By Adrian Stewart Co
New York Knicks showed steadiness in the endgame as they prevailed over Los Angeles Clippers, 106-100, in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Derrick Rose spearheaded the attack with 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds,
while Reggie Bullock converted five triples to finish with 24 markers for the Knicks.
RJ Barrett, for his part, tallied 18 markers, while Julius Randle ended with 14 points, 14 rebounds and five assists as the Knicks halted its two-game slide to improve to 38-30.
Holding to a slim 56-54 lead at the half, the Knicks set the tone in the third quarter behind Barrett, Bullock and Randle for an 86-76 advantage early in the fourth.
The Clippers, however, remained within striking distance and was able to come to as close as six points several times but baskets from Randle and free throws by Bullock and Taj Gibson sealed the win for the Knicks.
Kawhi Leonard top-scored with 29 points, while Paul George and Nicholas Batum added 18 and 13 markers, respectively, as the Clippers dropped to 45-23 record.
Meanwhile, Miami Heat (37-31) nearly wasted a lead as high as 26 points before escaping with a 130-124 victory over a shorthanded Boston Celtics (35-33).
Clinging to a 79-53 lead at the half, the Celtics mounted a huge run in the second half to come to as close as 107-113 on a conversion from Kemba Walker in the fourth period.
But a three-pointer by Jimmy Butler followed by six straight points from Bam Adebayo allowed the Heat to widen the lead to 123-112 before the Celtics made its last push to trim the final margin to six.
Butler finished with double-double 26 points and 11 assists, while Duncan Robinson and Adebayo added 22 and 20 markers, respectively, as the Heat moved up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
BOX SCORE:
NEW YORK 106 – Rose 25, Bullock 24, Barrett 18, Randle 14, Gibson 8, Toppin 7, Noel 5, Ntilikina 3, Payton 2.
LOS ANGELES 100 – Leonard 29, George 18, Batum 13, Jackson 12, Cousins 8, Morris 7, Zubac 6, Rondo 4, Beverley 3.
Quarterscores: 26-29, 56-54, 79-74, 106-100./ASC, WDJ