LOS ANGELES — De’Aaron Fox scored 34 points, Buddy Hield added 19 and Cory Joseph 16 as the Sacramento Kings used a strong second quarter to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 124-103 on Thursday night.
It was the first basketball game at Staples Center since Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in Sunday’s helicopter crash in Calabasas. Paul George narrated a 2-minute video tribute shown before the game while Bryant’s retired No. 8 and No. 24 Lakers jerseys were left uncovered in the upper left corner of the arena.
The Clippers led 33-28 at the end of the first quarter but Sacramento seized control in the second, outscoring Los Angeles by 22 to take a 64-47 advantage at halftime. Joseph led the way with 12 points in the period as he went 4 of 6 on 3-pointers. Nine of the Kings’ 13 field goals in the quarter were from beyond the arc and they made a season-high 21 3-pointers in the game.
HAWKS 127, 76ERS 117
ATLANTA — All-Star guard Trae Young had 39 points and a career-high 18 assists to lead the Atlanta Hawks past Ben Simmons and Philadelphia, extending the 76ers’ road woes.
Simmons scored 31 points to lead Philadelphia. Shake Milton had a career-high 27 points — 14 more than his previous high — but it wasn’t enough to improve the 76ers’ poor road record. Philadelphia, 22-2 at home, fell to 9-16 in away games.
John Collins had 17 points and 20 rebounds for Atlanta.
The 76ers, who began the night tied with Indiana for fifth place in the East, held their last lead at 21-20 against the Hawks, who are last in the conference.
Joel Embid had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Philadelphia.
RAPTORS 115, CAVALIERS 109
CLEVELAND — Serge Ibaka scored 26 points, Kyle Lowry had 23 and Toronto held off Cleveland for its ninth straight win.
Norman Powell scored eight consecutive points in the final minute for the Raptors after the Cavaliers cut the lead to 105-104. Powell hit a 3-pointer, scored on a layup after making a steal and sank three foul shots to seal the win.
Cleveland trimmed its deficit to one on three occasions and had a chance to tie the game, but Darius Garland missed the second of two free throws with 1:18 to play, leaving Toronto’s lead at 105-104.
Lowry was selected as an All-Star reserve earlier in the day, the sixth time he’ll appear in the game. Pascal Siakam, an All-Star starter, scored 19 points and Powell had 16.
CELTICS 119, WARRIORS 104
BOSTON — Gordon Hayward scored 25 points and Boston earned its fifth victory in six games by beating Golden State.
Marcus Smart added 21 points, 17 in the second half on a night when the Celtics became the latest team to offer a tribute to Kobe Bryant following his death in a helicopter crash.
Jayson Tatum, just selected to his first All-Star Game, returned to the lineup after missing three games with a right groin strain. He finished with 20 points in 24 minutes.
D’Angelo Russell led the Warriors, who lost their fifth straight, with 22 points. Alec Burks scored 18.
WIZARDS 121, HORNETS 107
WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal had 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists after he was snubbed for an All-Star selection, and Washington topped Charlotte.
Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 23 points, and Terry Rozier had 21. The Hornets have lost nine of 10 and 15 of 18.
Beal, chosen for the All-Star Game the previous two years, failed to make it as a reserve in results that were revealed shortly before game time.
He was 5 for 10 from 3-point range, and his fifth 3 came in the middle of a 13-0 run that gave the Wizards an 82-74 lead with 1:41 to play in the third quarter. Beal also made 13 of 14 free throws and scored more than 30 points for the fifth straight game.
Thomas Bryant had 21 points for Washington, which began a six-game homestand.
