Fred VanVleet scores franchise-record 54 points for Toronto Raptors as they overpower Orlando Magic
Irving puts up season-high 39 as Nets down Clippers, Sabonis matches career-high 32 as Pacers pummel Grizzlies; Sky Sports coverage of the NBA continues on Thursday night when the Golden State Warriors travel to Dallas, join us from 12.30am on Sky Sports Arena
By Adebimpe Isaiah
Fred VanVleet set a franchise record with 54 points and hit a career-best 11 3-pointers as the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Orlando Magic 123-108 in Florida on Tuesday night.
VanVleet made 11 of his first 12 attempts from 3-point range. He finished 17 of 23 from the field and 9 for 9 at the free-throw line to surpass the previous Raptors record of 52 points scored by DeMar DeRozan against Milwaukee on January 1, 2018.
VanVleet took a video call from DeRozan in the locker room after the game congratulating him on the feat.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the most points in an NBA game for an undrafted player eclipsing the 53 scored by Hall of Fame big man Moses Malone on the exact same date 39 years earlier.
The fifth-year guard out of Wichita State easily topped his previous high of 36 points set last season by scoring 17 in the first quarter, 11 in the second, 18 in the third and eight more in the fourth before being lifted after the outcome was decided. He added three rebounds, three steals, three blocked shots and two assists. Toronto was plus-20 in his 37 minutes on the floor.
Toronto, which entered second in the NBA in 3s and attempts per game, connected on 20 of 46 shots from beyond the arc. Once 2-8, the Raptors won for the seventh time in 11 games. They beat the reeling Magic for a second time in three nights and for the seventh consecutive time over the past three seasons.
Norman Powell had 23 points for Toronto, and Kyle Lowry posted a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Orlando, which has lost 12 of 14, tried almost every guard on its roster against the 6-foot-1 VanVleet with little to no success. He had three 3-pointers from at least 30 feet and hit a trio of catch-and-shoot 3s in transition.
Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 18 rebounds for the Magic. Evan Fournier scored 12 of Orlandos first 14 points and finished with 21. Rookie guard Cole Anthony added 16 points and seven rebounds.
Los Angeles Clippers 120 - 124 Brooklyn Nets
Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 39 points but the Brooklyn Nets nearly collapsed again down the stretch before outlasting the Los Angeles Clippers 124-120 in New York.
Kevin Durant added 28 points and nine rebounds for the Nets, who shot 57 percent from the floor. James Harden posted his fourth triple-double with the Nets and the 50th of his career by totalling 23 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points for the Clippers, who saw a three-game winning streak stopped and lost for only the second time in their past 12 games. Paul George added 26 and Nicolas Batum contributed 21 for Los Angeles, which shot 45.5 percent on field-goal attempts.
The Nets rebounded from a wild 149-146 loss in Washington on Sunday when they allowed two 3-pointers in the final seconds.
Against the Clippers, Brooklyn hit four free throws in the final 9.8 seconds. Three foul shots by Harden put Brooklyn up 115-106 with 2:36 left, and the Nets held a 118-108 lead after a 3-pointer by Durant with 1:55 remaining.
Los Angeles scored the next nine points to get within 118-117 on a corner 3-pointer by George with 24.8 seconds left. Brooklyn did not score again until Durant hit two free throws for a 120-117 lead with 9.8 ticks remaining.
After two free throws by Leonard made it a one-point game with 7.1 seconds left, Jeff Green's layup off a long inbounds pass from Harden made it 122-119 with 5.5 seconds left.
Batum split two free throws with 3.1 seconds left, and Irving sank two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to finally secure the win. Irving scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, and his reverse layup around Leonard and George gave the Nets the lead for good at 104-102 with 4:58 remaining. Irving's go-ahead basket occurred two minutes after Los Angeles held a 102-97 lead after a three-point play by George.
Boston Celtics 111 - 107 Golden State Warriors
Kemba Walker responded after one of the worst performances of his career with 19 points and Jayson Tatum had a team-high 27 on Tuesday night as the Boston Celtics outlasted the host Golden State Warriors 111-107 in San Francisco.
In the opener of a five-game trip that followed a tough 96-95 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, the Celtics used a 15-2 fourth-quarter burst to turn a 94-91 deficit into a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining. Grant Williams' tip-in with 6:07 remaining gave Boston the lead for good at 98-96. Walker followed with a 3-pointer before Jaylen Brown added a three-point play and a dunk, the latter opening a 106-96 lead with 4:00 to go.
The Warriors got as close as 107-104 with still a minute remaining, but Tatum and Williams dropped in two free throws apiece to keep the hosts at arm's length.
Walker's 19 points came in the wake of a four-point effort in the loss to the Lakers. He hit three 3-pointers and Tatum made four, combining for more than half of the Celtics' team total of 13.
Brown finished with 18 points, Williams 15 and Tristan Thompson 13 for the Celtics, who had lost two straight and were playing without Marcus Smart, who injured his calf in Saturday's loss. Brown completed a double-double with 10 rebounds, while Daniel Theis had a team-high 11 boards to complement eight points.
Stephen Curry hit seven 3-pointers on a 38-point night for the Warriors, who lost for the second time in their last three games. Curry also found time for a game-high-tying 11 rebounds and a game-high eight assists.
Memphis Grizzlies 116 - 132 Indiana Pacers
Domantas Sabonis shot 13 of 15 from the floor for a career-high-matching 32 points and the Indiana Pacers led the Memphis Grizzlies wire to wire in a 134-116 rout in Indianapolis.
The Grizzlies, who were playing for the second consecutive night, saw their winning streak end at seven games.
When Justin Holiday made the first of 16 Pacers' 3-pointers 15 seconds in, Indiana was off to the races.
The Pacers grew their lead to as many as 15 points in the first quarter, then used a 17-7 run over the final 5:34 of the second quarter to take a 21-point advantage into halftime.
The Grizzlies offered little resistance in the second half. Indiana's red-hot shooting of 59.8 percent from the floor on the night and 55.2 percent from 3-point range combined with stifling defense in the blowout.
Indiana held Memphis to 45.2 percent shooting from the field, aided in part by Myles Turner's five blocked shots. The Pacers leveraged their harassing defense into a 42-36 rebounding advantage, with Sabonis' 13 leading the way.
The double-double was Sabonis' 19th on the season in 21 games. Turner also posted a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Indiana's Malcolm Brogdon finished with 23 points and seven assists. Jeremy Lamb shot 5-of-7 from 3-point range and scored 19 points.
Dillon Brooks, who finished with a team-high 25 points, was the lone Grizzlies scorer in double figures until the fourth quarter. Indiana's defense successfully harassed Grizzlies star Ja Morant into 2-of-10 shooting from the floor and four turnovers en route to just 10 points.
Portland Trail Blazers 132 - 121 Washington Wizards
Blazers post a 132-121 victory over the host Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Gary Trent Jr. matched his career high of seven 3-pointers while scoring 26 points for the Trail Blazers. Damian Lillard had 32 points and 8 assists.
Portland's Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points off the bench and moved into 13th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 26,675 points. Anthony passed the legendary Dominique Wilkins (26,668).
NBA scoring leader Bradley Beal of Washington made six 3-pointers and poured in 37 points to raise his average to 35. Beal has scored at least 26 points in all 16 of his appearances this season.
Rui Hachimura scored a season-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting but couldn't prevent the Wizards from losing for the eighth time in 10 games.
Russell Westbrook recorded 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his 151st career triple-double.
Portland led by as many as 21 points in the opening quarter.
Detroit Pistons 105 - 115 Utah Jazz
Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, Bojan Bogdanovic hit late back-to-back 3-pointers and the Utah Jazz survived a late rally to defeat the Detroit Pistons 117-105 in Salt Lake City.
Detroit made a furious push to pull within four points late in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 28 points.
The Pistons had a chance to get even closer, but Delon Wright missed a 3-pointer at the 1:33 mark. Bogdanovic then secured the win for the Jazz by hitting consecutive treys en route to an 18-point night as Utah won for the 12th time in 13 games.
Mitchell made 10 of 17 shots with four 3-pointers and six rebounds to help Utah get back in the win column after having an 11-game winning streak snapped Sunday in Denver.
Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists, Royce O'Neale had a game-clinching dunk in the waning moments and finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Jordan Clarkson also added 12 points.
Bogdanovic's late 3-pointers gave the Jazz 16 on the night, helping them set an NBA record. Utah has now made at least 15 treys in 11 straight games, surpassing the 2019 Houston Rockets.
Jerami Grant sparked the Pistons' late surge and finished with 27 points.
Mason Plumlee contributed 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Josh Jackson fired in 22 points off the bench for Detroit, which is 1-9 in road games.
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