Jimmy Butler made the go-ahead free throw with 2.3 seconds remaining in overtime against his former team, as the host Miami Heat recorded a 117-116 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
After Ben Simmons converted an alley-oop dunk to forge a tie at 116 with 18.3 seconds left in overtime, Butler was fouled on a jumper on the next possession. Butler misfired on the first attempt before sinking the second, and Tobias Harris failed to convert a 3-point attempt as Miami improved to 6-0 in overtime and an NBA-best 15-1 at home this season.
Butler finished with 25 points, nine assists and nine rebounds. He was playing in his third game against his former team after inking a four-year, $142 million deal with Miami in a sign-and-trade deal that brought Josh Richardson to Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid collected 35 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who have dropped the first two contests of their four-game road trip.
Dallas Mavericks 141 – Golden State Warriors 121
Luka Doncic recorded 31 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds for his ninth triple-double of the season to lead Dallas past host Golden State in San Francisco.
Doncic and tied the franchise record for triple-doubles in a season set by Jason Kidd in 1995-96. Doncic also made five 3-pointers as Dallas set a franchise record by making 24 from behind the arc (out of 51 attempts). The Mavericks won for the 15th time in the last 20 games.
Tim Hardaway Jr. made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points, and Kristaps Porzingis made four treys while adding 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. D’Angelo Russell scored 35 points and matched his career best of nine 3-pointers for the Warriors, who had a four-game winning streak halted.
Los Angeles Lakers 128 – Portland Trail Blazers 120
LeBron James scored 21 points, matched his season best of 16 assists and also collected seven rebounds while playing through a groin injury to lead Los Angeles past host Portland.
Kyle Kuzma scored a team-high 24 points, and Anthony Davis added 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Lakers halted a season-worst, four-game losing streak. Rajon Rondo tallied 15 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 13 and Dwight Howard had 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
Damian Lillard recorded 31 points and nine assists for the Trail Blazers, who lost their third straight game. Hassan Whiteside recorded 19 points and 16 rebounds, CJ McCollum scored 18 points, Anfernee Simons added 14, Carmelo Anthony had 13 and Anthony Tolliver tallied 12.
Utah Jazz 120 – Los Angeles Clippers 107
Donovan Mitchell had 30 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, leading visiting Utah over Los Angeles.
Jordan Clarkson scored 19 points, Bojan Bogdanovic added 17 and Joe Ingles chipped in 15 for the Jazz, who captured their seventh win in their last eight games.
Paul George had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard scored 19 points for the Clippers. Center Ivica Zubac finished with 15 points and 12 boards, nine of those on the offensive end. Two free throws by Zubac cut the Jazz’s lead to 109-107 with 3:35 left, but Utah scored the final 11 points to clinch the win.
Denver Nuggets 119 – Memphis Grizzlies 110
Nikola Jokic had a season-high 31 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season, Will Barton scored 20 points and had seven assists, and host Denver beat Memphis.
Jamal Murray and Mason Plumlee had 15 points each for the Nuggets, who had seven players reach double figures in scoring to rebound from Wednesday’s 112-100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 20 points, De’Anthony Melton had 17, Ja Morant scored 16 and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Brandon Clarke finished with 15 points.
Houston Rockets 108 – Brooklyn Nets 98
James Harden delivered 44 points and 10 rebounds, and host Houston survived unsightly 3-point shooting in its victory over Brooklyn.
Russell Westbrook added 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists prior to his ejection inside the final minute. Austin Rivers tallied 14 points off the bench on 4-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers. But Houston shot just 13 of 42 from deep, perimeter struggles that enabled Brooklyn to remain close.
Spencer Dinwiddie paced five Nets in double figures with 17 points while adding a game-high 11 assists. Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen scored 16 apiece for the Nets, who shot 40.2 percent.
Milwaukee Bucks 111 – Orlando Magic 100
A dominant fourth quarter powered host Milwaukee to its second win without star Giannis Antetokounmpo in as many nights, as it downed Orlando.
Antetokounmpo missed his second game with a back injury, but Milwaukee started and finished strong in his absence. Khris Middleton led the Bucks in scoring Saturday, as he did Friday at Atlanta, posting 21 points.
Orlando was paced by 23 points from Evan Fournier and 21 points from Nikola Vucevic. Jonathan Isaac scored 19 points and made seven steals, a big chunk of Milwaukee’s 24 turnovers.
Toronto Raptors 113 – Boston Celtics 97
Kyle Lowry scored 30 points and registered seven assists for visiting Toronto, which never trailed as it gained a measure of revenge for its Christmas Day loss to Boston.
Serge Ibaka finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors ended a two-game losing streak in their first game since falling to the Celtics 118-102 in Toronto on Wednesday. It was the first Christmas Day game played in Canada.
Patrick McCaw had 18 points, seven rebounds and a game-high eight assists for the Raptors, while Fred VanVleet also scored 18 points. Kemba Walker scored 30 points for the Celtics, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jaylen Brown finished with 17 points, followed by Gordon Hayward (13), Jayson Tatum (12) and Enes Kanter (11).
Chicago Bulls 116 – Atlanta Hawks 81
Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points on 8-for-14 shooting, and Chicago cruised to a win over visiting Atlanta.
Zach LaVine added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for the Bulls, who won for the third time in their past four games. Coby White scored 18 points off the bench, Wendell Carter Jr. had 13 points and Tomas Satoransky finished with 11 points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists.
John Collins scored 34 points on 14-for-26 shooting in a losing effort for the Hawks, who played without top scorer Trae Young because of a sprained ankle. Atlanta lost its 10th game in a row and fell to 3-15 on the road.
New Orleans Pelicans 120 – Indiana Pacers 98
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points, and six teammates also scored in double figures as host New Orleans routed Indiana for its fourth win in five games and its first home victory since Nov. 19.
Jrue Holiday added 20 points, JJ Redick scored 15, Lonzo Ball had 13, E’Twaun Moore and Josh Hart came off the bench to score 11 each, and Derrick Favors had 10 points and 16 rebounds. Ingram and Holiday each added seven assists.
Aaron Holiday scored 25 points, T.J. Warren added 20 and Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Pacers. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jrue, Justin, and Aaron Holiday became the first trio of brothers to play in an NBA game when Justin checked in for the Pacers with 5:13 left in the first quarter.
Cleveland Cavaliers 94 – Minnesota Timberwolves 88
Collin Sexton and Darius Garland scored 18 points each as Cleveland won for the fourth time in five games by beating Minnesota in Minneapolis.
In a game that was missing much of its star power, Kevin Love did not start for the Cavaliers because of hip and back soreness. The Timberwolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns for a sixth consecutive game because of a sprained left knee and also were without Andrew Wiggins because of the flu.
Tristan Thompson grabbed 15 boards while scoring 12 points for the Cavaliers, and Kevin Porter Jr. added 10 points. For the Timberwolves, Jeff Teague scored 18 points, while Kelan Martin added 17. Minnesota lost for the 12th time in its last 13 games after ending an 11-game losing streak Thursday.
New York Knicks 107 – Washington Wizards 100
Julius Randle had 30 points and 16 rebounds, and New York defeated host Washington to win two games in a row for only the second time this season.
Reserve Bobby Portis scored 17 points, RJ Barrett added 14 and Marcus Morris contributed 10.
Washington’s Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points in his return from a two-game league suspension. Jordan McRae also had 20 points, and Gary Payton II scored 15 points for the Wizards, who have lost two straight and five of six.
San Antonio Spurs 136 – Detroit Pistons 109
DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 25 points and 12 rebounds as host San Antonio flattened Detroit to avenge a 34-point loss to the Pistons on Dec. 1.
After a contentious first half that ended with the Spurs up four, San Antonio broke open the game by outscoring the Pistons 42-25 in the third quarter and waltzed to the win.
Bryn Forbes added 18 points for San Antonio, with Rudy Gay hitting for 16 and Dejounte Murray scoring 13 in the win. Derrick Rose paced Detroit with 24 points off the bench, with Andre Drummond scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.
Phoenix Suns 112 – Sacramento Kings 110
Devin Booker had 32 points and 10 assists, and Kelly Oubre had 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as Phoenix broke an eight-game losing streak with a victory at Sacramento.
Ricky Rubio had 21 points and eight assists, and Aron Baynes had 17 points and six rebounds for the Suns, who had lost 13 of 16.
Buddy Hield had 23 points and four 3-pointers, Bogdan Bogdanovic had 22 points and five 3-pointers off the bench and Harrison Barnes had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Kings, who have lost six in a row. Barnes’ 26-footer to potentially win it missed with two seconds left.
—Field Level Media