sport news Nets seal dramatic comeback win WITHOUT Kyrie Irving as Cam Thomas scores a ... trends now

Cam Thomas scored a career-high 44 points off the bench and the short-handed Brooklyn Nets rallied from a 23-point deficit to stun the Washington Wizards 125-123 on Saturday night.

Edmond Sumner also set a personal best with 29 points and Nic Claxton had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, who had their largest comeback win of the season and swept the regular-season series against the Wizards.

Washington also lost to Portland 124-116 on Friday night after blowing a 20-point lead. The Wizards became the first NBA team in the last 25 seasons to lose on consecutive days after being up by 20 or more points in each, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

Patty Mills added 13 points and Royce O´Neale had 10 for the Nets, who trailed 44-21 late in the first quarter.

'We responded,' Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. 'Definitely a shift in our mentality and we got rewarded for it.'

The victory came despite Brooklyn being without Kyrie Irving, who was out with what the team said was right calf soreness - a day after he told the Nets he wants to be traded, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press. 

'We were all in agreement on him not being here tonight,' Vaughn said.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 38 points before fouling out. Deni Avdija finished with 23 points, Monte Morris added 18 and Corey Kispert had 15 for beleaguered Washington.

BUCKS 123, HEAT 115

Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the short-handed Miami Heat 123-115 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory.

Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Tyler Herro added 24 for the Heat, who had just nine available players. Notable injured Miami players included Kyle Lowry (sore left knee) and Victor Oladipo (sprained right ankle).

Antetokounmpo had his third triple-double of the season and 32nd of his career. The 11 assists matched his season high.

The two-time MVP had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists in a victory at Minnesota on Nov. 4. He had 30 points, 21 and 10 assists in an overtime win at Toronto on Jan. 4.

Antetokounmpo's latest triple-double came two nights after he scored 54 points in a 106-105 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. During the Bucks' six-game winning streak, Antetokounmpo is averaging 39.4 points, 14.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

Khris Middleton added 24 points, Grayson Allen 19, Jrue Holiday 15 and Pat Connaughton 14.

The Bucks gained a measure of revenge after losing consecutive games in Miami on Jan. 12 and 14. Antetokounmpo didn´t play in either of those games.

THUNDER 153, ROCKETS 121 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 42 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder blow out the Houston Rockets 153-121 on Saturday night.

Oklahoma City set a Thunder record for points in a game, surpassing the 150 scored in a win over the Boston Celtics last month.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot seven for 23 in a loss to the Rockets on Wednesday. He bounced back to make 14 of 23 field goals in the rematch, falling two points short of his career high. 

The first-time All-Star also made 14 of 15 free throws and had six assists for the Thunder, despite not playing in the fourth quarter because the Thunder led by 42 points at the end of the third.

Mike Muscala scored a season-high 19 points and Josh Giddey added 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City.

Josh Christopher and TyTy Washington each scored 20 points and Tari Eason added 18 for the Rockets.

Oklahoma City led 79-53 at the break after shooting 55 percent from the field. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points in the first two quarters, a career high for him in a first half.

CLIPPERS 134, KNICKS 128

Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, Paul George added 30 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the New York Knicks 134-128 in overtime Saturday night.

After the Clippers lost a 17-point fourth quarter lead, Nicolas Batum's three-pointer at the regulation buzzer tied it at 115.

'I wish we could finish the game in the fourth quarter by making some shots to put teams away,' Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. 'But, big shot by Nico. Gutsy win by us. Nico makes the big shot and we controlled the overtime.'

The Clippers scored the first four points of overtime and never relinquished the lead. Leonard connected on all of his eight free throws in the extra session, finishing 12 for 12 from the line.

'We got to do better,' Leonard said. 'Second night in a row we had big leads against these good team and they´re coming back. They have fight in them and we have to be able to close them out.'

Norman Powell

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