Naz Reid had 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the short-handed Minnesota Timberwolves in a 116-101 victory over Oklahoma City on Thursday night that stopped the Thunder's seven-game winning streak. (More Sports News)
🦋Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and Jaden McDaniels added 21 to propel the Wolves (31-25) into the All-Star break with an inspired performance against the West-leading Thunder (44-10) behind a small-ball strategy necessitated by the absence of their usual starting frontcourt.
🐬Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 24 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead the Thunder after shooting 2 for 13 in the first half.
💝After a two-point loss at home to short-handed Milwaukee a night earlier, Minnesota played without four of its top eight scorers and met the challenge with a burst of young energy. First-round draft pick Terrence Shannon was the first man off the bench and had all 13 of his points in the first half.
✅Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's leading scorer at 32.6 points per game entering the night, had his streak of 25-point games end at 22.
McCollum has big night as Pelicans snap slide
𝐆CJ McCollum scored 37 of his 43 points after halftime - including 11 in overtime - and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 140-133 victory over the Sacramento Kings.
♛Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III each scored 18 points for New Orleans, which beat Sacramento for the first time in four meetings. Reserves Jordan Hawkins and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 16 points apiece, while Karlo Matkovic added a career-high 13 points and blocked three shots.
ಌNew Orleans played without Zion Williamson, who scored 33 points on Wednesday and got Thursday off as he continues to work his way back into form from a left hamstring injury.
♌Zach LaVine had 32 points and 10 assists for Sacramento, while Domantas Sabonis had 22 points and tied a career high with 28 rebounds. Malik Monk scored 24 points and DeMar DeRozan added 20.
✨The Pelicans were trying to protect a three-point lead late in regulation when they purposely fouled Sabonis with 8 seconds left. Sabonis missed his second free throw, but Monk rebounded, was fouled by Bruce Brown, and hit two free throws to force overtime.
🐻McCollum has scored 40 or more three times this season, the first Pelicans player since Anthony Davis in the 2018-19 season to do that. McCollum hit three 3-pointers in a span of just more than two minutes in overtime.
Powell’s 41 lift Clippers to OT win
꧂Norman Powell scored a season-high 41 points and James Harden added 32 to lift the Los Angeles Clippers to a come-from-behind 120-116 overtime victory over the Utah Jazz.
✤Harden also had 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Los Angeles clawed back from a 20-point deficit and beat Utah for the second time in three games.
﷽The Clippers never trailed in overtime of Ben Simmons' debut, but did not pull away from the Jazz until Powell made back-to-back baskets to put them up 119-114 with 59 seconds remaining.
💯Kyle Filipowski led Utah with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Lauri Markkanen also scored 20 points and John Collins chipped in 17.
💦The Clippers did not overtake the Jazz until the fourth quarter, going up 103-100 when Powell tipped in a layup and Harden hit a stepback 3 to cap an 11-1 run. Isaiah Collier made two free throws with 45 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
ﷺIsaiah Collier and Svi Mykhailiuk turned back-to-back steals into baskets that pulled Utah within one with 1:34 left. Powell answered with back-to-back baskets to quell the rally.
