DeRozan leads Spurs past Cavs as team honors Ginobili
By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs celebrated Manu Ginobili’s number retirement ceremony by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-110 on Thursday night.
Collin Sexton had 24 points for Cleveland, Kevin Love added 18 and the lowly Cavaliers nearly put a damper on the emotional night.
Ginobili became the ninth Spurs player to have his No. 20 retired, joining fellow Big Three teammate Tim Duncan as the most recently honored. The Argentine star spent his entire 16-year NBA career with San Antonio, winning four championships.
Bryn Forbes got the crowd going with a 3-pointer 13 seconds into the game, but the Spurs finished 14 for 33 from long range. Forbes finished with 19 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 14.
San Antonio struggled offensively after the fast start but the crowd remained energized by video tributes to Ginobili.
San Antonio scored 40 points in the third quarter while shooting 73 percent from the field after scoring just 17 points in the second quarter.
After Cleveland pulled to 111-110, San Antonio reserve Patty Mills hit a 3-pointer off a drive and kick by DeRozan with 14 seconds remaining. Mills
celebrated at midcourt and DeRozan ran behind him and embraced him in celebration as the Cavaliers called a timeout.
Rudy Gay, another reserve, had an offensive rebound with 3 seconds left and made two free throws to seal the victory.
Marco Belinelli scored 16 points, Gay added 12 and Mills had 11.
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Cleveland has lost five straight to the Spurs. Its last win in San Antonio came March 12, 2015. … The Cavaliers are 31-63 against the Spurs in franchise history.
Spurs: Aldridge and DeRozan have scored 1,500 points this season, becoming the first teammates to do so for the Spurs since Duncan and David Robinson in 1998. … San Antonio is 30-8 at home.
UP NEXT
Cavaliers: At Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.
Spurs: Host Sacramento on Sunday night.
Harden’s 38 helps Rockets cruise past Nuggets 112-85
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
HOUSTON (AP) _ James Harden scored 38 points and the Houston Rockets used a huge second quarter to build the lead and get an easy 112-85 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
The Rockets trailed by as many as seven in the first quarter, but built a 62-44 lead at halftime behind a 40-point second quarter.
Houston was up by 22 at the start of the fourth and a 5-0 run, with a 3 from Harden, made it 102-78 with five minutes remaining. Coach Mike D’Antoni cleared the bench with 3 1/2 to go after the Rockets extended that run to 10-0, with another 3-pointer from Harden.
The victory is Houston’s third in four games as the Rockets bounced back from a 108-94 loss to Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Harden, Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker managed just two 3-pointers combined against the Bucks on a night Houston went 16 for 52 from long range. The Rockets took a few less on Thursday with 40, but the trio fared way better in the area. Harden made five, Gordon added four and Tucker had one.
The Nuggets, who entered the day just a half-game behind the first-place Golden State Warriors, got 20 points from Jamal Murray as they lost for the second time in three games after winning their previous six. They did not shoot well on 3-pointers, making just four of 24, with three coming from Gary Harris.
The Rockets did a good job of feeding Clint Capela inside early and the center had 13 points and 11 rebounds by halftime. He finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Nuggets had cut the lead to 13 midway through the third before a 3-pointer by Gordon started a 5-0 run that made it 76-58. Denver went on a 5-1 run, with a 3-pointer from Harris, after that but Harden ended the run with a 3 that left Houston up 80-63 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the quarter.
That 3-pointer started a 10-2 run by the Rockets, with the first eight points from Harden that left them up 87-65 entering the fourth.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Nikola Jokic had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. … Harris scored 11 points. … Monte Morris scored 16 points off the bench.
Rockets: Capela extended his career-best streak of games with at least 10 rebounds to 11. … Gordon had 18 points. … Kenneth Faried sat out with a sore left knee. … Gerald Green missed the game with a strained groin.
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Visit Oklahoma City on Friday night.
Rockets: Host Kings on Saturday.
Dragic’s triple-double lifts Heat past Mavs, 105-99
By TIM REYNOLDS
MIAMI (AP) _ Goran Dragic had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for his second career triple-double, Dwyane Wade capped the win with a steal and score in the final seconds and the Heat moved back into eighth place in the Eastern Conference by topping the Dallas Mavericks 105-99 on Thursday night.
Dragic outdueled Luka Doncic in the first head-to-head meeting between the only two Slovenians currently in the NBA, and Miami (37-38) moved past Orlando (37-39) for the final playoff spot in the East race.
Doncic scored 19 points for the Mavericks, but missed 12 of his 18 shots. Dirk Nowitzki scored 13 points for Dallas, as did Jalen Brunson.
Dion Waiters scored 17 points for the Heat, who improved to just 4-29 in games where they trailed entering the fourth quarter. Dallas led 82-75 going into the final period, but the Heat outscored the Mavericks 30-17 in the last 12 minutes.
Dallas led by 11 points in the first half, and took a 59-49 lead into the locker room after a tip dunk by Dorian Finney-Smith beat the halftime buzzer.
But Wade hit a jumper with 1:11 left to put Miami on top for good, Doncic missed a long 3-pointer on the next Dallas trip down the floor and Dragic extended Miami’s lead to 100-97 with a nifty up-and-under move on the ensuing Heat possession.
As many as 2,000 Slovenians were expected at the game _ countless Slovenia jerseys were spotted in the stands, as well as plenty of fans wearing scarves bearing the country’s name, all for very good reason.
They were there for Dragic vs. Doncic.
And Dragic put on a show.
His only other triple-double came in 2011 _ 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for Houston over Minnesota in a season-finale. That was basically
meaningless. This one meant plenty to the Heat, fighting to get into the playoffs in Wade’s final season, and a loss to the team that they faced in the 2006 and 2011 NBA Finals certainly would have hurt those postseason chances.
Nowitzki had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer _ shooting it over a closeout by Wade _ with 59 seconds left. Nowitzki’s shot sailed long, and the Heat could finally exhale when Wade got a steal and laid it in to cap the scoring with seven seconds left.
“He looks like he’s got a couple years left,” Nowitzki said about Wade. “He can still take games over, he’s making good decisions with the ball, he’s still athletic enough to get by people. So to me, he looks great.”
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Dallas dealt with a couple injury scares early _ Nowitzki rolled his ankle pregame but started the game, and Doncic left after 3 minutes following a knee-to-knee collision with Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr. Doncic returned later in the first quarter. … Justin Jackson turned 24 on Thursday. … Mavs assistant Jenny Boucek was an assistant for WNBA’s Miami Sol, under the original Heat coach Ron Rothstein.
Heat: Josh Richarsdson (bruised left heel) was out Thursday, joining Justise Winslow (sore right thigh) and Rodney McGruder (sore left knee) as Heat regulars out with injuries. It’s unclear if any will be able to play in New York on Saturday. … Friday is the 16th anniversary of Wade’s triple-double _ 29 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists _ in the NCAA tournament for Marquette against Kentucky, the game that sent him to the Final Four.
DIRK IN MIAMI
This was the 27th _ and possibly final _ time Nowitzki appeared in a game at Miami; the Mavs went 13-14 in those games, the most notable win of course being the title-clinching Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals. He says being in Miami brings back memories of both “the most epic collapse” in the 2006 finals, and the 2011 victory. “Little bit of mixed emotions, but usually, the good memories win,” Nowitzki said.
HEAT LINEUPS
With Richardson sidelined for only the third time this season, the Heat used their 25th starting lineup. That ties last season’s club for the third-most in franchise history behind 31 in 2014-15 and 30 in 2007-08. Entering Thursday only New Orleans (29), Cleveland (28) and Phoenix (26) have used more starting fives. The NBA average is just under 18, and Orlando _ with only eight lineups so far _ has used the fewest in the league.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: At Oklahoma City on Sunday.
Heat: At New York on Saturday.