NBA roundup: Luka Doncic’s buzzer-beating trey lifts Mavs over Celtics

By Sportsnaut

·Updated: February 24, 2021

Feb 23, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) shoots over Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker (8) during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic drained a 3-pointer to snap a tie with one-tenth of a second remaining in the fourth quarter, lifting the host Dallas Mavericks to a 110-107 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

After making a 3-pointer to stake Dallas to a 107-105 lead with 15.8 seconds left, Doncic provided the fireworks following Jaylen Brown’s tying layup. Doncic calmly sank a high-arcing attempt for the eventual winning shot.

Doncic collected 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Mavericks, who posted their sixth win in seven outings despite playing without Kristaps Porzingis (back) and Maxi Kleber (ankle).

Brown scored 29 points, fellow All-Star Game reserve Jayson Tatum added 28 and Kemba Walker had 21 for the Celtics, who have lost seven of their past 10 games.

Brooklyn Nets 127 – Sacramento Kings 118

James Harden posted another triple-double as Brooklyn finished strong down the stretch and extended their winning streak to seven games with a victory over skidding Sacramento in New York.

Harden finished with 29 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his sixth triple-double as a Net. Bruce Brown added a career-high 29 points on 11 of 13 from the field. Kyrie Irving added 21 points as the Nets again played without Kevin Durant (strained hamstring).

De’Aaron Fox scored 27 points to lead the Kings, who have lost twice to Brooklyn in their eight-game skid. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton added 23 as Sacramento shot 51.7 percent and hit 15 3-pointers.

Philadelphia 76ers 109 – Toronto Raptors 102

Tobias Harris had 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Philadelphia held on to defeat Toronto at Tampa.

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid added 18 points and 12 rebounds to end a streak of 14 straight games in which he had scored at least 25 points. Furkan Korkmaz scored 16 of his season-best 19 points in the first quarter for the 76ers, who ended a string of 16 straight regular-season road losses to Toronto.

Norman Powell had 24 points for the Raptors and Pascal Siakam added 22.

Cleveland Cavaliers 112 – Atlanta Hawks 111

Lamar Stevens’ slam dunk with 4.1 seconds left lifted Cleveland to a win over visiting Atlanta, ending the Cavaliers’ 10-game losing streak.

Collin Sexton finished with 29 points and five assists for Cleveland. Darius Garland added 17 points and eight assists, and rookie Dylan Windler set career highs with 15 points and five 3-point baskets.

The Hawks got 28 points and 12 assists from Trae Young, 22 points from Kevin Huerter and 12 points and 16 rebounds from Clint Capela. Young sank just 9 of 27 field-goal attempts.

Golden State Warriors 114 – New York Knicks 106

Stephen Curry ended a scoring drought by sinking a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:38 to play and visiting Golden State survived a slow-starting fourth quarter to hold off New York.

Curry scored 37 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19 for Golden State. The Warriors won for the first time in three games on their current trip and avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season.

Julius Randle, who learned just before the opening tip that he’d been named to his first NBA All-Star team, had a team-high 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for New York. The Knicks lost for just the second time in the past six games.

Detroit Pistons 105 – Orlando Magic 93

Rookie Saben Lee had a career-high 21 points and four assists off the bench, and the visiting Pistons avenged a loss to Orlando two nights earlier.

Lee didn’t have a made 3-pointer prior to Tuesday but knocked down all three of his attempts against the Magic. Josh Jackson had 18 points and seven rebounds and Jerami Grant supplied 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak.

Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 20 points but that was 17 points fewer than he had on Sunday in Orlando’s 105-96 victory. Evan Fournier had 14 points and Terrence Ross tossed in 13 with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Milwaukee Bucks 139 – Minnesota Timberwolves 112

Giannis Antetokounmpo flirted with a triple-double on Tuesday night, finishing with 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as Milwaukee romped past visiting Minnesota.

Antetokounmpo was one of seven Bucks who scored in double figures as Milwaukee won its third consecutive game. The Timberwolves lost their fifth consecutive game and first under new coach Chris Finch, who was hired on Sunday night after the team fired Ryan Saunders.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Malik Beasley each finished with 26 points for Minnesota. But most of that damage came in the first half as the Bucks poured it on, shooting 53.5 percent (53-for-99) for the game and 20-for-42 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range.

Los Angeles Clippers 135 – Washington Wizards 116

Kawhi Leonard scored 32 points and Paul George contributed 30 points as the host Clippers ended the Wizards’ five-game winning streak.

Reggie Jackson added 17 points for Los Angeles, which also got 12 points apiece from Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac and 11 points from Marcus Morris Sr. Zubac also had 12 rebounds.

Bradley Beal scored 28 points and dished out 10 assists while Russell Westbrook finished with 20 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Wizards.

Denver Nuggets 111 – Portland Trail Blazers 106

Nikola Jokic scored 41 points, Jamal Murray had 19 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, and host Denver beat Portland.

Michael Porter Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Zeke Nnaji scored 10 for Denver.

Damian Lillard had 25 points and 13 assists, Enes Kanter finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Carmelo Anthony had 24 points and Gary Trent Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 each for the Trail Blazers.

–Field Level Media