NBA: Sacramento Kings End Playoff Wait With Win Over Portland Trail Blazers, LA Lakers Sink Chicago Bulls
The Kings ended their 16-year playoff drought, the longest in NBA history, with a 120-80 hammering of the side from Portland, while LeBron James scored 25 points in LA Lakers 121 -110 win over Chicago Bulls. Utah Jazz got the better of the San Antonio...Read More
While a throng of purple-clad visiting fans were already celebrating, De’Aaron Fox was watching from the bench as the moments ticked down in Sacramento’s 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
For Fox, drafted by the Kings in 2017, the wait was finally over. Sacramento clinched a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
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“We want to do bigger things, but 16 years — that’s a long time," Fox said.
Fox finished with 18 points in the victory, which also gave the Kings a home-court advantage. The team’s 16-year playoff drought was the longest in NBA history and the longest active postseason dry spell among teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball.
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Milwaukee Bucks 149-136 Indiana Pacers
Jrue Holiday scored a career-high 51 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points in a triple-double and the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks beat the Indiana Pacers 149-136 on Wednesday night.
Antetokounmpo added 17 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Bucks improve to 55-21. The two-time NBA MVP was an assist shy of a triple-double at halftime with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He returned after sitting out Monday night in a victory at Detroit because of a sore knee.
Holiday had 18 points in the third quarter, when the Bucks scored a season-high 46 points to build a 12-point lead. He was 20 of 30 from the field with three 3-pointers and hit 8 of 10 free throws. His previous best was 40 points in an overtime victory over visiting Boston on Feb. 14.
Brook Lopez added 21 points for the Bucks.
Rookie Bennedict Mathurin led Indiana — playing without its top three scorers — with 29 points. Aaron Nesmith had 22 and Jordan Nwora 18. Jalen Smith fouled out early in the fourth with 17. Rookie Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
LA Lakers 121 – 110 Chicago Bulls
LeBron James scored 25 points in his return to the starting lineup and Los Angeles beat Chicago.
James also had seven rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes in his second game back after he was sidelined for a month because of a torn tendon in his right foot. The four-time MVP scored 19 points Sunday in as 118-108 loss to Chicago in just his second appearance as a reserve in his 20-year NBA career.
Fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference, Los Angeles (38-38) kicked off a five-game trip with its fourth win in five games overall. Anthony Davis had 38 points and 10 rebounds in his hometown, and D’Angelo Russell scored 17 points.
Nikola Vucevic had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago in its second straight loss.
Philadelphia 76ers 116 – 108 Dallas Mavericks
Joel Embiid had 25 points and nine rebounds, James Harden added 15 points and 12 assists and Philadelphia beat Dallas.
Embiid flashed his MVP credentials when he powered the Sixers back in the fourth against Luka Doncic and the Mavs. Embiid hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 103 and followed with a 16-footer the next time down for what ended up the winning basket.
Doncic had 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving scored 23 points for the Mavericks.
Tyrese Maxey added 22 points to help the 76ers snap a three-game losing streak. They returned from a 1-3 trip.
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LA Clippers 141 -132 Memphis Grizzlies
Russell Westbrook had a season-high 36 points, Robert Covington also had a season-best with 27 points and Los Angeles beat Memphis to open a two-game set.
The teams — both short-handed Wednesday — will meet again Friday night in Memphis. Westbrook made five 3-pointers without a miss and had 10 assists. Covington was 9 of 10 from the field, making all seven of his 3-point attempts.
Bones Hyland added 20 points for Los Angles, including 12 in the fourth quarter as the Clippers pulled away in the final seven minutes.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 36 points and nine assists. Dillon Brooks added 30 points as all five Memphis starters finished in double figures. The Grizzlies had won seven in a row and 12 straight at home.
Utah Jazz 128 – 117 San Antonio Spurs
Talen Horton-Tucker scored a career-high 41 points and Utah beat the Spurs in what could have been coach Gregg Popovich’s final game in San Antonio.
Utah snapped a four-game skid to keep its fading playoff hopes alive. But San Antonio (19-57) lost its fifth straight in its worst season since 1997, the year it drafted Tim Duncan with the No. 1 overall pick.
Popovich has given no indication that he is retiring or even that he will return for his 28th season. The annual speculation has intensified, though, especially since the 74-year-old coach allowed his expected induction this summer into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame after years of refusing to even be nominated. The Spurs have two home games remaining, but those will be played 73 miles away in Austin’s new Moody Center.
Rookie Malaki Branham led San Antonio with 21 points.
New York Knicks 101 – 92 Miami Heat
Immanuel Quickly scored 24 points, Quentin Grimes had 23 and New York moved closer to a postseason berth with a victory night that sent Miami closer to the play-in tournament.
The Knicks overcame the loss of Julius Randle to a sprained left ankle to win their second straight and remained firmly in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They are 2 1/2 games ahead of Brooklyn four games ahead of the seventh-place Heat.
Gabe Vincent scored 21 points for Miami.
New York Nets 123 – 114 Houston Rockets
Cam Johnson had 31 points, Mikal Bridges scored 12 of his 27 in the fourth quarter and Brooklyn rallied to beat Houston.
Johnson and Bridges came over together from Phoenix in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Suns. Durant finally made his home debut for Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Nic Claxton added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn.
Kevin Porter Jr. had 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Houston. The Rockets have lost seven in a row.
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