Australian Josh Green had one of his finest NBA outings yet, delivering a sizzling performance to deliver his Dallas Mavericks a 111-106 win over the Pelicans.
Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic exploded in the first quarter against New Orleans, dropping 21 points in the opening period. In fact, Doncic almost outscored the entire Pelicans team as the Mavericks raced out to a 40-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.
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The incredible scoring haul made it Doncic’s fifth 20-point first quarter this season, a league-leading figure.
Although he couldn’t outscore the Pelicans after one period, Doncic was able to outscore the rest of his teammates who cobbled together 19 points amongst them.
The Mavericks extened their lead to 70-43 by halftime, before Doncic was forced off the court in the third quarter after crashing to the floor. He managed 31 points, eight rebounds and four assists in his 23 minutes before leaving with injury.
In his absence, the Pelicans mounted a comebank, only for Aussie Josh Green to stand tall with some clutch plays and incredible drives through traffic to seal victory. Green scored 15 points in 30 minutes on 7/10 shooting – including a crucial three late in the foruth quarter – to go with four rebounds and two steals.
Coach Jason Kidd was full of praise for the rising star, saying: “He’s worked extremely hard… tonight he makes two big plays (in the fourth quarter) of driving the ball, getting in the paint, and stepping up and taking that three.
“You could see he wasn’t afraid of the moment.”
GIANNIS LEADS HUGE BUCKS COMEBACK
Giannis Antekounmpo had 54 points, including 20 in the final quarter, plus 19 rebounds to complete a stunning comeback as Milwaukee downed the LA Clippers 106-105.
The Bucks trailed by as much as 21 points in the third quarter before the Greek Freak took over and led his side back into it.
Giannis was the only player to score in the last 3:50 of the game – a layup, a jump shot and three free throws – as the Clippers missed four attempts to win in the final minutes, including with a second left.
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MITCHELL, BROOKS EJECTED AFTER SACK-WHACK SPARKS BRAWL
Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks’ altercation sparked a bench-clearing scuffle late in the third quarter.
With the Cavaliers up by five points and just under six minutes left in the third quarter, Brooks drove to the basket and bumped Mitchell backwards on his way to the hoop.
However, Brooks missed his initial effort and fell to the floor amidst defensive pressure from the Cavs’ Evan Mobley as Mitchell got the rebound.
Somehow Brooks, who was still on the ground, appeared to hit Mitchell in the groin area and forced the latter to join him on the court.
Visibly frustrated, Mitchell pegged the ball at Brooks on the ground before getting up and shoving the Grizzlies star.
Coaches, teammates and team security raced over to break up the fracas.
Both Brooks and Mitchell were later ejected as a result of the incident. Mitchell, who was enduring a tough night in which he connected on two of 11 shots from the floor, was cheered as he departed for the locker room.
Darius Garland picked up the slack, scoring 32 points and handing out 11 assists for Cleveland, who pushed their lead to as many as 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Desmond Bane scored 25 points for Memphis and Ja Morant added 24, but the Grizzlies dropped their seventh decision in eight games.
LEBRON CHARGES TOWARDS RECORD
LeBron James continued to close in on the NBA’s all-time scoring record as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled out a thrilling 112-111 victory over Indiana on Thursday.
James, who entered the game needing 89 points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer, put up 26 points.
He now needs 63 to surpass Abdul-Jabbar — who has held the record since before James was born.
“I think it’s one of the greatest records in sports in general,” James said. “It’s one of those records you don’t ever think will be broken.”
The Lakers had trailed all night when James’s three-pointer gave them their first lead of the contest with 2:35 to play. Teammate Anthony Davis put them up 112-111 with 35.3 seconds remaining and followed up with a big block on Tyrese Haliburton as the Lakers escaped with the win.
In Indianapolis, the Lakers looked headed for another disappointing defeat until a 21-10 run to open the fourth quarter.
Davis led the Lakers with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
Haliburton, back in action after a three-week injury absence, led the Pacers with 26 points and 12 assists.
But his drive to the basket with 16.5 seconds left was thwarted by Davis, who swatted the ball away.
“I just tried to stay on his body and make him shoot over the top,” Davis said. “I saw when he left the ground, he had to shoot it so I just timed it.” Lakers coach Darvin Ham wasn’t surprised, saying that when Davis is playing pain free he’s “one of the more elite defenders in our league.”
BARRETT EXPLODES AFTER BENCHING
In New York, RJ Barrett scored 30 points to lead the Knicks in a 106-104 victory over the Miami Heat.
Barrett, who was benched in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ overtime loss to the Lakers on Tuesday, rebounded with a vengeance. He grabbed eight rebounds and handed off four assists and the Knicks secured the needed win when Tyler Herro’s three-point attempt as time expired failed to fall.
Julius Randle scored 19 of his 23 points in the first half for the Knicks, who moved a game behind the Heat for sixth place in the East — the last guaranteed playoff spot.
FULL RESULTS
Pacers 111-112 Lakers
Cavaliers 128-113 Grizzlies
Knicks 106-14 Heat
Bulls 114-98 Hornets
Mavericks 111-106 Pelicans
Nuggets 134-117 Warriors
Bucks 106-105 Clippers