Sports

Cousins achieves rare feat

Pelicans nip Bulls in double OT

New Orleans Pelicans’ center DeMarcus Cousins shoots over Chicago Bulls’ forward Lauri Markkanen during their NBA game in New Orleans Monday. — AP
NEW ORLEANS — DeMarcus Cousins had a triple-double and the New Orleans Pelicans fought back from an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Chicago Bulls, 132-128, in double overtime Monday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Cousins had 44 points, 24 rebounds and 10 rebounds to become the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972 to have at least 40 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in the same game. Anthony Davis scored 34 points before fouling out midway through the first overtime, as New Orleans improved to four games over .500 for the first time in three years after winning for the fifth time in six games. E-Twaun Moore scored 15 points, Jrue Holiday added 12 and Darius Miller came off the bench to score 10. Jerian Grant led the Bulls with 22 points and 13 assists. Robin Lopez also had 22 points, Zach LaVine scored 19, Justin Holiday had 15, Lauri Markkanen finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds and Nikola Mirotic scored 14 off the bench. Timberwolves 126, Clippers 118: Andrew Wiggins scored a season-high 40 points and Jeff Teague contributed a season-best 30 points as Minnesota notched a high-octane victory over Los Angeles. Wiggins was 16-of-28 from the field while picking up the scoring slack for a team missing guards Jimmy Butler (knee) and Jamal Crawford (toe). Nemanja Bjelica matched his season high of 18 points, Taj Gibson scored 14 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 11 points and 17 rebounds for his 41st double-double of the campaign as Minnesota won for the seventh time in the past nine games. Blake Griffin had 32 points, a season-best 12 assists and matched a season high with 12 rebounds to record his second triple-double of the season for Los Angeles. Montrezl Harrell scored 23 points, Lou Williams had 20 and Milos Teodosic added 15. Bucks 109, Suns 105: Khris Middleton scored 35 points and Malcolm Brogdon added a career-high 32 as Milwaukee overcame the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo for a second straight game and the firing of head coach Jason Kidd earlier in the day to beat Phoenix at the Bradley Center. With Antetokounmpo out, interim coach Joe Prunty moved Brogdon and Sterling Brown into Milwaukee’s starting lineup, giving the Bucks a three-guard set that wreaked havoc on Phoenix defensively, forcing 21 turnovers and holding Devin Booker to 14 points on 2-of-14 shooting after he’d scored 73 points in his last two games. T.J. Warren led the Suns with 23 points and Greg Monroe finished with 19 and grabbed seven rebounds. Hornets 112, Kings 107: Kemba Walker had 26 points and nine assists to lead host Charlotte past Sacramento. Dwight Howard, Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams had 14 points apiece for the Hornets, who have won three of their past four games. Howard also finished with a game-high 16 rebounds. Skal Labissiere had 23 points off the bench for the Kings. De’Aaron Fox scored 16 points and Willie Cauley-Stein added 11 for Sacramento. Hawks 104, Jazz 90: Dennis Schroder scored 20 points and Taurean Prince added 17 points as host Atlanta pulled away from Utah in the second half. Atlanta came out hot from beyond arc against the Jazz. Eight different Hawks hit 3-pointers, including three from Kent Bazemore. Atlanta hit 12 threes as a team, but was unable to distance itself from Utah until late in the third quarter. Rockets 99, Heat 90: James Harden and Chris Paul controlled the action late, and Houston turned stifling defense down the stretch into a win over visiting Miami. Harden drilled a 3-pointer with just over three minutes remaining to snap an 88-88 tie and added a step-back baseline jumper less than a minute later to help Houston reclaim its three-point lead. With 38.8 seconds remaining, Paul nailed a midrange jumper over Josh Richardson to seal the win, with Houston erasing a 14-point deficit to sweep its three-game homestand. Harden finished with 28 points and five assists while Paul scored half of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Paul added six rebounds and six assists plus three steals to carry Houston home. Grizzlies 105, 76ers 101: Marc Gasol scored 19 points, Tyreke Evans added 18 and Memphis overcame a 15-point deficit to defeat Philadelphia at FedEx Forum. Mavericks 98, Wizards 75: Harrison Barnes finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, as host Dallas stopped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Washington. Nuggets 104, Trail Blazers 101: Jamal Murray went for a career-high 38 points to lift Denver Nuggets to victory against Portland at Pepsi Center.