In the early slate of games, LeBron James led the Cavs to their 11th win in a row, while at the same time extending the Grizzlies losing streak to 11 games. The Celtics won again as the Pistons are beginning to fade in the Eastern Conference standings. The late games featured a Bucks' win and an incredible fourth quarter performance by the Nuggets.
Bucks (12-9) defeat Kings (7-16) - 109-104
The Bucks already defeated the Kings once this week on Tuesday (Nov. 28) and had no trouble against Sacramento until the very end. Milwaukee held an eight-point lead after the first quarter and an 11-point one at halftime.
The Bucks were up by 20 points with 4:34 left in the third. But the Kings were able to slash that number to eight heading into the fourth. Two free throws by Bogden Bogdanovic cut Milwaukee's lead to a single point with less than two minutes remaining, but Bucks responded by scoring six straight to preserve the victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 13 rebounds for Milwaukee, while Khris Middleton added 25.
Nuggets (13-9) defeat Lakers (8-14) - 115-100
The Nuggets are playing without their two best players (Paul Milsap and Nikola Jokic) and found themselves in a four-point hole against the Lakers at the break. But Miles Plumlee (starting for Jokic) tied the game in the third on a dunk at the 5:11 mark and Denver grabbed the lead outright their next possession.
The two teams traded baskets until Los Angeles went up seven early in the fourth quarter 91-84; the Nuggets tied the game at 98 with 4:52 in the game. From there, Denver outscored Los Angeles 17-2 to secure the win. The Lakers were held scoreless for the final 3:57. Jamal Murray had a game-high 28 points for the Nuggets.
Pelicans (12-11) defeat Trail Blazers (13-10) - 123-116
With Anthony Davis out injured, the Pelicans should have been dead men walking on-the-road playing the second night of a back-to-back. Initially, it looked like the Trail Blazers were going to run New Orleans off-the-floor, but the Pelicans, led by DeMarcus Cousins, flexed their muscle and stormed back to go up three at the half.
New Orleans continued to astound in the third, extending their lead to sixteen points by the end of the quarter.
While the Blazers tried to penetrate the Pelicans' lead, they couldn’t get any closer than two possessions late in the game. Cousins had 38 points and eight rebounds for New Orleans. Damian Lillard led Portland with 29 points and eight assists.
