the raising of the team’s title-winning banner and handing out of the rings, capped off the night by hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining to lift the Spurs to victory.

Parker finished the game with 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting, and tied his career high for 3s in a game with 4 for 4. Manu Ginobili added 20 points and six assists in another impressive display off the bench.

“It was a close game, anything could’ve happened,” Ginobili told reporters after the win.

Marco Belinelli scored 15 points, Tim Duncan collected his 14th double-double in a season opener, following his 14 points and 13 rebounds performance, while Danny Green chipped in with 13 points.

Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 26 points and six assists, Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and six rebounds and Devin Harris finished with 17 points in the defeat.

“It was a great basketball game, you can’t kick off the season with a better game than this for the fans, there’s no way,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said.

“Unfortunately, the slim margins of winning and losing are all that anybody remembers.”

Also on opening night at the Smoothie King Center, rising superstar Anthony Davis scored 26 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and nine block — matching a career high for rejects — and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Orlando Magic 101-84.

Omer Asik also supported well, especially on the boards — as he finished with 17 rebounds, 14 points and five blocks for New Orleans.

“We just know that we’re a load in that paint — him with his great body and me able to move around, just try to follow the ball and get rebounds,” said Davis, who according to Elias Sports, became the youngest player since 1973-74, to record such figures.

Playing off the bench, Ryan Anderson had 22 points and nine rebounds and Tyreke Evans supported with 12 points, nine boards and six assists in the win.

Tobias Harris scored 25 points and eight rebounds and Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 23 rebounds for the Orlando Magic, which trailed 48-41 at half-time.

Evan Fournier finished with 11 points in the defeat.

In the third game on Tuesday night’s season openers, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers went-down 108-90 to the Houston Rockets at STAPLES Center.

James Harden scored a game-high 32 points and dished out six helpers to lead the way for the Rockets in the rout.

Terrence Jones had 16 points and 13 rebounds, Trevor Ariza added 16 points and hit 5 of 8 from long-range and ex-Lakers center Dwight Howard finished with 13 points and 11 boards on the night for Houston.

The LA Lakers, which had rookie forward Julius Randle carted off on a stretcher in the fourth quarter with a broken right tibia, were led by Bryant, who scored 19 points.

Carlos Boozer finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and Ed Davis added 11 points off the bench, but no other Los Angeles player contributed anything significant in the opening night in-house defeat.

Tuesday, October 28 – RESULTS
New Orleans 101, Orlando 84
San Antonio 101, Dallas 100
Houston 108, LA Lakers 90

Mavericks top Cavaliers, 108-102

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CLEVELAND (Sporting Alert) — The Dallas Mavericks pulled away from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 3rd-quarter and then held on for a 108-102 preseason victory at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night.

Chandler Parsons and Jameer Nelson each scored 19 points to lead the Mavericks, who handed the Cavaliers (4-1) their first loss of the exhibition campaign.

Veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and nine rebounds and Devin Harris and Monta Ellis scored 13 points apiece for Dallas, which shot 14 of 34 from three point range.

Ellis also finished with eight assists in the win for the Mavs.

Returning to the lineup after missing three straight because of a sprained right ankle injury, point guard Kyrie Irving scored 23 points and dished out five assists to lead the Cavaliers.

Irving scored 16 of his total points on the night in the first half.

He sat out the fourth quarter.

Tristan Thompson, who pulled down 11 rebounds, scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half, while Dion Waiters had 14 points and LeBron James added 12, before sitting out the fourth.

Shawn Marion got the nigh off against his former team, and he was joined on the Cavs’ rest list by Kevin Love and Brendan Haywood.

The Dallas Mavericks led 56-55 at half-time.

NBA Summer League Live on ESPN3

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(SportingAlert) — The NBA Summer League will continue on Saturday, with ESPN3.com streaming three games live on the day.

Watch Summer League Live Streaming on ESPN3 | Watch All Eight Games Summer League Live

As the big names continue to recover from the long season, teams have taken the opportunity to use low-key tournament to develop their youngsters in attempt to shape them into better NBA players.

The three games streaming live on ESPN3 on Saturday are the Dallas Mavericks against Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls playing Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat playing against Houston Rockets.

A total of eight games are on the schedule for Saturday.

At the Thomas And Mack Center, in Las Vegas, the Mavericks will take on Timberwolves, looking to bounce back from the 76-64 defeat to the New York Knicks.

Then the Bulls and LA Clippers will feature at the Thomas And Mack Center in Las Vegas, at 8:30 pm ET, while at 10:00 pm, at the Cox Pavilion, Houston will come up against Andre Dawkins, Shabazz Napier and Justin Hamilton and Miami, in the battle for the early summer bragging rights.

NBA Summer League

6:30 PM EDT Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – ESPN3.com

8:30 PM EDT Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers – ESPN3.com

10:00 PM EDT Houston Rockets vs. Miami Heat – ESPN3.com