(The Sports Xchange) – Newly acquired guard Lou Williams scored a team-high 27 points to lead six players in double figures, and the Houston Rockets forced 20 turnovers to spoil the Twin Towers debut of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins with a 129-99 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
The Rockets led by as many as 35 points in the third quarter and coasted to the victory by making 20 of 51 from behind the arc. Other Rockets in double figures were Eric Gordon (19), Ryan Anderson (17), Clint Capela (13), James Harden (13) with 14 assists and Montrezl Harrell (10).
Davis led the Pelicans with 29 points, and Cousins, acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Sacramento Kings last Sunday, scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in his New Orleans debut.
Cavaliers 119, Knicks 104
LeBron James notched his sixth triple-double of the season, and Cleveland beat New York for the 10th consecutive time.
James finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists, the 48th regular-season triple-double of his career. Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 23 points, while Kyle Korver scored 20 points off the bench and connected on six 3-pointers.
The Knicks were led by 25 points from Courtney Lee and 20 from Carmelo Anthony. Derrick Rose scored 13. Rumors swirled for weeks that either Anthony or Rose could be traded; neither was by dealt by the NBA’s Thursday deadline.
Trail Blazers 112, Magic 103
Damian Lillard scored 33 points, including 17 in a fourth-quarter comeback, to lead Portland to a victory over Orlando.
The Blazers snapped a three-game losing streak despite trailing for most of the game. The Magic lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Pistons 114, Hornets 108 (OT)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope poured in 33 points, including 27 after halftime, and Detroit rallied from an 18-point, second-half deficit to down Charlotte in overtime.
Tobias Harris fired in 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Pistons, who handed the Hornets their fifth straight loss overall and 12th straight on the road. Ish Smith tied his career high with 16 assists and Marcus Morris added 16 points and eight rebounds for Detroit.
Kemba Walker’s 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists led the Hornets. Nicolas Batum had 18 points and six rebounds, Frank Kamisky scored 17 points, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist tossed in 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Charlotte.
Warriors 123, Clippers 113
Stephen Curry contributed five 3-pointers to a 50-point, third-quarter explosion that propelled Golden State over Los Angeles.
Curry had 20 points and Kevin Durant 15 in the third period, which began with the Warriors trailing their Pacific Division rival 61-49.
The win completed a second consecutive 4-0 season-series sweep for the Warriors over the Clippers, who once again were without standout guard Chris Paul.
Kings 116, Nuggets 100
Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere combined for 41 points, and Sacramento opened a new era without DeMarcus Cousins by blasting Denver at the Golden 1 Center.
Cauley-Stein, in his second season out of Kentucky, scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench, while Labissiere, a rookie, scored a career-best 12 points in 14 minutes, and the Kings won for the fifth time in six games overall and for the fourth consecutive time at home.
Gary Harris scored 23 points to lead the Nuggets, and Wilson Chandler scored 18 off the bench. Nikola Jokic, who finished second in the NBA’s Skills Competition during All-Star weekend, pulled 10 rebounds but scored just four points, and Denver shot just 44 percent from the field.
