George’s 36 lead Oklahoma City Thunder past Milwaukee Bucks

Paul George scored 36 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 118-112 home win over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.

The Thunder led by as many as 19 in the second half, but the Bucks cut the lead to seven with nine consecutive points — all on 3-pointers — late in the third quarter before briefly cutting the lead to six.

But then George, who scored 21 points in the first half, sank a 3-pointer in the final minute to help cool off Milwaukee’s run. Dennis Schroder followed with another long 3-pointer to give the Thunder a double-digit lead going into the fourth.

George hit a season-high eight 3-pointers as Oklahoma City hit 16 from behind the arc.

The Thunder have won five consecutive games, sweeping their three-game homestand that also included wins over New Orleans and Portland.

Russell Westbrook had a triple-double in all three games of the homestand, finishing with 13 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Six Thunder players scored in double figures.

Oklahoma City were just 14 of 25 from the free-throw line.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Milwaukee, who was playing the first of five consecutive games away from home.

Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams was knocked out of the game with a right ankle sprain near the end of the first quarter. Adams went to the locker room but returned with just less than three minutes remaining before half.

After halftime, with Oklahoma City’s defence struggling as Milwaukee adjusted, Adams helped keep the Thunder ahead, scoring 10 points in the first four-plus minutes of the third quarter.

The Thunder made life miserable for Giannis Antetokounmpo early, as the All-Star missed all six of his first-half field goals, scoring just three points before intermission, all at the free-throw line.

But Antetokounmpo scored 24 second-half points to lead Milwaukee with 27. Khris Middleton added 22. Antetokounmpo also had 18 rebounds.

The Bucks jumped out to a big lead early, scoring the game’s initial eight points over the first two-plus minutes. From there, though, the Thunder outscored Milwaukee 31-17 over the last 9:27 of the quarter to take control.

Raptors 123, 

Mavericks 120

Toronto drained 17 3-pointers and Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points, offsetting a triple-double by rookie sensation Luka Doncic in defeating host Dallas.

The Raptors salvaged the final game of their three-game road trip, while Dallas could not cap their three-game home stand with a third consecutive win.

Doncic, finished with a career-best 35 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season. At 19, Doncic became the first teenager in NBA history with a 30-point triple-double. LeBron James had been the youngest at age 20 years, 100 days, in 2005.

Rockets 103, Magic 93

James Harden sank his first 3-pointer of the second half with 75 seconds left and host Houston finished off a comeback win against Orlando.

Harden finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. It was his 23rd consecutive game with 30-plus points. Houston’s Chris Paul had 12 points and six assists in his return from a 17-game absence with a hamstring injury.

Aaron Gordon (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (19 points, 17 rebounds) posted double-doubles for Orlando, who also got 18 points from Evan Fournier and 15 off the bench from Terrence Ross.

Clippers 122, Kings 108

Montrezl Harrell scored 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting off the bench and Tobias Harris added 18 points as Los Angeles returned home and trounced visiting Sacramento.

Rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points and Patrick Beverley added 16 as the Clippers got off to a hot start by making six of their first seven 3-point attempts, while ending a four-game home losing streak. Los Angeles was 3-1 on a just-completed cross-country road swing.

De’Aaron Fox scored 21 points for the Kings, who displayed their typical pattern of starting slow before rallying late, but could not overcome a deficit that was as large as 25 points in the first half. The Kings ended a six-game road trip with a 2-4 record.

Jazz 125, 

Timberwolves 111

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and dished out five assists to lead Utah past host Minnesota.

Ricky Rubio added 18 points and eight assists and Rudy Gobert chipped in 17 points and three blocks. Seven players scored in double figures for Utah, which beat the Timberwolves for the second time in three days. The Jazz shot 46 of 86 (53.5 per cent) from the field.

Andrew Wiggins scored 35 points to lead Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns added 22 points and Jerryd Bayless chipped in 19 for the Timberwolves.

Spurs 132, Wizards 119

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 30 points to lead seven San Antonio players in double figures in defeating visiting Washington.

Davis Bertans hit 5 of 8 3-pointers and added 21 points for the Spurs. Derrick White and Bryn Forbes hit for 16 points apiece, Patty Mills scored 15, and Marco Belinelli and Rudy Gay added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Bradley Beal and Tomas Satoransky led the Wizards with 21 points each, while Trevor Ariza scored 20, Jeff Green and Thomas Bryant hit for 15 each, Otto Porter Jr. added 13 points and Chasson Randle chipped in 11 points.

Lakers 116, Suns 102

Ivica Zubac had 24 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and host Los Angeles avoided a season-long four-game losing streak by sending Phoenix to their eighth straight loss.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also scored 24 points, Brandon Ingram finished with 22 points, and Lance Stephenson scored 10 of his 17 points during a key fourth-quarter stretch for the Lakers.

Devin Booker scored 21 points to lead the Suns, Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 17 off the bench and Mikal Bridges had 16 points.

Cavaliers 104, Bulls 101

Alec Burks scored 18 points, including a putback jumper with 17 seconds left, to lift Cleveland to a road win over Chicago.

The victory snapped the Cavaliers’ six-game losing streak and was just their second win in 20 games. The Bulls have now dropped three straight and 13 of their last 14 games. The game stayed tight throughout, with 23 lead changes and 14 ties.

Jordan Clarkson also had 18 points for Cleveland, making 8 of 11 shots from the field, while Cedi Osman scored 17. Ante Zizic had a career-high 14 rebounds. Chicago were led by Lauri Markkanen’s 21 points and 15 rebounds. Zach LaVine added 17 points and 12 boards.

Heat 106, Knicks 97

Wayne Ellington scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the final 2:16 as Miami held off host New York, who has lost nine straight and 17 of 18.

Hassan Whiteside had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Dwyane Wade added 15 points and 10 assists for Miami. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 22 points for the Knicks and was the only starter with more than six points.

Trey Burke (16 points), Damyean Dotson (14), Mario Hezonja (12) and Allonzo Trier (11) all reached double figures off the bench.