NBA: Rookie guard Ja Morant powers Grizzlies to sixth straight win; Kawhi Leonard scores season-high 43 points

Memphis: Rookie guard Ja Morant had 26 points and eight assists, Dillon Brooks scored 24 and the Memphis Grizzlies won their sixth straight game by defeating the Houston Rockets 121-110 on Tuesday night. Jonas Valanciunas added 19 points and Jaren Jackson Jr had 15 despite going 6 of 16 from the floor. Morant missed only one of his 11 shots as the Grizzlies extended their longest winning streak since December 2016.

Ja Morant recorded 26 PTS (10-11 FGM) and 8 assists on Tuesday. Morant is just the 4th rookie in @NBAHistory to have 25+ points and 5+ assists while shooting over 90% from the field - joining Joe Meriweather (1976), Billy McKinney (1978) and Brandon Knight (2012). pic.twitter.com/9nkS3Urk1u

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 15, 2020

James Harden led the Rockets with 41 points as backcourt mate Russell Westbrook took the night off in the first game of a back-to-back. Eric Gordon finished with 23 points, and Clint Capela had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Harden has scored at least 40 points in five straight games against the Grizzlies. The teams were tied at 95 with about eight minutes left when the Grizzlies went on an 11-1 run fueled by 3-pointers from Solomon Hill, Brooks and Morant. Los Angeles Clippers 128 — 103 Cleveland Cavaliers Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 43 points in three quarters as Los Angeles routed Cleveland. According to Sportradar, it was only the second time since 1996 a Clippers player scored at least 40 points in the first three quarters. Lou Williams had 40 against Golden State in a 2018 game.

Kawhi Leonard (43 PTS, 6 3PM) becomes the first @LAClippers player to score 40+ in less than 30 minutes played! #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/qLmiy5ZUYc

— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2020

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Leonard played 29 minutes and was 14 of 22 from the floor, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers. He was two points from tying his regular-season career-high. Williams added 24 points for the Clippers, who played again without injured star Paul George. They have won five of six and had six scorers in double figures. Collin Sexton led the Cavaliers with 25 points and Cedi Osman added 21. Rookie guard Darius Garland, the fifth overall pick in last June’s draft, had 14 points and a career-high 10 assists for his first double-double. Utah Jazz 118 — 107 Brooklyn Nets Joe Ingles matched his career-high with 27 points, Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 18 rebounds, and Utah ran its winning streak to 10 games by beating Brooklyn. Donovan Mitchell returned from a one-game absence with an illness to score 25 points — 14 in the fourth quarter — and Bojan Bogdanovic had 18 for the Jazz, who opened a 20-point lead and turned back every attempt by the Nets to make it close. Kyrie Irving had 32 points and a season-high 11 assists for Brooklyn in his second game back from a shoulder injury. Utah has won 15 of 16. Milwaukee Bucks 128 — 102 New York Knicks Giannis Antetokounmpo needed only 21 minutes on the court to score 37 points and lead Milwaukee past New York. Antetokounmpo did not play in the fourth quarter after the Bucks built a 32-point lead entering the final period on the way to sweeping the three-game season series with the Knicks.

The @Bucks improve to 36-6 behind @Giannis_An34's 37 PTS, 9 REB in 22 minutes of action! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/LtFFucIM3r

— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2020

Khris Middleton added 17 points and Ersan Ilyasova had 14 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee, which led by as many as 35 and improved its record to an NBA-best 36-6. Julius Randle had 25 points and 15 rebounds to pace the Knicks (11-30), and rookie R.J. Barrett added 22 points. Bobby Portis had 20 off the bench. Dallas Mavericks 124 — 97 Golden State Warriors Dwight Powell scored 21 points and was 9 for 9 from the field in Dallas’ victory over Golden State. Luka Doncic added 20 points and eight rebounds as the Mavericks won their fourth straight against the Warriors — three in a row on their home floor. Jordan Poole came off the bench to score 17 points for Golden State. Fellow reserve Eric Paschall added 16, but the Warriors lost their eighth consecutive game and fourth straight at Chase Center. Injury-plagued Golden State lost another player when guard Jacob Evans III was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for a head injury. He was helped off the court with 4:38 left in the first half after getting hit with an elbow by Powell as they fought for a rebound. Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis sat out an eighth straight game. He has been feeling ill and is still dealing with soreness in his right knee. Atlanta Hawks 123 — 110 Phoenix Suns Trae Young scored 21 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and Atlanta pulled away late to beat Phoenix. It was Young’s 20th game with at least 30 points this season. He got help from backcourt partner Kevin Huerter, who scored 23 points and set career highs with 15 rebounds and eight assists. John Collins added 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Devin Booker led the Suns with 39 points before he was ejected for his second technical foul following his dunk with less than two minutes remaining. Deandre Ayton had 20 points and 10 rebounds.