Shabazz Napier scored eight of his season-high 24 points in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a nine-game home losing streak with a 122-115 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Dec 30, 2019: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Shabazz Napier (13) dribbles the ball in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Target Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Berding-USA TODAY Sports
Rookie Jarrett Culver added a career-high 21 points for the Wolves, who made seven of 10 shots in overtime and shot 40.4 per cent overall.
Keita Bates-Diop added 15 points and Robert Covington contributed 14.
Minnesota’s Gorgui Dieng collected 11 points and 20 rebounds while starting in place of Karl-Anthony Towns (sprained left knee) for the seventh straight game.
Spencer Dinwiddie led all scorers with 36 points on 12-of-31 shooting for the Nets, who blew a five-point lead in the final two-plus minutes of regulation and lost their third straight game.
Jordan McRae scored 29 points and Garrison Mathews added 28 points to help host, Washington, cool off Miami, which entered the day with the league’s longest active winning streak at five games.
Ian Mahinmi added a career-high 25 points — including 2 of 3 on 3-pointers — for the Wizards. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 27 points, and Bam Adebayo added 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Wizards, who entered the game having lost nine of 11 games, took control in the second quarter when Mathews had 20 points.
Washington overcame the absence of seven injured players, most notably two-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal (sore right knee), who leads the team in scoring (27.8 points) and assists (6.7).
Beal had played 194 consecutive games before missing the past two contests.
Final scores -Washington Wizards 123, Miami Heat 105.
Brandon Goodwin scored a career-high 21 points and helped Atlanta to come back from an 18-point deficit to end its 10-game losing streak with a road win over Orlando.
Goodwin, playing only his fifth game of the season on a two-way contract, shot 7-for-11 from the field, 3-for-4 of 3-point attempts, and had six assists.
His previous best was five points.
Atlanta’s Alex Len added 18 points and 12 rebounds; Kevin Huerter scored 19, and rookie De’Andre Hunter scored 16.
Final scores – Atlanta Hawks 101, Orlando Magic 93.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his return from a back injury, and Milwaukee cruised to a win at Chicago.
Khris Middleton finished with a team-high 25 points for Milwaukee, which won its third straight game. Guard Eric Bledsoe returned from a right leg injury and scored 15 points in 16 minutes of limited action.
Bulls guard Zach LaVine scored a team-high 19 points in spite of missing 16 of 23 shots. Lauri Markkanen added 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 10 points and 11 boards.
Final scores Milwaukee Bucks 123 – Chicago Bulls 102.
Devin Booker registered 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help Phoenix rally past host Portland and end an 11-game, head-to-head losing streak.
Kelly Oubre Jr. made a career-best seven 3-pointers while scoring 29 points, and Ricky Rubio recorded 18 points and 13 assists for Phoenix.
The Suns trailed by 19 after one quarter but outscored the Trail Blazers 39-27 in the decisive fourth quarter.
Damian Lillard had 33 points and seven assists, and CJ McCollum contributed 25 points and six assists for Portland, which lost its fourth straight game.
Hassan Whiteside recorded 16 points, 22 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Trail Blazers.
Final scores – Phoenix Suns 122, Portland Trail Blazers 116.
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, and Utah overcame a sluggish start to pull away from Detroit in Salt Lake City.
Jordan Clarkson, playing in his third game since being acquired from Cleveland, supplied 20 points off the Utah bench.
Bojan Bogdanovic contributed 17 points, and Rudy Gobert racked up 13 points, 19 rebounds and three blocks for the Jazz, who have won three in a row and eight of nine.
Derrick Rose led Detroit, which has lost seven of its past eight, with 20 points off the bench. Andre Drummond had 15 points, 13 rebounds, five steals, three blocks and three assists but also committed seven turnovers.
Svi Mykhailiuk contributed 15 points, and Christian Wood added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Final scores – Utah Jazz 104, Detroit Pistons 81. (Reuters/NAN)
