Hornets sting Mavs, Hawks down Pacers as ageless Carter makes NBA history
Credit to Author: Agence France-Presse| Date: Sun, 05 Jan 2020 16:13:53 +0000
LOS ANGELES: Terry Rozier drained the go-ahead three-pointer in overtime as the Charlotte Hornets withstood a triple-double from Dallas star Luka Doncic to beat the Mavericks 123-120 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
Rozier’s 29 points included the trey that put Charlotte up for good with 41.9 seconds left in the extra session, as well as a driving basket to send the game to overtime.
Devonte Graham added 27 points and 13 assists for the Hornets.
Doncic set a Mavericks record with his 10th triple-double of the season, scoring 39 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
But the Slovenian star missed two three-pointers and coughed up a turnover late in regulation as the Mavs — who trailed by 20 in the first half — squandered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead.
“I didn’t make great decisions,” Doncic, last season’s Rookie of the Year, admitted after the Mavs let another late-game lead get away. “Terrible decisions. I’ve got to do better.
“We could have won it, but I made terrible decisions.”
It was just one of the upsets on a day that saw the Memphis Grizzlies shock the Clippers in Los Angeles 140-114 and the Washington Wizards topple the Denver Nuggets 128-114.
Evergreen Vince Carter made NBA history in Atlanta, becoming the first player to compete in the league in four different decades in the Hawks’ 116-111 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Carter received a standing ovation when he checked into the contest at 6:30 of the first quarter.
Drafted in 1998, Carter brought “Vinsanity” to Toronto with his high-flying exploits, earning eight All-Star appearances along with an Olympic gold medal.
The 42-year-old, who agreed to a one-year contract in August to play in his 22nd NBA season, scored three points and grabbed three rebounds on Saturday for Atlanta, who were led by the 41 points of Trae Young — the 21-year-old who was born the year Carter was drafted.
Kevin Huerter added a season-high 26 points for the struggling Hawks, who squandered a 22-point lead but battled back to secure just their eighth win of the season.
In Washington, it was the Wizards reserves who came up big in an upset of another elite team.
Led by a career-high 32 points from Ish Smith, the Washington Bench scored a combined 92 points in the win over a Nuggets team tied with Houston for second in the Western Conference.
Troy Brown chipped in 25 with 14 rebounds for the Wizards, who are 12th in the East but knocked off third-placed Miami on Monday.
“Ish was amazing tonight,” Brown said of his teammate who scored 13 points in the fourth quarter — and 23 of the Wizards’ 67 in the second half.
“It was crazy. It was ridiculous,” Brown said. “It was literally like ‘Give Ish the ball and get out the way.’”
‘Faster, quicker, tougher’
Clippers coach Doc Rivers blamed attitude, not injury absences, in his team’s loss to the lowly Grizzlies.
“They were faster, quicker, they played harder,” Rivers said. “They were clearly the tougher team. Honestly, they deserved to win the game.”
With Paul George sitting out because tightness in his left hamstring and Patrick Beverley missing a third straight game with a sore wrist, Rivers said the rest of the Clippers failed to step up.
“I just think we came to the game today, we showed up and thought we were just going to win and we got our butt kicked — and we deserved to,” Rivers said.
There were no surprises in Milwaukee, where reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and the Bucks improved their league-leading record to 32-5 with a 127-118 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez blocked seven shots — thwarting Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan on both a dunk and a layup on the same possession in the third quarter as the Bucks began to pull away.
AFP