Dec 13, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George (13) dribbles the ball as Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison (2) defends during the first quarter at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George was held to 12 points in his return to Indiana but Steven Adams scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 100-95 victory over the Pacers on Wednesday night.
In his return to Indiana, Paul George was booed loudly when introduced and every time he touched the ball throughout the game. George, a four-time All-Star, was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis after he told the Pacers he didn’t plan to re-sign with the team following the 2017-18 season. George shot 3-of-14 on Wednesday.
Despite shooting 3 of 17 from the field, Thunder guard Russell Westbrook delivered his ninth triple-double of the season with 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.
Oladipo led the Pacers (16-12) with 19 points, but was 9 of 26 from the floor. Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 for Indiana, and Thaddeus Young had 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals.
Wizards 93, Grizzlies 87
WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal scored 18 points and John Wall had 13 in his return from a left knee injury as Washington fended off struggling Memphis.
Wall sat out the previous nine games after receiving injections in his knee Nov. 25 to deal with inflammation. The Wizards went 4-5 without the four-time All-Star.
Andrew Harrison scored 20 points for the Grizzlies, who shot 38.3 percent and lost for the 16th time in 17 games. JayMychal Green totaled 15 and 15 rebounds while Marc Gasol finished with 15 and 10.
Celtics 124, Nuggets 118
BOSTON — Kyrie Irving returned from a one-game absence because of a quad bruise and scored 33 points as Boston beat Denver.
Jaylen Brown added 26 points and Aron Baynes had 17 as the Celtics overcame a career-high 36 points by Nuggets guards Gary Harris and 28 by Jamal Murray.
Denver, finishing a six-game road trip, came in with four players averaging between 15.1 and 15.6 points and were missing three of them. Paul Millsap (wrist), Nikola Jokic (ankle) and Will Barton (back) are averaging a combined 46.4 points, 22.1 rebounds and 11.2 assists.
Trail Blazers 102, Heat 95
MIAMI — C.J. McCollum scored a game-high 28 points and Damian Lillard came alive late as the Portland rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Miami.
Lillard, who has scored more than 30 points 10 times this season, had been held to nine points through three quarters. But he finished with 18 points to help the Trail Blazers snap a season-high five-game losing streak.
The Heat were led by reserve guard Wayne Ellington, who had 24 points.
Pelicans 115, Bucks 108
NEW ORLEANS — DeMarcus Cousins scored a team-high 26 points, including a 3-pointer from the left wing with 22 seconds left, and Anthony Davis added 25 points to power New Orleans to a victory over Milwaukee
The Pelicans trailed 94-87 early in the fourth quarter but outscored the Bucks 28-14 in the final 10 minutes. Cousins added 13 rebounds, and Davis had 10 boards. E’Twaun Moore had 21 points for New Orleans.
Milwaukee was led by Giannis Antetokounmpo with a game-high 32 points.
Bulls 103, Jazz 100
CHICAGO — Nikola Mirotic scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Robin Lopez scored 16 as Chicago beat Utah for its fourth straight victory.
The Bulls, who have not lost since snapping a 10-game losing streak last week, had four starters reach double figures. Denzel Valentine and Kris Dunn each added 13 points for Chicago, which also got 12 points from Justin Holiday.
Rookie Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 32 points to pace the Jazz, who dropped their fourth straight and fell to 2-10 on the road.
Clippers 106, Magic 95
ORLANDO, Fla. — Reserve Lou Williams scored 31 points, and Los Angeles beat Orlando.
DeAndre Jordan dominated around the basket with 16 points and 20 rebounds. Sam Dekker had 12 points, hitting two of his four 3-point attempts for the Clippers, who won their third straight.
Jonathon Simmons led the Magic with 20 points and eight assists. Center Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Elfrid Payton scored 13 points. Mario Hezonja, in his second start of the season, managed 17 points and nine rebounds.
