Coby White led seven players in double figures with 21 points as the visiting Chicago Bulls, despite using just nine players, used superior depth to overtake the Portland Trail Blazers 111-108 on Tuesday night to snap a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry.
Wendell Carter Jr. broke a late tie with two free throws, Otto Porter Jr. nailed a midrange jumper and White connected from just inside the arc in a six-point Bulls flurry that produced a 106-100 lead with 2:08 to play, and the visitors held on from there to record their first win over the Trail Blazers since Nov. 15, 2016.
Garrett Temple and Patrick Williams finished with 14 points apiece, Carter added 13 and Thaddeus Young had 10 for the Bulls, who won for the fourth time in their past five outings in the opener of a four-game Western swing.
CJ McCollum paced the Trail Blazers with 26 points and Lillard had 24. Jusuf Nurkic finished with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Robert Covington totaled 14 points, Gary Trent Jr. 13 and Anthony 12.
Brooklyn Nets 120 – Utah Jazz 96
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points in three quarters as Brooklyn started fast and cruised to a wire-to-wire victory over Utah in New York.
Irving made his first nine shots, shot 12 of 19 overall, and made five 3-pointers as the Nets shot 55.9 percent. He also added six rebounds, five assists and three steals while playing with four new starters (Taurean Prince, Jeff Green, Bruce Brown and Jarrett Allen).
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points for Utah, which shot 38.9 percent after scoring a season-high 130 points Sunday in San Antonio. Jordan Clarkson added 12 while Rudy Gobert finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Besides Mitchell and Gobert, the rest of Utah’s starters combined for 22 points while shooting 9 of 24 from the floor.
Denver Nuggets 123 – Minnesota Timberwolves 116
Nikola Jokic scored a season-high 35 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Will Barton scored 20 points, and host Denver beat Minnesota.
JaMychal Green had 17 off the bench, Jamal Murray scored 13, Facundo Campazzo added 11 and Gary Harris and Paul Millsap had 10 apiece to help the Nuggets beat Minnesota for the 10th straight time.
D’Angelo Russell had 33 points and 11 assists, Juancho Hernangomez had 21 of his 25 points in the first half and Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards scored 15 each for the Timberwolves.
Los Angeles Lakers 94 – Memphis Grizzlies 92
Anthony Davis and LeBron James each scored 26 points to lead visiting Los Angeles past Memphis.
James also had 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Davis pulled down 10 rebounds to go with three steals and three blocked shots for the Lakers, who won their fourth straight game. James hit a turnaround jumper to give Los Angeles a five-point lead with 1:03 remaining, and then he blocked Brandon Clarke’s shot in the key with 49.4 seconds left as the Lakers prevailed.
Jonas Valanciunas had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Gorgui Dieng and Dillon Brooks also scored 13 points for Memphis. Valanciunas’ three-point play at the start of the fourth quarter gave Memphis a 71-67 lead, but both teams continued to trade leads until Davis’ 3-pointer moved the Lakers ahead for good 80-79 with 4:22 remaining.
San Antonio Spurs 116 – Los Angeles Clippers 113
Patty Mills made a career-best eight 3-pointers and scored 27 points off the bench, and San Antonio snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory over host Los Angeles.
Dejounte Murray had 21 points and LaMarcus Aldridge, who returned from a three-game absence after a knee injury, added 14 points and six rebounds for San Antonio. Rudy Gay had 16 points and Devin Vassell scored 12.
Kawhi Leonard had 30 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, who played without Paul George (ankle). Nicolas Batum contributed 21 points and Patrick Beverley made six 3-pointers while contributing scored 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Lou Williams chipped in 15 points.
–Field Level Media
