Magic 109 (16-19), Pistons 107 (16-18)
Evan Fournier hit a floater late in the fourth quarter to give the Magic the win at home. D.J. Augustin had a team-high 26 points and 8 assists. Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic had 22 apiece as the Magic got their second straight win.
Evan Fournier for the win! 💧(via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/gC4cNtzwa9
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) December 30, 2018
Raptors 95 (27-11), Bulls 89 (10-27)
Kawhi Leonard continues his scoring barrage this season as he finished with 27 points (12 in the fourth quarter) against the Bulls. Pascal Siakam posted a double-double with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance. The Raptors outscored the Bulls, 13-2, on the break and capitalized on the Bulls’ 18 turnovers and scored 21 points.
Timberwolves 113 (17-19), Heat 104 (17-18)
On the road in the 305, Karl-Anthony Towns had 34 points, 18 boards, 7 assists and 6 blocks to lead the Wolves over the Heat. He became the first player to post a stat line since Kareem Abdul Jabbar (35 points, 19 rebounds, 9 assists, 8 blocks) did against the Suns on Nov. 14, 1975. All five of the Wolves’ starters scored in double digits as Robert Covington was the team’s second-leading scorer with 16.
Mavericks 105 (17-18), Thunder 103 (22-13)
Luka Doncic continues to win over those that doubted him before he stepped on an NBA court. The favorite for ROY had 25 points, including a nice stop-and-go move that forced Paul George to lose his balance. OKC led by six in the final two minutes, but the Mavericks made a run off of the Thunder’s miscues in crunch time.
Russell Westbrook struggled to get going on offense and shot 4-for-22. He finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, the first time he didn’t finish in double figures in each category since April 12, 2007.
Luka with the stop and go! 😱 (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/4pTg7Vrzjl
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) December 31, 2018
Trailblazers 129 (21-16), Sixers 95 (23-14)
C.J. McCollum went off in Portland with 35 points in the rout against the Sixers. Al-Farouq Aminu had 16, Damian Lillard had 15 and Jusuf Nurkic finished with 14 for the Blazers. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid, the team’s leading scorer (26.5 ppg) and rebounder (13.3 rpg), who sat out with soreness in his left knee.
Lakers 121 (20-16), Kings 114 (19-16)
After losing to the Kings Thursday off a Bogdan Bogdanovic three-pointer at the buzzer, the Lakers got their revenge Sunday night at home. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the way with a season-high 26 points as LeBron James, who celebrated his 34th birthday, looked on from the sidelines with a groin injury.
Brandon Ingram scored seven crucial points down the stretch to complete his 21-point stat line. Josh Hart also had a season-high 22 points. The Kings led 110-103 with less than five minutes to go as the Lakers scored 12 straight points. The Lakers lead the season series 2-0.
