Wizards stun Nets in wild finish; Leonard lead Clippers past Knicks
LOS ANGELES – Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook keyed a late rally by the Washington Wizards in a nail-biting 149-146 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday (Monday, Manila time).
The contest featuring the league's top two scorers, Beal and Nets star Kevin Durant, promised fireworks — and the frantic finish didn't disappoint.
Beal's pull-up 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left pulled the Wizards within two at 146-144.
Teammate Garrison Matthews then came up with a steal and got the ball to Westbrook, whose 3-pointer less than four seconds after Beal's put the Wizards up 147-146 — their first lead since the second quarter.
Washington got another stop, and Beal made two free throws to seal the win.
"Right now, all that matters is we get a win," Westbrook said of a Wizards team that had lost four straight since having six games postponed because Covid-19 measures left them with too few available players.
Westbrook finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Beal added 37 points with five rebounds and four assists.
Durant had 37 points and seven rebounds for a Nets team that was without James Harden —who was nursing a thigh contusion.
In Indianapolis, Tobias Harris scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Philadelphia teammate Furkan Korkmaz drained a pull-up jump shot that put the 76ers ahead with 2:30 remaining on the way to a 119-110 come-from-behind win over the Indiana pacers.
Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia trailed by 16 with less than 10 minutes remaining, but turned the tables to notch a sixth win in seven games despite the absence of star center Joel Embiid, who was sidelined with back trouble.
In New York, Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points to lead six Clippers in double figures against the Knicks, 129-115, at Madison Square Garden.
The imposing New York defense, allowing the fewest points per game in the league, couldn't find an answer as the Clippers pulled away in the third quarter, stretching a one-point halftime lead to double digits.
Leonard and Reggie Jackson scored 10 points apiece in the third quarter, when the Clippers connected on 13 of 19 shots from the field.
The Knicks, led by Julius Randle's 27 points, cut the deficit to two points with 7:44 left to play but a 9-0 scoring run put the Clippers back in charge.
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