DENVER — Randy Foye hit a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the Denver Nuggets overcame a 36-point performance by Blake Griffin to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 116-115 on Monday night.
Kenneth Faried had a career-high 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who denied the Clippers their sixth win in seven games.
Ty Lawson, who missed the last four games with a shoulder injury, added 27 points and J.J. Hickson had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
DeAndre Jordan had 19 points and 12 rebounds. It was his team record 28th consecutive game with at least 10 rebounds. Jamal Crawford added 19 points for the Clippers, who fell to 0-11 on the road when trailing after the third quarter.
No more than five points separated the teams in the third quarter with the Nuggets taking an 82-81 lead into the fourth quarter when Quincy Miller stole the ball from Crawford and swept down the court for a layup, beating the buzzer.
With 3:37 left, Griffin made two free throws to put the Clippers up 107-101 but the Nuggets scored eight straight points, getting six on free throws, and went in front by two. The Clippers answered, regaining the lead on a fast-break dunk by Griffin 111-109.
Two free throws by Lawson re-tied it at 111-all with 1:21 left. Griffin made one of two from the line and Wilson Chandler made a pair and the Nuggets led 113-112 with 50.7 seconds remaining. Both the Clippers’ Crawford and the Nuggets’ Lawson missed jumpers before Matt Barnes connected on a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds remaining.
But after a timeout, the Nuggets worked the ball to Foye, who heaved a 3 with 0.9 seconds left from the top of the key for the winner.
Though the Clippers led by as many as 13 points early on, the teams battled to a 60-all tie at the half.
Barnes and Darren Collison finished consecutive fastbreaks with layups to give the Clippers a 55-46 lead with 2:46 left in the second quarter. Chandler answered with a 3-pointer that was offset by a three-point play by Griffin, who then drew a foul, his third, while guarding Foye.
Griffin spent the final couple minutes of the second quarter on the bench, during which the Nuggets closed with an 11-2 burst, including a jumper by Lawson with 29.7 seconds remaining that evened the score at the half.
NOTES: Jordan has played in 209 consecutive games, longest active streak in the NBA. … Faried has 55 career double doubles, including 12 this season. … Jordan has 11 double doubles in his last 15 games. … Griffin has 23 games with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds this season.
THUNDER 86, GRIZZLIES 77
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant had 31 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Serge Ibaka had 21 points and 12 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder continued their home dominance, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 86-77 on Monday night.
Oklahoma City (39-11) had a 10-game winning streak snapped Saturday at Washington, but the Thunder moved to 21-3 at home while winning their seventh straight game at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Zach Randolph had 13 points and 13 rebounds and Marc Gasol added 13 points for Memphis (26-21), which lost for the second time in 13 games. The Grizzlies had won six straight games, the NBA’s longest winning streak entering Monday.
Coming off a remarkable January during which he averaged 35.9 points per game on 54.9-percent shooting, Durant finished 11 of 21 from the field.
PACERS 98, MAGIC 79
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Danny Granger scored 16 points, Paul George and Lance Stephenson each added 15, and Indiana beat Orlando.
Indiana (37-10) won for the second time in three days and maintained its grip on the NBA’s best record.
The reeling Magic were led by Arron Afflalo with 20 points and Nikola Vucevic with 16. Orlando (13-37) lost for the fourth time in five games and is a league-worst 3-23 on the road.
It wasn’t nearly as easy as it seemed.
Orlando cut a 16-point second-quarter deficit to nine at the half, to 60-58 in the third quarter and even had two chances to tie the score.
But the Pacers answered with six straight points and put away the Magic with an 18-1 run that started late in the third quarter and ended with the Pacers up 86-64 with 7:45 left in the game.
HEAT 102, PISTONS 96
MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James came within two rebounds of his first triple-double this season, and Miami on for the fifth time in six games.
James had 24 points and 11 assists, Dwyane Wade scored 30 points and Chris Bosh added 17.
Wade had one of his best performances in an injury-hampered season, shooting 13 for 19 and adding 10 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes. His point total was his highest since Dec. 18.
James was blanked in the rebound department down the stretch. When Wade snatched a rebound away from him with 4 minutes left, a grinning James chided him as they ran upcourt. Wade waved his arms in sheepish apology.
Teammate Ray Allen outfought James for a rebound a minute later, which left James muttering to the Heat bench.
NETS 108, 76ERS 102
NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Pierce scored 25 points, Deron Williams added 21 and Brooklyn stopped a three-game losing streak.
The Nets had lost to division leaders Toronto, Oklahoma City and Indiana after starting 2014 by winning 10 of their first 11 games, but got back on track against a Philadelphia team that has lost 13 of its last 16 games.
Brooklyn had a 19-point lead with 4:21 left in the third quarter cut to 104-102 after James Anderson hit a 3-pointer with 22 seconds left. Pierce then made two free throws before Shaun Livingston intercepted Michael Carter-Williams’ pass and converted a pair of free throws to put it away.
Carter-Williams led Philadelphia with 21 points and Tony Wroten had 18 off the bench.
SPURS 102, PELICANS 95
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tony Parker scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half and also doled out nine assists, and San Antonio overcame a 14-point deficit.
Tim Duncan scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, and Marco Belinelli added 13 against his former club.
Anthony Davis had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, Anthony Morrow added 20 points and Eric Gordon scored 19 points for the Pelicans, who appeared in line for their fifth win in six games when they led by 14 near the end of the third quarter.
The Spurs, however, had other plans. Parker strung together an array of dazzling driving layups through crowds of defenders, and San Antonio outscored New Orleans 38-19 in the final period.
BUCKS 101, KNICKS 98
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Brandon Knight made a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left and finished with 25 points, and Milwaukee snapped a six-game losing streak.
Knight took a couple dribbles, then quickly fired his 3 from the wing with Raymond Felton leaping into the air. Felton turned in disbelief as Knight rushed down the other end to celebrate.
The Knicks had one last chance, though Carmelo Anthony misfired on a deep 3. He finished with 36 points.
New York rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but ended up falling to the worst team in the NBA.
Khris Middleton added 19 points and a season-high five 3s for Milwaukee, which also snapped a seven-game skid to New York.
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