Tony Parker, Spurs send Memphis Grizzlies to 14th straight loss

Tony Parker scored a season-high 23 points off the bench, as the San Antonio reserves were the difference in a taut 100-98 Spurs’ victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday at the AT&T Centre in San Antonio, Texas.

San Antonio got 67 points from their bench, including 17 from Davis Bertans and 15 points from Danny Green. The Spurs ended a two-game losing streak, but won for just the second time in eight games.

Parker scored four straight baskets over a two-minute stretch midway through the fourth quarter that turned a game tied at 85 into a 93-87 San Antonio lead with 4:01 to play.

Kyle Anderson, with 11 points, was the only Spurs starter in double figures. LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the line-up for San Antonio after missing a game and a half with a sprained right ankle and was largely ineffective, scoring seven points and grabbing eight rebounds in more than 31 minutes of court time.

Marc Gasol, originally listed as out in the pregame injury report, led the Grizzlies with 23 points and took 10 rebounds. Memphis, who owns the NBA’s worst record, have lost 14 games in a row and 12 straight contests on the road, dating back to December.

Memphis, who owns the NBA’s worst record, has lost 14 games in a row and 12 straight contests on the road, dating back to December. But the Grizzlies did not go down without a real fight.

Marc Gasol, who was listed as out of the game in Memphis’ pregame injury report, instead started and led all scorers with 13 points in the first half.

Celtics 105, Bulls 89

Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, and Boston thrived despite the absence of Kyrie Irving to notch a victory over host Chicago.

Jayson Tatum added 14 points, Al Horford and Terry Rozier scored 13 apiece and Greg Monroe contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, as Boston won for the fifth time in the past six games. Irving was held out due to a sore left knee, but the Celtics built a 26-point halftime lead and were never threatened by the Bulls.

Denzel Valentine matched his career best of 20 points for Chicago, who lost for the sixth time in the past seven games. Lauri Markkanen added 12 points, and David Nwaba and Cameron Payne scored 10 apiece.

Cavaliers 112, Pistons 90

LeBron James racked up 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in three quarters, and Cleveland pounded struggling Detroit in Cleveland.

Larry Nance Jr. supplied 22 points and 15 rebounds after being inserted into the starting lineup. He replaced starting centre Tristan Thompson, who suffered an ankle sprain against Denver on Saturday that will sideline him for multiple games.

Blake Griffin led the Pistons, who have lost three straight and nine of their last 11 games, with 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Andre Drummond contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, and Reggie Bullock tossed in 11 points for Detroit.

Pacers 92, Bucks 89

Bojan Bogdanovic matched a season high with 29 points to help Indiana hang on for a victory against Milwaukee in Indianapolis.

Victor Oladpio added 14 points, both Lance Stephenson and Domantas Sabonis had 11 and Thaddeus Young totalled 10 and seven rebounds, as the Pacers won for the third straight game and the seventh time in nine contests.

Eric Bledsoe scored 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 with 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, which fell back to the loss column after Sunday’s come-from-behind win against Philadelphia snapped a season-high-tying four-game skid.

Trail Blazers 108, 

Lakers 103

Damian Lillard scored 19 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Portland came from behind to defeat Los Angeles.

Lillard knocked down four straight 3-point shots, as the Trail Blazers rallied from an 11-point deficit in the final 5:26 to win their seventh game in a row.

CJ McCollum added 22 points and Jusuf Nurkic collected 16 points and 16 rebounds, as Portland beat the Lakers for the 15th consecutive time dating to March 2014. Julius Randle had 21 points and nine rebounds and Isaiah Thomas chipped in 19 points despite a 5-for-21 shooting performance for the Lakers, who saw the end to a five-game win streak.

Heat 125, Suns 103

Hassan Whiteside scored 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots as host Miami defeated Phoenix.

Suns star guard Devin Booker scored a game-high 31 points. It was his eighth straight game scoring at least 20 points. It was also his 21st game this season scoring at least 30 points.

Point guard Goran Dragic, a former Suns star, scored 17 points as Miami tied the Milwaukee Bucks for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. Miami have the tiebreaker over Milwaukee, having won the season series.

Jazz 94, Magic 80

Rudy Gobert scored 21 points and collected 17 rebounds for his third straight double-double to help lead Utah past Orlando in Salt Lake City.

Donovan Mitchell tallied 19 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Jazz. Joe Ingles added 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Utah won its third straight game.

Nikola Vucevic scored 15 points and collected 12 rebounds while Aaron Gordon chipped in 13 points to lead Orlando. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Magic, who shot just 29-of-85 (34.1 per cent) from the field.