NBA wRap: Spurs lose in triple OT again

MANILA, Philippines – San Antonio lost another triple overtime game while Los Angeles and Oklahoma City’s matchup went down the wire on Saturday, December 20. All that and more in today’s NBA wRap.

Portland Trail Blazers (21-6) 129 – 119 San Antonio Spurs (17-10)
POR: Damian Lillard: 43 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds
SAS: Tim Duncan: 32 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks

Game highlights:

Let us point out that Damian Lillard is really, really, really good:

Two days after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in triple OT, the Spurs suffered the same fate again, losing to the Trail Blazers. San Antonio was up six in both the first and second OTs, but lost their lead and let their opponents bounce back.

SAS played once again without both Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard. They’re now 4-6 in their last 10 games.

Utah Jazz (8-19) 101 – 94 Orlando Magic (10-19)

UTA: Derrick Favors: 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks
ORL: Tobias Harris: 24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists

Charlotte Hornets (7-19) 109 – 91 Philadelphia 76ers (2-23)
CHA: Kemba Walker: 30 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
PHI: Michael Carter-Williams: 14 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds

Boston Celtics (10-14) 114 – 98 Minnesota Timberwolves (5-20)
BOS: Kelly Olynyk: 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
MIN: Shabazz Muhammad: 26 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

Cleveland Cavaliers (15-10) 95 – 91 Brooklyn Nets (10-15)
CLE: LeBron James: 22 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
BKN: Joe Johnson: 26 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

Mike Miller returned from a concussion, was inserted into the starting lineup, and hit seven 3-pointers. He didn’t make any two or a free throw. Just 7 treys. He finished with 21 points as the Cavs quickly bounced back from their 29-point loss to Atlanta.

Toronto Raptors (21-6) 110 – 100 Detroit Pistons (5-22)
TOR: Kyle Lowry: 15 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds
DET: Brandon Jennings: 22 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds

Highlight of the Day:

Washington Wizards (19-6) 105 – 103 Miami Heat (12-15)
WAS: John Wall: 20 points, 10 assists, 1 rebound
MIA: Dwyane Wade: 28 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds

This is not how you play defense, Miami:

Chicago Bulls (17-9) 103 – 97 Memphis Grizzlies (21-5)
CHI: Jimmy Butler: 31 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals
MEM: Mike Conley: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

Even with Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson sidelined and Pau Gasol limited to just 6 points, the Bulls managed to defeat Memphis on the road for their second win in as many games.

Watch the Spanish towers go to battle:

Here’s more bad news for San Antonio: they travel to Dallas to take on a Mavericks team which recently added Rajon Rondo to its roster.

Denver Nuggets (11-15) 109 – 106 Los Angeles Clippers (18-8)
DEN: Nate Robinson: 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
LAC: Blake Griffin: 32 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists

Los Angeles went on a 16-0 run at one point in the game and looked en route to an easy win. And then they allowed Denver 38 points in the fourth quarter. Hence, the loss.

Oklahoma City Thunder (13-14) 104 – 103 Los Angeles Lakers (8-18)
OKC: Russell Westbrook: 31 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds
LAL: Ed Davis: 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks

Kobe Bryant was 3-of-14 from the field leading up to the final possession of the game, but he attempted the potential game-winner anyway. The result didn’t go so well:

After the game, Jeremy Lin didn’t sound too pleased that Kobe took the final shot:

Jeremy Lin on Kobe’s final shot: "I like game-winners too. I would like to shoot some. But I get it."

— Baxter Holmes (@BaxterHolmes) December 20, 2014

Oh, and Nick Young got ejected from the game because of throwing an elbow to Steven Adams’ throat. You can expect a suspension from the NBA sometime soon:

– Rappler.com