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NBA game roundup: Smart injured in Celtics’ win

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics lost rookie guard Marcus Smart but won a game, downing the injury-ravaged Indiana Pacers 101-98 on Friday night.

Smart, the sixth pick in the 2014 NBA draft, suffered what appeared to be a serious injury to his left ankle when he was fouled on a drive to the basket in the first minute of the fourth quarter. After a lengthy delay, he left on a stretcher, his left leg being held in the air by the team doctor.

The Celtics (2-3) rallied after Smart went down, led by seven with 3:33 left and then hung on to end a three-game losing streak. Forward Jeff Green grabbed an offensive rebound and hit two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to make it a three-point game.

Pacers guard Donald Sloan was fouled with 3.1 seconds left and made two free throws to cut the lead to 1.

The Celtics, who hit their final field goal with 3:33 left, called time and guard Avery Bradley was fouled with 2.9 seconds left. He made the free throws and, after a timeout, unlikely contributor Gerald Wallace picked off the inbounds pass.

As teammates stood around Smart as he was attended to, the crowd broke into a chant of “Mar-cus Smart.”

The Celtics tweeted Smart would have an MRI later Friday night.

The injury allowed the Pacers to select any Boston player they wanted and Indiana chose forward Wallace, who had played a total of three minutes in the first four games, all in one game. Wallace hit the free throws and stayed in the game for some important minutes.

Bulls 118, Sixers 115

PHILADELPHIA — Mike Dunleavy scored a season-high 27 points, including 12 in the pivotal third quarter, as Chicago held off the winless Philadelphia 76ers.

Guard/forward Jimmy Butler added 23 points for Chicago, which was without All-Star guard Derrick Rose for the third time in four games because of sprains to both ankles. The Bulls have nonetheless won four straight, and they defeated the Sixers for the 10th time in the teams’ last 11 meetings.

Chicago, which received a 17-point, 12-rebound contribution from center/forward Pau Gasol, is 4-0 on the road for the first time since winning its first six away from home in 1996-97.

Magic 112, Timberwolves 103

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rookies Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton combined for 32 points, including 10 in overtime, to lead Orlando to a victory over Minnesota.

Guard Evan Fournier scored 20 points and forward Tobias Harris had 17 points and 16 rebounds to provide veteran leadership for the Magic, who won their second consecutive game.

Timberwolves guard Kevin Martin had 21 points, his third straight game with at least 20 points. Center Nikola Pekovic had 16 points and seven rebounds, and reserve guard Corey Brewer contributed 16 points.

Gordon finished with 17 points, including six in overtime when the Magic dominated from the start. Payton had back-to-back baskets in overtime to give the Magic a 103-99 lead they never lost.

Pistons 98, Bucks 95

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led a balanced attack with 19 points and Detroit held off Milwaukee at The Palace.

Caldwell-Pope, the Pistons’ shooting guard, finished one point shy of his season high. Point guard and former Buck Brandon Jennings had 15 points and six assists, reserve forward Caron Butler supplied 14 points and forward Josh Smith contributed 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Pistons. Center Andre Drummond chipped in his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Rookie forward Jabari Parker had a season-high 18 points for the Bucks (2-4), while point guard Brandon Knight tossed in 17.

Detroit (2-3) shot 49.3 percent from the field but committed a season-high 19 turnovers. It entered the game ranked last in points per game (89.5) and field-goal percentage (39.3).

Nets 110, Knicks 99

NEW YORK — Point guard Deron Williams scored a game-high 29 points and center Brook Lopez rebounded from a sub-par performance to score 20 points and grab nine rebounds, leading Brooklyn to a solid victory over their Big Apple rival New York Knicks at the Barclays Center in the first meeting between the New York squads this season.

Forward Joe Johnson and reserve forward Mirza Teletovic each added 18 off the bench for Brooklyn (3-2), which took the lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back.

Forward Carmelo Anthony paced the Knicks (2-4) with 19 points, but he had to work hard for his scoring total, shooting just 5-for-20 from the floor, his third straight game of poor shooting. Anthony has now connected on just 18 of his last 61 attempts (29 percent).

Guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. scored 16 points and forward Amar’e Stoudemire added 14 for New York, which lost for the third straight time.

Raptors 103, Wizards 84

TORONTO — Guard Kyle Lowry had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as Toronto defeated Washington for its third straight win.

Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and forward Terrence Ross added 18 for the Raptors, who have opened the season with a 5-1 record for the first time in team history.

Forward Otto Porter scored 13 points to lead the Wizards, with forward Kris Humphries adding 11 while guard Andre Miller had 10. Center Marcin Gortat added eight points and 10 rebounds.

Hornets 122, Hawks 119 (2 OT)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lance Stephenson banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Charlotte a dramatic double-overtime win over Atlanta.

Stephenson’s heroics came after he inbounded with 2.7 seconds left to Kemba Walker, who went back to Stephenson immediately and he banked in the winner from about 25 feet.

Both teams had chances to win in the final 15 seconds. Walker missed a floater in the lane in the final five seconds, then Atlanta’s Kyle Korver was called for an offensive foul on a pick with the Hawks inbounding with 2.7 seconds left.

The win was the Hornets’ second win in three nights and their first over the Hawks at Time Warner Arena since 2011, snapping a streak of six straight losses.

Grizzlies 91, Thunder 89

OKLAHOMA CITY — Mike Conley scored 20 points to lead Memphis to a victory over Oklahoma City at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The win kept the Grizzlies undefeated at 6-0 and the Thunder fell to 1-5 while continuing to play without forward Kevin Durant and guard Russell Westbrook.

Conley made 7 of 14 shots from the field to go with five assists. Oklahoma City was led by Reggie Jackson’s 22 points and eight assists.

Mavericks 105, Jazz 82

SALT LAKE CITY — Forward Dirk Nowitzki had a big outing and Dallas rebounded from a rough outing the night before in Portland with a blowout win over Utah.

Nowitzki only needed 28 minutes to notch a game-high 27 points in a brilliant offensive effort at EnergySolutions Arena. The forward found his outside stroke, hitting five 3-pointers and shooting 11-of-18 overall.

The 7-foot German also grabbed 10 rebounds to notch his first double-double of the season, helping Dallas improve to 4-2.

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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