Kawhi’s 45 fuel Raptors over Jazz, but Bucks still on top

 

LOS ANGELES, USA – Kawhi Leonard poured in a career-high 45 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 122-116 NBA victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, January 1 (Wednesday, January 2, Manila time).

With the win the Raptors improved to 28-11, keeping the pressure on the Milwaukee Bucks who boosted their league-leading record in terms of winning percentage to 26-10 with a 121-98 victory over Detroit.

The Raptors were again without injured Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry – whose return date remains uncertain after he received anti-inflammatory injections to combat back pain last week.

In their absence, Leonard excelled, making all 7 of his field goal attempts in the 3rd quarter as he scored 19 points in the period and the Raptors – who trailed by two at halftime – pulled away.

@kawhileonard erupts for a career-high 45 PTS (16-22 FGM) in the @Raptors home win! #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/hpkuyIPVLE

— NBA (@NBA) January 2, 2019

 

After making just two three-pointers in the 1st half, the Raptors connected on their first 3 from beyond the arc in the 3rd to seize control of the contest.

They took a 10-point lead into the 4th quarter, and while the Jazz managed to cut the deficit to as few as 4, they couldn’t get any closer.

“They’re a well-coached team, they’ve got great guys on their team that compete every possession,” Leonard said. “We just tried to stay in it till the end of the game. We had to get some stops on the defensive end and try to come back and execute on the offensive end – it was a good win for us tonight.”

Pascal Siakam contributed a career-best 28 points with 10 rebounds for the Raptors and Norman Powell added 14 points off the bench as Toronto improved to 28-11.

All the angles as Giannis dishes out the Dunk of the Year!!#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/DQsxWLU9RL

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 2, 2019

 

In Milwaukee, the Bucks won their fourth straight with the help of 25 points from Brook Lopez, 22 from Khris Middleton and 18 from Eric Bledsoe.

“I was feeling good,” Lopez said. “We were moving the ball really well … my guys were making great passes to me all night.”

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a relatively modest 15 points, but they included a stunning one-handed dunk over Jon Leuer in the final minute of the 1st quarter.

Milwaukee was up by 16 by halftime, the margin swelling to as many as 28.

“Pleased with the focus, pleased with the effort,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. “We keep talking about wanting to do it for 48 minutes … felt like tonight was one of those nights where we got closer to that, without a lull or very few lulls if any.”

Jokic triple-double leads Nuggets 

In Denver, Nikola Jokic’s triple-double of 19 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds propelled the Nuggets to a 115-108 victory over the New York Knicks.

The Knicks dropped their eighth straight, but they didn’t go quietly, leading by as many as 10 in the 1st half and pulling within 4 points with less than 4 minutes to play before a three-pointer from Jokic with 2:55 remaining helped Denver pull away.

Jokic notched his third triple-double of the season – scoring in double digits in 3 key statistical categories – as the Nuggets won their third straight.

Nikola Jokic filled the box score on Tuesday, compiling 19 PTS, 14 REB, 15 AST, and 3 BLK. The last player to reach all of those levels in a game was Larry Bird, who did so twice (1982, 1987). pic.twitter.com/yjPX7SsBS3

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 2, 2019

 

The Portland Trail Blazers opened 2019 in dramatic style, winning an overtime thriller against the Kings in Sacramento, 113-108.

Jusuf Nurkic produced 24 points and a career-high 23 rebounds to go with 7 assists, 5 blocked shots and 5 steals for Portland.

Damian Lillard came alive late, forcing overtime with a layup with 15.5 seconds remaining in regulation and scoring 5 of his 25 points for the Trail Blazers in overtime. – Rappler.com