Washington’s Russell Westbrook goes to the basket against Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, 11, and center DeAndre Jordan in the first half Sunday at Washington. The Wizards made two quick 3-pointers in the final seconds to win, 149-146. Nick Wass/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook hit 3-pointers in a wild 3.8-second sequence in the final seconds to help the Washington Wizards stun Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets 149-146 on Sunday night.
Westbrook had 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and NBA scoring leader Beal had 37 points. In the fourth quarter, Beal had 22 points and Westbrook had 15. Durant, second in the NBA in scoring, also had 37 points.
With Washington down 146-141, Beal hit a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left. Garrison Matthews deflected Joe Harris’ inbounds pass to Westbrook and he made a 3 with 4.3 seconds left for a 147-146 lead.
Kyrie Irving found Timothe Luwawu-Carbarrot under the basket with 2.9 seconds left, but his layup attempt spun around the rim and failed to drop. Beal added two free throws with 0.7 seconds left as the Wizards broke a four-game losing steak and improved to a still NBA-worst 4-12.
Harris scored a career-high 30 points, and Irving had 26 for Brooklyn. The Nets had won four in a row.
James Harden sat out because of a thigh contusion, the first game he has missed since being traded from Houston to Brooklyn on Jan. 13.
Westbrook has set season scoring highs in back-to-back games. He entered the game averaging 18.9 points, his lowest output since his second season in 2009-10.
The Wizards are 1-4 since resuming play after a 13-day layoff that included six postponements due to COVID-19 related issues.
CLIPPERS 129, KNICKS 115: Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and visiting Los Angeles rang up the highest point total of the season against the NBA’s leading defense, beating New York for its 10th win in 11 games.
The Clippers shredded the NBA leaders in fewest points per game allowed to break away after leading by one after two quarters. They surpassed the 102.7 points per game the Knicks had been allowing with their first basket of the final quarter and kept pouring it on in their third straight victory.
Reggie Jackson added 18 points and Paul George had 17 for the Clippers, who made 17 3-pointers and shot 54% overall against a Knicks team that led the league in that category as well while improving to 16-5.
Julius Randle had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks. Rookie Immanuel Quickley added 25 points and RJ Barrett added 23, but scoring wasn’t the problem for the Knicks in this one.
The Knicks made eight of their first 10 shots and led for a good part of the first half before the Clippers took a 66-65 edge into the break. Los Angeles came back from the locker room with seven straight points and didn’t slow down the rest of the third quarter.
TIMBERWOLVES 109, CAVALIERS 104: Malik Beasley scored 23 points and rookie Anthony Edwards finished with 23 in his second straight start as host Minnesota held on to beat Cleveland to end a three-game losing streak.
D’Angelo Russell added 19 points for Minnesota, which won for just the third time in 17 games.
NUGGETS 128, JAZZ 117: Nikola Jokic matched his career high with 47 points and host Denver ended Utah’s 11-game winning streak.
Jokic was 17 for 26 from the field, hit all four of his 3-point attempts, made 9 of 10 free throws and had 12 rebounds and five assists. He scored 33 points in the first half.
RAPTORS 115, MAGIC 102: Pascal Siakam had 30 points and 10 rebounds to lead host Toronto over Orlando.
Kyle Lowry had 12 points and 14 assists, and Aaron Baynes aded eight points and 16 rebounds for the Raptors, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rookie Cole Anthony led Orlando with 16 points. Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost 11 of 13.
76ERS 119, PACERS 110: Tobias Harris scored 27 points and Furkan Korkmaz added 17, including the go-ahead baskets in the fourth quarter, to help Philadelphia complete a frantic rally to beat host Indiana.
The 76ers trailed by 16 early in the fourth but closed on a 31-6 run to pick up their sixth win in seven games — this time without All-Star center Joel Embiid, who sat out with a sore back.
NOTES
VIRUS: The Miami Heat may have another player missing games for virus-related reasons, after second-year guard Tyler Herro revealed that someone who lives with him tested positive for COVID-19.
Herro is listed as questionable on the team’s injury report for Monday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, that announcement coming Sunday afternoon – less than 24 hours after Herro learned of the positive test and his potential exposure.
The reason the Heat cited for having Herro on the report is the NBA’s health and safety protocols, which only means it is a virus-related reason and does not suggest that he tested positive. Herro was not with the team for practice Sunday.
Miami – off to a 7-12 start after going to the NBA finals last season – has already had eight players miss a combined 30 games for virus-related reasons, including a 10-game absence for All-Star forward Jimmy Butler. If Herro cannot play Monday, he’d become the ninth Heat player on that list.
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