Thomas Bryant’s 14 for 14 effort from the floor in the Washington Wizards’ triple-overtime 149-146 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday was the first such game in the NBA since Gary Payton had the same shooting numbers in Seattle’s win over Cleveland on Jan. 4, 1995.
“It’s amazing,” Bryant said. “I had no idea throughout the game and I had no idea after the game until people started telling me about it.”
Bryant became the fifth player to have a 14-for-14 game or better, joining Payton, Bailey Howell, Billy McKinney and Wilt Chamberlain.
Bryant was three for three in the first quarter, one for one in the second quarter, two for two in the third quarter, did not take any shots in the fourth quarter, four for four in the first overtime, three for three in the second overtime and one for one in the third overtime.
“I just let the game come to me. Then as soon as I felt that I was in a rhythm, I just went out and took it,” Bryant said.
The Wizards’ Bradley Beal earned his first career triple-double and scored the go-ahead basket with 40 seconds left. Beal, who scored 10 points in the third overtime, finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists.
His layup made it 146-144 Wizards. Devin Booker’s layup with 11 seconds left pulled the Suns within 147-146, but the Wizards’ Jeff Green (20 points) hit two free throws and T.J. Warren’s three-point attempt for the Suns was short and appeared to be released after the horn sounded.
Warriors 120, Mavericks 116
Jonas Jerebko scored 16 of his 23 points in a 34-12 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters, rallying Golden State to a victory over Dallas in Oakland, California.
Attempting to avoid a fifth straight loss, the Mavericks outplayed the Warriors for almost three quarters and led 81-77 after a three-point play by J.J. Barea with 3 minutes, 54 seconds remaining in the third period.
However, Jerebko and Kevin Durant had seven points apiece in a 17-6 burst to finish the third quarter, giving the Warriors a 94-87 lead. Durant finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
76ers 126, Raptors 101
Joel Embiid had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Ben Simmons added 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as host Philadelphia defeated Kawhi Leonard-less Toronto.
JJ Redick scored 22, Furkan Korkmaz added 16 and Jimmy Butler had 12 for the 76ers, who won their second in a row, improved to 16-3 at home.
Embiid shot 10-of-15 from the field and Simmons was 11-of-13 as the 76ers shot 54.1 percent (46 of 85) while holding Toronto to 38.9 percent (37 of 95). Pascal Siakam had 26 points and six rebounds for the Raptors, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Rockets 108, Spurs 101
Hosts the Houston Rockets won for the first time without Chris Paul in the lineup, defeating the San Antonio Spurs.
Behind a stellar 28-point performance from DeMar DeRozan, the Spurs erased a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and led 97-96 on consecutive three-pointers from Derrick White and Rudy Gay, the latter coming with 3:03 to play.
However, Harden answered with a three-pointer 24 seconds later and, Eric Gordon sank a three following critical offensive rebounds from Clint Capela and P.J. Tucker.
Thunder 107, Jazz 106
Paul George’s 43 points on 15-of-25 shooting gave the Oklahoma City Thunder enough of a lift to edge hosts the Utah Jazz 107-106.
Jerami Grant added 15 points for the Thunder, as Steven Adams chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook tallied eight points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists. Oklahoma City won their fourth straight game.
Ricky Rubio had 12 points and 14 assists, and all five Jazz starters scored in double figures. Utah finished with 35 assists on 42 baskets.
In Saturday’s other games, it was:
‧ Clippers 132, Nuggets 111
‧ Heat 94, Bucks 87
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