NBA
New York and Clippers struggle for triumphs, Grizzlies weak against Washington
On Friday, both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers were rescued from stern opening quarters to win against the Bucks and the Timberwolves.
Tenacious after a poor first quarter, the New York Knicks charged back for a 113-98 road win versus the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Hunting the defending NBA champions 38-19 after the initial period, the Knicks recovered their swing behind Julius Randle's game-high 32 points.
Derrick Rose entered off the bench to score 23, and RJ Barrett added 22 for the Knicks as they progressed to 6-3 overall and 4-1 on the road.
"Obviously, you don't want to get down like we did, but we did," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "It's a long game. You've got to keep fighting and get it to a manageable number. Once we got going a little bit and we made a couple of hustle plays, it galvanized us and gave us energy."
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and Grayson Allen 22 for the Bucks, but Milwaukee's other three starters connected for just 15 points as the champs shot 40.2 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 59-37.
The Bucks (4-5) have lost four of their last five games and are 1-4 at home.
Clippers fight back to down Timberwolves
The Los Angeles Clippers mounted an impressive comeback of their own, trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves by 21 at one point before rallying for a 104-84 victory. Paul George had 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead the Clippers (4-4), while Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota (3-5).
Kevin Durant's 29 points and 10 rebounds lifted the Brooklyn Nets (6-3) to a 96-90 road win against the Detroit Pistons (1-8). First overall draft pick Cade Cunningham's shooting woes continued as he went six-for-17 from the field but the rookie led the Pistons with 17.
Stephen Curry made just five of 15 shots from the field, all but two of those attempts coming from three-point range, but the Golden State Warriors (7-1) still rolled to a 126-85 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (1-9) thanks to 26 points from Jordan Poole.
Morant misfires in loss to Wizards
Ja Morant has been one of the NBA's most effective scorers so far this season but the Washington Wizards (6-3) shut down the Memphis star in a 115-87 rout of the Grizzlies (5-4). Morant entered the game averaging 27.0 points and shooting 52.2 per cent from the field but made just four of 17 shots Friday on the way to an 11-point night.