NBA: Damien Lillard hits 42 points as Portland Trail Blazers beat Memphis Grizzlies
Damian Lillard scored 42 points for the second game in a row as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 122-112.
Lillard, who also had 10 assists and eight rebounds, now has 49 40-point career games.
He is tied with Shaquille O’Neal in 19th place on the list of players with the most 40-point games in NBA history.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics beat the Brooklyn Nets who remain without the injured Kevin Durant.
Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 as the Celtics overwhelmed their Eastern Conference rivals 139-96 – scoring 46 points in the first quarter alone – to remain top of the table.
Kyrie Irving had 20 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Nets, who have now lost their past 10 games against Boston.
The Philadelphia 76ers earned swift revenge for Monday’s surprising defeat by the Orlando Magic, beating the Florida side 105-94 in Wednesday’s rematch.
The Sixers had gone into Monday’s game on the back of seven straight wins but let a 21-point advantage slip as they lost 119-109.
But Joel Embiid scored 28 points while James Harden added 26, including six three-pointers and also had nine rebounds and 10 assists.
The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors 119-114 in overtime while there were also wins for Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks but the Detroit Pistons’ home game against the Washington Wizards was postponed with the Pistons stuck in Dallas because of an ice storm.