WARRIORS STUN ROCKETS
Damion Lee made a statement on a rare big stage this season for injuryravaged Golden State.
Warriors 116, Rockets 104
Lee had 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, Draymond Green scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half and the Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 116-104 on Wednesday in San Francisco.
“I’m thankful that we got the win, but there’s still things that I feel I have to get better at day in and day out to fully solidify myself as an NBA player and not a twoway,” Lee said.
D’angelo Russell added 20 points, and Glenn Robinson III had 18 to help the Warriors win their third straight and end the Rockets’ four-game winning streak. Golden State improved to 8-24.
“We’re probably not going to play a bigger game than this all year,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “A national TV game against the Rockets. This game meant a lot to us.”
Russell Westbrook had 30 points and 12 rebounds for Houston. James Harden had 24 points and 11 assists, and Danuel House Jr. had 18 points.
“We had a lot of great opportunities that we just didn’t convert,” Harden said. “It’s pretty simple.”
Westbrook had his ninth consecutive game of at least 20 points, the longest by any Rockets player other than Harden since Tracy Mcgrady did it in 10 straight games in 2007.
“For whatever reason we just didn’t get it done,” Rockets coach Mike D’antoni said.
“It’s too bad we didn’t play with the spirit and energy we usually have.”
Green also had 11 rebounds. He gave the Warriors the lead for good with just under five minutes left in the third quarter on a driving layup.
“It’s been a really trying season for us,” Green said. “To come out Christmas Day and get a win against a very good basketball team feels good.”
Ky Bowman hit a driving layup at the buzzer to give the Warriors an 92-87 edge heading into the final quarter.
“This felt like an opportunity for us and the guys seized it,” Kerr said.
“I think the fans see how hard our guys are playing. Everybody is feeling great on Christmas Day to get that win.”
After falling behind by eight points midway through the first quarter, the Rockets outscored Golden State 48-17 over the next 13 minutes to open a 5340 advantage. Russell hit a short jumper in the final minute of the second and the Warriors drew to 68-64 by halftime.
“We were up by 13 in the first half and for some reason we decided to start fouling them and putting them on the line and that cost us,” D’antoni said. “Defensively we gave up 64 points in the first half and that’s not good enough.”
Celtics 118, Raptors 102: Boston’s Jaylen Brown celebrated Christmas with something he had never enjoyed before: a road win at
Toronto.
Brown scored 30 points, Kemba Walker had 22 and the Celtics beat the Raptors in the first Christmas Day NBA game played in Canada.
“It was good to get a win here on Christmas,” said Brown, who made five 3pointers and shot 10 for 13 from the field. “I’ve never won here period, so it was great to just get one.”
Enes Kanter had 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics snapped an eight-game losing streak north of the border and became the first Atlantic Division opponent to win in Toronto in more than four years.
The Celtics have won four straight to improve to 8-2 in December.
Boston’s Gordon Hayward returned to the starting lineup after missing the past three games because of a sore left foot. He scored 14 points in 26 minutes.
“It’s still a little sore but it’s playable,” Hayward said. “It’s good, it’s good.”
Fred Vanvleet scored 27 points in the Raptors’ second straight loss, and Chris Boucher had a career-high 24.
“We weren’t quite physical enough, I thought, for most stretches of the game,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said.
The Raptors are 2-2 since losing center Marc Gasol (left hamstring), guard Norman Powell (left shoulder) and forward Pascal Siakam (groin) to injuries. Nurse had no update on the status of the trio, but acknowledged their absence is making life difficult.
“Scoring is not very easy for us right now,” Nurse said.
“It’s tough.”
Toronto had gone an Nba-record 34 games between home losses to division foes. The Raptors’ last home loss to an Atlantic team was a 111-109 defeat to the New York Knicks on Nov. 10, 2015.
Kyle Lowry scored 14 points and Serge Ibaka had 12 for Toronto. The Raptors shot 8 for 23 from 3-point range.
Kanter arrived dressed in a black t-shirt that read ‘Freedom for ALL’ in white letters. He played outside the United States for the first time since visiting Toronto with the Knicks on Nov. 10, 2018.
“Definitely amazing,” a smiling Kanter said. “I just can’t describe it with words. Just going out there was more than just a basketball game. For me, it was just going out there and living this freedom.”
Kanter’s outspoken criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government led to his passport being revoked in 2017. Turkish prosecutors have accused Kanter of membership in a terror organization and issued an international warrant for his arrest.
Pelicans 112, Nuggets 100: Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 31 points to help visiting New Orleans end Denver’s winning streak at seven games.
Jrue Holiday added 20 points for the Pelicans, who had six players score in double figures.
New Orleans led 58-55 after three quarters then took charge in the fourth, outscoring Denver 28-20.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 23 points and 10 rebounds.