Anthony Edwards came up with a block in the closing seconds of overtime to help lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a stunning 131-128 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
The Timberwolves trailed by as much as 24 in the fourth quarter and by 16 with less than four minutes remaining. Minnesota, though, scored the final 16 points of the quarter, capped by Jaden McDaniels converting an and-one layup with 11 seconds remaining to force overtime.
In overtime, after Naz Reid made two free throws to put the Timberwolves on top 129-128 with 22 seconds left, the Thunder put the ball in Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands coming out of a timeout. Edwards came over from the help side to block Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot.
Minnesota’s Terrence Shannon Jr. grabbed the rebound and Nickeil Alexander-Walker — Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin — made a pair of free throws. Edwards then matched up with Gilgeous-Alexander once more in the closing seconds, forcing a missed 3-pointer to end the game.
Nuggets 125, Pacers 116
Aaron Gordon scored 25 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Nikola Jokic added 18 points, nine rebounds and a career-high 19 assists Denver beat Indiana in Indianapolis.
Christian Braun had 17 points for Denver, which bounced back after having its nine-game winning streak snapped in a 123-100 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Jamal Murray added 16 points and Zeke Nnaji had 14 off the bench.
Myles Turner led Indiana with 23 points. Tyrese Haliburton added 19 points and 15 assists, Pascal Siakam had 19 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Nesmith scored 17 points and Obi Toppin finished with 11.
Bulls 142, 76ers 110
Josh Giddey scored 25 points, Kevin Huerter added 23 and Zach Collins had 19 as Chicago routed host Philadelphia, which extended its losing streak to eight games.
Knocking down an impressive 50.6 percent of field goals (45 of 89) and 45 percent of 3-pointers (18 of 40), the Bulls snapped their own six-game losing streak in the victory.
Led by 19 points apiece from Kelly Oubre Jr. and Paul George, the 76ers were missing former MVP Joel Embiid — who underwent imaging on his left knee — and trailed by as many as 50 points during the contest.
Pistons 106, Clippers 97
Cade Cunningham posted 29 points, nine boards and seven assists as Detroit picked up its seventh straight win – the franchise’s longest winning streak since the 2014-15 season.
The Pistons took advantage of a short-handed Los Angeles team that was playing without its leading scorer in Norman Powell and franchise player Kawhi Leonard. Still, the Clippers grabbed the lead early in the third quarter before Detroit answered with a Cunningham lay-in and an alley-oop dunk from Jalen Duren.
Los Angeles narrowed the gap to four points in the fourth quarter. But a 3-pointer from Malik Beasley put Detroit back in front 96-84, and Cunningham’s 3-pointer with 1:06 to play put the game away for the Pistons, who handed the Clippers their third straight loss.
James Harden paced Los Angeles with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but he also committed seven turnovers.
Wizards 107, Nets 99
Jordan Poole scored 26 points, Bilal Coulibaly added 20 and Washington snapped a six-game losing streak with a home win over Brooklyn.
The Wizards closed the game on an 11-2 run and held the Nets without a field goal for the final 4:45. That stretch included a Brooklyn scoring drought of more than four minutes. Poole and Coulibaly shot a combined 8-for-12 from beyond the arc for the game, with Poole sinking 5 of 8.
Ziaire Williams’ 19 points led the Nets. Cameron Johnson added 17 and Tyrese Martin scored 15 points off the bench.
Kings 130, Hornets 88
Zach LaVine exploded for a season-high 42 points in 31 minutes, Malik Monk recorded a double-double, and Sacramento gradually pulled away from visiting Charlotte.
LaVine hit 16 of his 19 shots, including 8 of 9 from 3-point range, en route to the 22nd 40-point game of his career. Monk added 13 points and 10 assists while DeMar DeRozan had 18 points for the Kings, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Miles Bridges had 23 points to pace the Hornets, who were playing their seventh consecutive road game and took their second straight loss of at least 42 points. On Saturday, Charlotte fell by 53 points at Portland.
Hawks 98, Heat 86
With 11 points and 14 assists, Trae Young picked up his 34th double-double of the season, one of six Atlanta players scoring in double figures, as the Hawks snapped a three-game skid with the home win.
Onyeka Okongwu had 17 points to pace Atlanta, while both Caris LeVert and Terance Mann chipped in with 15 points off the bench.
Andrew Wiggins scored 23 for his third straight 20-point game for the Heat, who finished just 7-of-40 from 3-point range. Leading scorer Tyler Herro finished with just 11 points, missing all nine of his 3-point tries as Miami lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Trail Blazers 114, Jazz 112
Anfernee Simons had 28 points, and Portland withstood a late barrage of 3-pointers from Keyonte George to record its 12th win in 17 games.
Leading by as many as 13, the Trail Blazers fell behind 92-90 early in the fourth quarter before a 9-0 run put the Blazers back on top by seven points. After building a 10-point lead with just over four minutes left, the Jazz then stormed back.
George hit a 3-pointer with under 12 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 111-109, then, after two made free throws from Simons, buried another triple with four seconds remaining to put the score at 113-112.
Jerami Grant made just one of two free throws, but George missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to earn Portland the win.
George finished with 21 points off the bench for Utah, which lost for the sixth time in eight games.
–Field Level Media
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