Clippers bounce back, Pacers win as Warren drops 53

The Los Angeles Clippers set a team record with 25 three-pointers in a 126-103 romp over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, August 1 (Sunday, August 2, Manila time).

Paul George scored 28 points and Kawhi Leonard added 24 points to lead the Clippers, who improved their second-best record in the Western Conference to 45-21.

The Clippers seized a 77-45 halftime lead and cruised after falling to the Lakers two nights earlier in their first bubble contest.

“As a group, we thought we weren’t ourselves [against the Lakers],” said George. “We tried to get our identity back. We put the work in and it paid off in the end.”

The Clippers hit 25-of-47 shots from three-point range, led by an 8-for-11 clip from beyond the arc from George, although he went 0-for-6 from two-point range.

The Pelicans, who fell to 28-38, were led by Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had 15 points off the bench, while rookie sensation Zion Williamson had 7 points and 5 rebounds in 14 minutes.

Warren scores 53

T.J. Warren scored 53 points in powering the Indiana Pacers over the Philadelphia 76ers, 127-121.

Warren hit 20-of-29 shots from the floor, 9-of-12 from 3-point range, and sank 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Victor Oladipo and Aaron Holiday each added 15 points for Indiana, which improved to 40-26.

Cameroonian star big man Joel Embiid scored 41 points on 15-of-23 shooting and grabbed a game-high 21 rebounds for the Sixers, who fell a game behind the Pacers in the Eastern Conference at 39-37.

Tobias Harris added 30 points and Ben Simmons had 19 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause.

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each scored 22 points and Kylly Olynyk added 20 off the bench to lead the Miami Heat over the Denver Nuggets 125-105.

The Heat, 42-24, stayed two games in front of Indiana at 4th in the East while the Nuggets, led by 19 points each from Nikola Jokic and Jerami Grant, fell to 43-23, still a game ahead of the Utah Jazz for 3rd in the West.

Oklahoma City pulled within a half-game of Utah for fourth in the West by thumping the Jazz 110-94.

Utah (42-24) trailed 66-42 at halftime and never recovered.

The Thunder (41-24) boasted 6 double-figure scorers, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with 19 points, Chris Paul with 18, and Steven Adams, who had 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 13 points. – Rappler.com