Duop Reath posted multiple NBA career-highs as Portland took down Brooklyn in overtime 134-127 on Monday (all times AEDT).
Reath, who’s been starting at centre for the Blazers in place of the injured DeAndre Ayton, posted personal bests in rebounds (13), blocks (three) and minutes played (41), while he shot an efficient 5-of-10 from the field for his 15 points with three triples.
It also marked Reath’s first double-double in the NBA, per Trail Blazers PR.
Watch an average of 9 NBA Regular Season games per week LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
It continued a strong first NBA season from the 27-year old Aussie, who was coming off another strong performance against Dallas on Saturday with 16 points and seven boards in 27 minutes.
Reath was part of the Boomers squad that won Bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and following his solid first stint in the NBA, now figures to have a bigger role for Brian Goorjian’s squad at the 2024 Paris campaign.
After the game, Reath and Blazers teammate Matisse Thybulle embraced with fellow Aussie Ben Simmons, who’s been sidelined for Brooklyn since early November with a back issue.
Elsewhere, Portland guard Anfernee Simons scored 19 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Trail Blazers withstand a 42-point performance from Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges.
Bridges’s fadeaway jumper with 1.5 seconds left in the fourth forced overtime, and Brooklyn took a quick lead before the Blazers stormed back in the extra session, connecting on six of seven shots from the floor.
That included back-to-back three-pointers from Malcolm Brogdon that put the Blazers — who trailed by 10 in the second half — up for good.
Jerami Grant added 27 points for the Trail Blazers, Shaedon Sharpe scored 21 and Brogdon 18.
ELSEWHERE …
The Lakers snapped their four-game losing streak after edging the in-form Clippers 106-103 at Crypto.com Arena after Norman Powell’s three-point attempt to force overtime went in then out.
LeBron James racked up 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists – including a rim-rattling poster dunk – and Anthony Davis added 22 points, 10 rebounds and three steals as and the Lakers got a big lift from their reserves, including 13 points from D’Angelo Russell.
The Lakers seized the first double-digit lead of the contest on Russell’s three-pointer early in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers, taking advantage of a spate of Lakers turnovers, pulled level on three free throws from Norman Powell with 2:19 remaining.
Taurean Prince drained a three-pointer to put the Lakers back up for good, Powell missing a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final second.
Paul George and Ivica Zubac scored 22 points apiece for the Clippers, who were riding a five-game winning streak and came into the contest with the best record in the league since December 1.
“We still slipped in some detail things,” James said. “If we could continue to get better with our details we could be a really good team.
“Tonight was a good step in the right direction.”
Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving scored 35 points and Luka Doncic added 34 as the Dallas Mavericks thwarted a Minnesota rally to beat the Western Conference leading Timberwolves 115-108.
The Timberwolves, owners of the second-best record in the league, trailed by nine going into the fourth quarter but took a 106-100 lead on an Anthony Edwards basket with 3:53 to play.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd called being down by six “a great test of character and trust” and Dallas passed it with flying colours.
The Mavs responded with a 13-0 scoring run. Irving drained a three-pointer to tie it at 106-106, then poked the ball away from Rudy Gobert for a steal and delivered another three-pointer from the corner and the Mavs held on for the win.
“I was just letting him cook,” Doncic said of Irving. “When he stays aggressive he’s an amazing player.”
Other tight finishes included overtime victories for Portland and Orlando, and Cleveland’s 117-115 victory over San Antonio.
There were blowout wins for the New Orleans Pelicans and the Toronto Raptors, who took full advantage of an off-night for Stephen Curry in a victory over the Golden State Warriors.
RJ Barrett scored a season-high 37 points for the Raptors, who led wire-to-wire in a 133-118 victory over the Warriors in San Francisco.
Warriors’ star Curry made just two of his 14 shots from the field, missing all nine of his three-point attempts on the way to nine points.
Klay Thompson scored 25 points for Golden State, whose best news on the day was the appearance of Draymond Green at the pre-game walkthrough as he prepares to return from an NBA suspension that lasted 12 games.
New Orleans’ CJ McCollum scored 30 points to lead seven Pelicans players in double figures in a 133-100 rout of the Kings in Sacramento.
The Pelicans pushed their lead to as many as 50 points in the fourth quarter, both teams resting their starters for most or all of the final period.
“I feel sorry for the fans that spent their money coming to watch the game today,” Kings coach Mike Brown said.
Earlier, the Cleveland Cavaliers, fuelled by 29 points from Jarrett Allen, held off a late charge from Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs for a 117-115 NBA victory.
Allen added 16 rebounds and Caris LeVert scored 23 points off the bench for the Cavs, who handed the Spurs a fifth straight defeat.
French prodigy Wembanyama scored 24 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked five shots in less than 25 minutes on court.
With it, Wembanyama, who’s already broken several record in his phenomenal rookie season, became the sixth player in NBA history to rack up at least 100 blocks in their first 35 games.
The No. 1 draft pick made an impression on seven-year veteran Allen.
“He’s talented,” Allen said. “He can take people off the dribble, excellent shot-blocker, post-up – he’s got it all.”
But Wembanyama, playing under a minutes restriction as he recovers from an ankle injury, couldn’t get the Spurs over the hump, although they gave it a run after Cleveland pushed their lead to 16 points on an Allen dunk with less than six minutes to play.
San Antonio closed the contest on an 11-0 run.
“You know how we do it down here, we like to keep the fans engaged,” Allen joked.
In the later game,
ALL RESULTS
SPURS 115 CAVALIERS 117
TRAIL BLAZERS 134 NETS 127 (OT)
PELICANS 133 KINGS 100
HAWKS 110 MAGIC 117 (OT)
TIMBERWOLVES 108 MAVERICKS 115
GRIZZLIES 121 SUNS 115
PISTONS 114 NUGGETS 131
RAPTORS 133 WARRIORS 118
CLIPPERS 103 LAKERS 106