Blazers hand Spurs 2nd straight 3OT loss

The Associated Press SAME AS THE FIRST: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) drives around San Antonio Spurs guard Cory Joseph during the second half Friday in San Antonio. Lillard scored a career-high 43 points, and Portland won 129-119 to hand the Spurs their second straight loss in triple overtime.
The Associated Press SAME AS THE FIRST: Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) drives around San Antonio Spurs guard Cory Joseph during the second half Friday in San Antonio. Lillard scored a career-high 43 points, and Portland won 129-119 to hand the Spurs their second straight loss in triple overtime.

SAN ANTONIO -- Damian Lillard scored a career-high 43 points, including 16 after regulation, and the Portland Trail Blazers handed the San Antonio Spurs their second straight defeat in triple overtime by rallying for a 129-119 victory Friday night.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 16 rebounds, and Wesley Matthews added 16 points as Portland (21-6) extended its winning streak to four games. Lillard scored the first nine points in the third overtime.

Tim Duncan had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Danny Green added 27 points for San Antonio.

The Spurs dropped their two previous home games by a combined three points, including a 117-116 loss in triple overtime to Memphis on Wednesday.

It was the first time a team has played consecutive triple-overtime games since the Baltimore Bullets did so in December 1951.

Cavaliers 95, Nets 91

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 22 points and Mike Miller, making his first start of the season, added 21 on seven 3-pointers to lead Cleveland over Brooklyn.

James, who moved into 23rd place on the career scoring list, scored eight points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers bounced back from their biggest loss of the season Wednesday against Atlanta.

Joe Johnson led the Nets with 26 points. Brooklyn guard Deron Williams limped off the court in the second quarter with a strained right calf and didn't return.

Brooklyn cut an eight-point lead to 94-91 on Johnson's 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining. The Cavaliers committed a turnover, but Kevin Garnett missed a contested 3-pointer and James split two free throws with 1.3 seconds left.

Bulls 103, Grizzlies 97

MEMPHIS -- Jimmy Butler scored 31 points, Nikola Mirotic added a season-best 27 and Chicago snapped Memphis' six-game winning streak.

Butler went 11 of 21 from the field and Mirotic connected on all six of his shots beyond the arc, setting a season standard for 3-pointers. Aaron Brooks scored 17 points and Joakim Noah finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Butler also had 10 rebounds as the Bulls outrebounded the Grizzlies 51-45.

Mike Conley led Memphis with 21 points. Beno Udrih had 15 before leaving with a hand injury in the fourth quarter.

The Grizzlies shot 39 percent.

Thunder 104, Lakers 103

LOS ANGELES -- Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and hit a key jumper with 38 seconds left, and Oklahoma City overcame the absence of NBA MVP Kevin Durant against Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant missed a 17-foot jumper right before the buzzer for the Lakers, who had won three of four. Bryant had nine points on 3-of-15 shooting, but added eight rebounds and eight assists.

Reggie Jackson scored 25 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with 1:05 left for the Thunder, who persevered down the stretch for their eighth victory in nine games.

Durant sat out after spraining his right ankle in the first half of the Thunder's loss at Golden State on Thursday night.

Ed Davis had a season-high 18 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers.

Nuggets 109,

Clippers 106

DENVER -- Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari hit successive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter, and Denver regrouped after blowing a 16-point halftime lead to beat Los Angeles.

Nate Robinson scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Nuggets, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

Blake Griffin had his second 30-point performance in a row, finishing with 32 for the Clippers, who have dropped their last three games on the road.

Jamal Crawford added 20 points and Chris Paul had 17 points and 15 assists.

Chandler and Gallinari hit back-to-back 3s for a 105-98 lead with 2:02 left.

Los Angeles got off three desperate shots from 3-point range in the final seconds, but they all missed.

Wizards 105, Heat 103

MIAMI -- John Wall had 20 points and 10 assists, Nene scored 20 off the bench and Washington rallied to beat Miami.

Bradley Beal had 16 points and Paul Pierce added 14 for the Wizards, who won their sixth straight.Dwyane Wade finished with 28 points for Miami, which dropped its fifth consecutive home game and is 4-9 on its own floor this season. Luol Deng scored 19 and Mario Chalmers had 14 for the Heat.

Miami had a shot to tie the game with 11 seconds left, but Beal intercepted a pass by Wade and made two free throws to clinch the win. Wade hit a 3-pointer as time expired.

Raptors 110, Pistons 100

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Jonas Valanciunas scored 17 points to lead a balanced offense as Toronto handed Detroit its 12th straight home loss.

Brandon Jennings scored 22 points to lead the Pistons, who extended their single-season franchise record for consecutive home defeats.

Kyle Lowry and Lou Williams had 15 points each, James Johnson scored 12, and Patrick Patterson and Terrence Ross added 11 each for the Raptors.

Celtics 114,

Timberwolves 98

BOSTON -- Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points and Boston showed crisp ball movement as it began the post-Rajon Rondo era with a win over struggling Minnesota.

One day after trading their star point guard to the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics had six players score in double figures in their third straight victory, all against teams that have combined for just 17 wins this season.

Leading 95-92 midway through the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored the next eight points and 12 of 14 to take a 107-94 lead with 3:25 remaining. They stayed ahead by at least 12 the rest of the way.

Minnesota was led by Shabazz Muhammad with 26 points and Chase Budinger with 19.

Jeff Green added 18 points for Boston. Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Hornets 109, 76ers 91

PHILADELPHIA -- Kemba Walker scored a season-high 30 points, Al Jefferson added 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Charlotte snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Philadelphia.

Tony Wroten and Robert Covington scored 19 apiece for the Sixers, who dropped to 0-14 at home this season. They're closing in on the NBA record for the most home losses to start a season, which is held by the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks at 19.

The Hornets (7-19) had dropped 14 of 16 coming in but dominated the rebuilding Sixers (2-23), who committed 24 turnovers that led to 35 Charlotte points.

Charlotte played without starting guard Lance Stephenson (pelvic sprain), who missed his first game of the season.

Jazz 101, Magic 94

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Derrick Favors had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Gordon Hayward added 20 points to lead Utah past Orlando.

The Jazz, who won in Miami on Wednesday, claimed back-to-back victories for the first time this season. Enes Kanter added 11 points and Trey Burke had 11 points and five assists for Utah, which shot 53.4 percent against a timid Magic defense.

Tobias Harris led Orlando with 24 points and Evan Fournier had 21. They combined for 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point territory.

The Magic have lost five of six.

Sports on 12/21/2014

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