Cavaliers make it six straight wins after victory in Toronto…
The Memphis Grizzlies saw their 22-game regular season home-winning streak snapped by the San Antonio Spurs on Friday despite Marc Gasol returning from injury.
Tim Duncan recorded a triple double for the visitors with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to complete the fourth triple-double of his career, while Manu Ginobili led all scorers with 17 points.
“That’s something very hard to accomplish when you’re 38 and in a tough game that is not one of those games that ends up 138-129,” Ginobili said of Duncan’s feat. “It’s something very hard to do.”
It was another shared scoring effort from the Spurs with Danny Green (16), Tony Parker (14) and Cory Joseph (12) all contributing to a key win for the Spurs who improve to 14-5 while the Grizzlies slip to 15-4.
Coach Greg Popovich had particular praise for both Duncan and Matt Bonner for slowing down the Memphis front-court with Gasol leading the way with 28 points 12 rebounds but Zach Randolph struggled with his shooting.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were also on the winning side on Friday night despite Kevin Durant being held to just 10 points in his second game back from his foot injury.
Point guard Russell Westbrook stepped up with 27 points, five rebounds and seven assists to guide them past the Philadelphia 76ers who couldn’t build on their first win of the season earlier this week.
Elsewhere, winning isn’t a problem for the Cleveland Cavaliers right now as they made it six straight after going to Toronto and defeating the Raptors.
LeBron James had 23 points, seven rebounds and a season-high 13 assists to down the Raps, with Kevin Love adding 15 points and 13 rebounds to stop their East-leading rivals.
Tristan Thompson set season highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds while Kyrie Irving scored 15 as the Cavaliers are now unbeaten since their disappointing loss to the Raptors back on November 22.
Amir Johnson scored a season-high 27 points while Kyle Lowry had 22 but it wasn’t enough to stop Toronto losing for the third time in five games.
The New York Knicks suffered further disappointment as they were edged out by the Charlotte Hornets with Kemba Walker leading the charge with last-second lay-up to snap a 10-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, it was a seventh consecutive loss for the Knicks despite 32 points from Carmelo Anthony and it was another heartbreaking finish after narrowly being defeated by the Cavaliers on Thursday.
NBA Results
New York Knicks 102-103 Charlotte Hornets
Oklahoma City Thunder 103-91 Philadelphia 76ers
Denver Nuggets 89-119 Washington Wizards
Los Angeles Lakers 96-113 Boston Celtics
Atlanta Hawks 98-75 Brooklyn Nets
Cleveland Cavaliers 105-91 Toronto Raptors
San Antonio Spurs 107-101 Memphis Grizzlies
Houston Rockets 114-112 Minnesota Timberwolves
Phoenix Suns 118-106 Dallas Mavericks
Miami Heat 85-109 Milwaukee Bucks
Orlando Magic 98-93 Utah Jazz
Indiana Pacers 101-102 Sacramento Kings
COMMENTS