Timely returns from Damian Lillard and Jimmy Butler pushed the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat to much-needed wins at home.
Other notable outcomes in an eight-game slate saw RJ Barrett drop his season high in points, Trae Young putting on a passing clinic, and the Orlando Magic rolling to yet another win.
DAMIAN LILLARD, JIMMY BUTLER MAKE WINNING RETURNS
- Milwaukee Bucks (5-9) def. Houston Rockets (10-5), 101-100: Damian Lillard saved the best in his first game back from concussion protocols in a cardiac Bucks win over the Rockets.
[ALSO READ: Damian Lillard returns, scores game-winning basket as Bucks snap Rockets’ five-game run]
- Delivering on Both Ends: Lillard connected on the game-winning lay-up with 3.1 seconds left after his superstar teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo had a clutch block over Alperen Sengun in the earlier possession.
The Bucks superstar duo finished with a combined 38-point outing with Brook Lopez pouring 27 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks, and three steals to become the oldest player to record such a statline.
Brook Lopez tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 19, 2024
27 PTS
10 REB
3 STL
4 BLK
Oldest player in NBA history with that statline.
- A chance and a missed call: Houston, whose five-game winning run ended, was this close to snatching the win from Milwaukee, who fumbled on their defensive coverages in the final play of the game.
Wow. The Bucks defense was completely out of sorts here but Sengun can’t control the pass and the Rockets lose.
— Pull up shoot ? (@NElGHT_) November 19, 2024
Furthermore, Antetokounmpo’s feet touched the baseline after his clutch block on Sengun that the officials appeared to miss the call late.
Giannis was out of bounds on the play, leading to Damian Lillard's game-winning bucket for the Bucks.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 19, 2024
Out of bounds or good no-call? 🤔
- Doc Rivers on Damian Lillard’s heroics: “Dame [Lillard] has just great courage. [It] reminds me a lot of Ray Allen in that way.”
"Whether he's on fire or not... he believes that he should take the last shot and make the last shot."
— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2024
Doc Rivers compares Damian Lillard's courage to Ray Allen's after his game-winning layup 🙌
- Miami Heat (6-7) def. Philadelphia 76ers (2-11), 106-89: Jimmy Butler also returned to help the Heat erase a 19-point deficit to turn back the reeling Sixers in Miami.
- The Jimmy B special: Butler did not miss a beat in his first game back since missing the last four due to a sprained ankle.
He had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists while hitting all of his 13 free throws in 34 minutes of play.
Jimmy Butler had it going in his return tonight:
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 19, 2024
🔥 30 PTS
🔥 10 REB
🔥 5 AST
The @MiamiHEAT push the Sixers to 2-11 👀
CLIPPERS, HAWKS HAMMER OUT CLUTCH WINS
- LA Clippers (8-7) def. Golden State Warriors (10-3), 102-99: The Clippers hang on to hold off the pesky Warriors to earn their fourth straight home win.
[ALSO READ: Norman Powell, LA Clippers survive Golden State Warriors to earn fourth straight home win]
- Clips pulling through: Norman Powell dropped 23 points and the Clippers, despite getting outscored by seven points in the final 1:41 of the game, picked up their second win over the Warriors this season.
James Harden had a quiet offensive night with just 12 points, but had six rebounds and 16 assists a day after becoming the second all-time in the NBA three-pointers leaderboard.
He had a moment with Warriors superstar Stephen Curry in pre-game, who is the one person ahead of Harden on the list.
Steph Curry James Harden
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 19, 2024
🤝
Top 2 all-time in 3PM
- Stephen Curry on Harden passing Reggie Miller: “It’s special for sure. We’ve had a lot of battles. We’ll see how far we both can push it."
Steph Curry on James Harden becoming 2nd all-time in made threes:
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 19, 2024
“It’s special for sure… He’s had an unbelievable run. We’ve had a lot of battles. The fact that he’s now second on the list in front of two greats we both respect, it’s pretty special. We’ll see how far we both…
- Atlanta Hawks (7-8) def. Sacramento Kings (8-7), 109-108: Dyson Daniels clamped down on defense against De’Aaron Fox in the endgame of a nerve-racking Hawks road squeezer over the Kings.
- Dime-dropper Trae: Trae Young had a quiet seven-point night offensively but dished out 19 assists, the most by any player this season.
De'Andre Hunter topscored Atlanta with 24 markers while Daniels collected 14 markers, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
RAPTORS, BULLS, KNICKS, MAGIC RACK UP DOMINATING DUBS
- Toronto Raptors (3-12) def. Indiana Pacers (6-8), 130-119: RJ Barrett torched the Pacers with a season-high 39 points, helping the Raptors snap a seven-game skid behind a stellar home outing.
- Chicago Bulls (6-9) def. Detroit Pistons (7-9), 122-112: Three Bulls players scored 25 points or more in an impressive road victory against the Pistons.
- Unstoppa-Bulls: Nikola Vucevic, Zach LaVine, and Coby White had 29, 25, and 25 markers respectively while combining to hit 18 triples as the trio became just the eighth triumvirates of teammates to score 25 or more points and hit five or more threes in the same game.
A trio of @chicagobulls combine for 79 PTS and 18 3PM in the win 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) November 19, 2024
Nikola Vucevic: 29 PTS, 6 3PM
Zach LaVine: 25 PTS, 7 3PM
Coby White: 25 PTS, 5 3PM
This is just the 8th time in NBA history a trio of teammates have each recorded 25+ PTS & 5+ 3PM in the same game!
- New York Knicks (8-6) def. Washington Wizards (2-11), 134-106: Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 50 points as the Knicks sent the Wizards reeling to a ninth straight loss.
- Orlando Magic (9-6) def. Phoenix Suns (9-6), 109-99: Reigning Player of the Week Franz Wagner and the Magic rolled to their season-high six-game winning streak after extending the Suns’ losing skid to four games.
