LOS ANGELES — Zach LaVine made a go-ahead layup with 2.0 seconds remaining and sank a free throw to complete a three-point play, and the Chicago Bulls emerged with a 109-106 win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

LaVine finished with 31 points on 11-for-21 shooting, including four of seven from beyond the arc. Thaddeus Young finished with 17 points, Denzel Valentine had 16, and Lauri Markkanen notched 13 points and 17 rebounds.

Montrezl Harrell scored 30 points to lead the Clippers, whose four-game winning streak was snapped. Paul George added 27 points in 31 minutes but missed a shot at the buzzer that could have forced overtime.

Los Angeles played without Kawhi Leonard (left knee soreness), Lou Williams (calf), Patrick Beverley (concussion) and JaMychal Green (tailbone) because of injuries. Landry Shamet returned from an ankle injury for the first time since Nov. 11 and scored 11 points.

A 3-pointer by Valentine evened the score at 106-106 with 48 seconds remaining.

The teams traded leads during a back-and-forth final quarter.

After George hit a pull-up jump shot, Shamet added a basket 28 seconds later to give the Clippers a 95-93 lead with 5:26 to play. But LaVine responded with a 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Bulls ahead 96-95.

George then knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Clippers a 98-96 edge with 4:15 to go. Wendell Carter Jr. quickly evened the score at 98-98 on an alley-oop dunk with 3:58 remaining.

A 29-22 advantage in the third quarter allowed the Bulls to take an 84-79 lead. Chicago led by as many as 14 points when a tip shot by Markkanen made it 75-61 with 5:59 left in the session, but Los Angeles answered with a 12-1 scoring binge.

The Clippers held on to a 57-55 lead at the half.

Los Angeles led by 15 points with 5:09 remaining in the second quarter after Patrick Patterson made a pair of free throws to cap a 12-0 run. But the Bulls responded with a 15-3 run that included two layups by Kris Dunn, a 3-pointer by Markkanen and a dunk by LaVine.

The Bulls trailed 29-24 at the end of the first quarter.

HEAT BEAT MAVERICKS AFTER DONCIC INJURED
Jimmy Butler scored 27 points as the Miami Heat recorded a 122-118 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in a game that saw Luka Doncic injure his ankle early in the first quarter.

After Jalen Brunson’s 3-pointer gave Dallas a 118-114 lead in overtime, Tyler Herro answered with one of his own before Bam Adebayo’s emphatic dunk gave Miami the advantage.

Butler rebounded after missing a pair of free throws by making his next two with 5.7 seconds remaining, and Brunson misfired on a 3-point attempt to effectively end the game.

Herro finished with 19 points and Adebayo collected a triple-double with 18 points, 11 boards and 10 assists for the Heat, who rebounded after dropping a 113-110 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.

Tim Hardaway Jr. made six 3-pointers to highlight his 28-point performance and Kristaps Porzingis had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have lost two of three after winning 10 of their previous 11.

X-rays were negative for Doncic, who did not return to the game after stepping on the foot of Miami guard Kendrick Nunn while driving to the basket. He remained on the floor for several moments before hobbling to the locker room.

Doncic, who was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018–19, entered the game averaging team-leading totals in points (30.4), rebounds (9.9) and assists (9.3) this season. His streak of 20 consecutive games with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists ended due to the injury.

The Heat shot a blistering 54.8 percent from the field (23 of 42) in the first half and 63.2 percent from 3-point range (12 of 19) to seize a 73-50 lead at intermission. The 70-plus-point first half marked the fourth time that the Heat accomplished the feat this season, which is the most in franchise history.

Hardaway Jr. scored 10 points in the third quarter as Dallas trimmed a 24-point deficit down to three after J.J. Barea’s driving layup with 7:03 remaining in the fourth.

The air was taken out of the American Airlines Center after Doncic departed, and the Heat took advantage of a stunned Mavericks club by bolting out to a 37-16 lead in the first quarter. Meyers Leonard sank a pair of 3-pointers to highlight his 10-point performance in the quarter. — Reuters

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