Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason, left, spins away from Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)
HOUSTON (AP) – Two nights after their NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak ended, the Detroit Pistons were blown out 136-113 on Monday night by the Houston Rockets, who got 26 points and nine assists from Alperen Sengun and 22 points from Jalen Green.
Detroit (3-30), which beat Toronto 129-127 on Saturday, failed to win consecutive games for the second time this season. Green and Sengun combined to score 37 points in the third quarter as the Rockets outscored the Pistons 47-25 in the period to take a 106-80 lead into the fourth.
Sengun shot 9 of 13 from the field and Green made five 3-pointers as the Rockets snapped a three-game skid.
Alec Burks scored 21 points, Jaden Ivey added 19 and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 for the Pistons. Jalen Duren had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Tari Eason had 17 points, Jae’Sean Tate scored 16 and Fred VanVleet had 15 points and seven assists for Houston.
PACERS 122, BUCKS 113
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Tyrese Haliburton had 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, and Indiana snapped Milwaukee’s 15-game home winning streak.
Bennedict Mathurin added 25 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Pacers, and Isaiah Jackson had 18 points and nine assists. T.J. McConnell scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and also had nine assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists for his 38th career triple-double, and third this season. The two-time MVP is averaging 46.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in four meetings with Indiana this season, but the Bucks are 1-3 in those games.
Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton each scored 21 points for the Bucks. Damian Lillard had 13 points while shooting 3 of 16 overall and 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
RAPTORS 124, CAVALIERS 121
TORONTO (AP) – Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, Jakob Poeltl had 14 points and 11 rebounds and new-look Toronto recovered after squandering a 19-point lead to beat Cleveland.
RJ Barrett had 19 points and nine rebounds and Immanuel Quickley added 14 in the players’ first start for the Raptors. Barrett and Quickley were acquired from the Knicks on Saturday in a trade that sent OG Anunoby to New York.
Scottie Barnes scored 20 points and Dennis Schroder added 12 points off the bench as Toronto bounced back after falling at Detroit on Saturday, when the Pistons snapped an NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak.
Caris LeVert scored 31 points and Donovan Mitchell had 26 for the Cavaliers, who have lost two straight and three of five. Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen and Sam Merrill each had 16 points for Cleveland.
CLIPPERS 121, HEAT 104
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points in his return from injury, Paul George added 23 and Los Angeles got its third straight win.
The Clippers opened the new year where they left off after going 11-2 in December for the West’s best record during the month. Norman Powell added 22 points off the bench and James Harden had 15 points and 10 assists.
Leonard was back after missing four games with a hip contusion. The Clippers held things down in his absence, going 2-2.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Kevin Love added 17 points off the bench. Kyle Lowry returned after being out with a head contusion and had eight points.
NUGGETS 111, HORNETS 93
DENVER (AP) – Jamal Murray scored 25 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 22 as Denver handed short-handed Charlotte it’s 11th straight loss.
Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets. Two of the Hornets’ losses during the streak have come against the Nuggets in the last 1 1/2 weeks.
Aaron Gordon, who suffered cuts to his hand and face when he was bitten by a dog on Christmas Day, had 10 points in his return for Denver. Gordon played with a small protective bandage on his right hand and his facial cuts were barely visible.
Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 26 points, and Nick Richards and Brandon Miller each scored 15.
SUNS 109, TRAIL BLAZERS 88
PHOENIX (AP) – Bradley Beal scored 21 points and Phoenix beat Portland for its fourth straight win.
With Kevin Durant sidelined by right hamstring tightness, the Suns had seven players score in double figures. Jusuf Nurkic, playing against his former team, had 18 points. Chimezie Metu, starting for Durant, scored 14, and Grayson Allen and reserve Eric Gordon each had 12.
Phoenix star Devin Booker was held to 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting, but contributed eight rebounds and six assists. Bol Bol helped make up for Durant’s absence with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Scoot Henderson led the Trail Blazers with 17 points. Jerami Grant scored 15 points, and Malcolm Brogdon and Jabari Walker each had 10.
KNICKS 112, TIMBERWOLVES 106
NEW YORK (AP) – Julius Randle scored 39 points, OG Anunoby had 17 in a strong debut with his new team and New York beat Minnesota.
Jalen Brunson added 16 points and a career-high 14 assists for the Knicks, who snapped a three-game losing streak after putting Anunoby into the starting lineup for his first game since coming from Toronto in Saturday’s trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to the Raptors.
The Timberwolves cut a 22-point deficit down to four midway through the fourth quarter, but Randle rescued the Knicks by scoring their next 11 points, including a three-point play that made it 110-102 with 23 seconds remaining.
Anthony Edwards scored 35 points, his third straight game above 30, to lead Minnesota. Karl-Anthony Towns snapped out of a recent scoring slump with 29.
JAZZ 127, MAVERICKS 90
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to get 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Utah’s first regular-season triple-double since 2008, leading the Jazz past Dallas.
Clarkson got the first triple-double of his career, and the first for the Jazz in a regular-season game since Carlos Boozer had one on Feb. 13, 2008, a stretch of 1,256 games. Also, Clarkson’s triple-double was the first in more than 40 years for a Jazz player coming off the bench, dating to Feb. 5, 1983, when Mark Eaton had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocked shots.
Simone Fontecchio led the Jazz with 24 points. Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and John Collins chipped in 15.
Luke Doncic led the Mavericks with 19 points, 14 assists and six rebounds. Jaden Hardy hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points for Dallas.
___
AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
