MANILA, Philippines, March 11 ------ Jalen Green reset his career-high in scoring with 32 points to pace the Houston Rockets against the Los Angeles Lakers, 139-130, at the Toyota Center in Texas on Wednesday (Thursday, Manila time).
Green, whose mother traces her roots to Ilocos Sur, scored 10 points in the extra period alone to tow the Rockets to victory. The rookie scored the first seven points of a 10-0 run by the Rockets in the extra period to run away with the victory after Carmelo Anthony bricked a potential game-winner for the Lakers at the end of regulation. Green also converted on the dagger triple to put the Rockets up by 11 points, 136-125, with a minute left in overtime.
He led all scorers and also had three rebounds, three assists and a block in 38 minutes of play. Six other Rockets players also finished in twin-digit scoring to fuel the all-around team win. Russell Westbrook paced Los Angeles in the loss with 30 points. LeBron James, for his part, posted a triple-double with 23 points, 14 boards and 12 assists. He also had four blocks and a steal in the losing effort.
Elsewhere, the Phoenix Suns booked the first slot to the NBA playoffs with an 111-90 victory over the Miami Heat. Devin Booker returned for Phoenix and paced them with an all-around game of 23 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. The Milwaukee Bucks, for their part, leaned on a monster double-double by Giannis Antetokounmpo to win over the Atlanta Hawks, 124-115, for their sixth win in a row. Antetokounmpo finished with 43 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
In other games, the Toronto Raptors fended off the San Antonio Spurs, 119-104. Fred VanVleet chipped in 26 points, six rebounds and two assists to pace the Raptors to win No. 35 for the year. The Orlando Magic, for their part, edged the New Orleans Pelicans, 108-102. The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Chicago Bulls also took victories against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Detroit Pistons, respectively. The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, drubbed the Charlotte Hornets, 115-101.
Source: philstar.com
Comments