NBA: Damian Lillard's 50-point effort rescues Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Damian Lillard made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to cap a season-best 50-point effort as the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 17-point, fourth-quarter deficit to post a dramatic 125-124 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Tuesday night's NBA results

• New Orleans Pelicans 124 - 125 Portland Trail Blazers

Lillard, who achieved his half-century on just 20 shot attempts, also had 10 assists. He was fouled by Eric Bledsoe before making both free-throws to post his 12th career 50-point effort. New Orleans' Zion Williamson saw his short bank shot bounce off the rim as time expired.

Brandon Ingram scored 30 points and Williamson added 28 points and a career-best eight assists for the Pelicans. New Orleans' Lonzo Ball contributed a career-best 17 assists and scored 11 points.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 22 points for Portland. Teammate CJ McCollum scored 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting in 26 minutes in his return from a fractured left foot. McCollum missed the previous 25 games.

Lillard's winning free throws were set up by Nickell Alexander-Walker (20 points, six 3-pointers) fumbling an inbounds pass out of bounds with 4.2 seconds left to give the Trail Blazers one last shot.

Portland, which made all 31 of its free throws, trailed 117-100 with 5:56 left before making its late dash.

Lillard and Robert Covington sank 3-pointers, Lillard drove for a layup and Trent Jr. added two free throws to cut the deficit to seven. Trent Jr. and Lillard added 3-pointers as the Trail Blazers pulled within 117-116 with 2:41 left.

Bledsoe nailed a 3-pointer with 2:20 left as New Orleans halted a drought of more than 3 1/2 minutes. Williamson added two baskets, the second giving the Pelicans a 124-121 lead with 41.4 seconds remaining.

Ingram missed two free throws with 7.2 seconds left before Lillard was fouled and made both free throws to bring Portland within one with 5.2 seconds remaining.

• Cleveland Cavaliers 98 - 113 Miami Heat

Jimmy Butler had 28 points, a season-high-tying 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals to carry the host Miami Heat to a 113-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It was Butler's seventh straight game with at least 27 points. The Heat, who won their fifth straight and improved to 11-1 in their past 12 games, got 17 points from Kelly Olynyk and 15 from Tyler Herro.

Miami's Bam Adebayo, who missed four straight games due to a knee injury, returned and scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished six assists in 30 minutes.

Cleveland, which has lost four straight games, was led by Collin Sexton, who had a team-high 21 points. JaVale McGee had 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. McGee shot 8-of-10 from the floor.

For the game, the Heat shot 49.4 per cent from the floor, including 10-for-27 on 3-pointers (37.0 per cent). Cleveland shot 45.3 per cent from the floor, including 10-for-35 on threes (28.6 per cent).

• Utah Jazz 117 - 109 Boston Celtics

Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points and Jordan Clarkson added 20 off the bench to lead the Utah Jazz to a 117-109 victory over the host Boston Celtics.

Rudy Gobert had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for the Jazz, who swept the season series against Boston. Mike Conley chipped in 17 points and five assists.

Jayson Tatum scored 29 points and Jaylen Brown added 28 to lead the Celtics.

Daniel Theis had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, while Robert Williams III chipped in 14 points and nine boards off the bench.

The Celtics made a final push and cut the Jazz lead to 104-101 on a jumper from Brown with 2:35 remaining. That's as close as Boston would get in the final minutes. Mitchell buried a 3-pointer and Gobert followed with a pair of free throws to put Utah up 109-101 with 50.5 seconds left.

• New York Knicks 96 - 99 Philadelphia 76ers

Tobias Harris scored 30 points and the host Philadelphia 76ers rallied past the New York Knicks 99-96.

Seth Curry added 20 and Ben Simmons contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Sixers, who earned a season-best sixth win in a row.

Philadelphia's Furkan Korkmaz scored 12 points and Dwight Howard had 11 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. The Sixers continued to play without injured All-Star Joel Embiid, who is recovering from a bone bruise on his left knee.

The Knicks' Julius Randle compiled 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Alec Burks added 19 points and RJ Barrett had 17.

Down by nine points to start the fourth quarter, the Sixers went ahead 90-89 with 5:03 remaining after Curry dropped in a deep trey from the wing. Harris' driving layup with 2:26 left put the Sixers ahead 94-92.

After an empty Knicks possession, Harris hit a short turnaround jumper in the lane for a 96-92 advantage.

Barrett's dunk with 1:11 left pulled the Knicks within 96-94. Barrett had a chance to tie the game in the final 30 seconds but he missed a short shot.

The Knicks had only three field goals over the final nine and a half minutes, and the 76ers closed out the victory at the foul line.

• Minnesota Timberwolves 121 - 137 Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James recorded a second consecutive triple-double to reach 99 for his career, delivering the Los Angeles Lakers to a 137-121 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.

James and Montrezl Harrell led six players in double figures with 25 points apiece as the Lakers completed a back-to-back sweep after having dispatched of the Golden State Warriors 128-97 in San Francisco on Monday.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards paced the Timberwolves with matching game highs of 29 points.

James, who had only three triple-doubles in his first 37 games this season, followed up Monday's 22-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist effort with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.

His career-best run has been a three-gamer, compiled three times, most recently in November 2019.

With 99 career triple-doubles, James moved within one of becoming just the fifth in NBA history to reach 100. Those who have achieved the milestone ahead of him are Oscar Robertson (181), Russell Westbrook (157), Magic Johnson (138) and Jason Kidd (107).

• Atlanta Hawks 119 - 107 Houston Rockets

Danilo Gallinari scored a team-high 29 points, and he and Atlanta teammate Tony Snell each hit five 3-pointers to lead the visiting Hawks to a 119-107 win over the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets matched a franchise record with their 17th consecutive loss. Gallinari finished 5 of 8 from behind the arc while Snell went 5 of 7 en route to 15 points. Kevin Huerter added three 3-pointers and scored 16 points while John Collins (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Trae Young (13 points, 14 assists) recorded double-doubles for the Hawks.

Rookie Nathan Knight added 15 points for Atlanta, which extended its season-best win streak to six games and improved to 6-0 under interim coach Nate McMillan.

Victor Oladipo scored 34 points, Kevin Porter Jr. paired 22 points with eight assists and rookie Jae'Sean Tate tallied a career-high 25 points plus six rebounds and six assists for Houston.

• Oklahoma City Thunder 102 - 123 Chicago Bulls

Zach LaVine scored 40 points and Lauri Markkanen added 22 to boost the host Chicago Bulls to a 123-102 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

The Bulls won their second straight to improve to 2-2 on a five-game homestand, which concludes Wednesday against San Antonio.

LaVine reached the 40-point plateau for the third time this season, shooting 15-for-20 in just under 31 minutes to finish six points shy of his season high.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 21 points, ending a streak of three straight games with at least 30. Moses Brown finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Thaddeus Young put together 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Bulls. Tomas Satoransky had 13 points and seven assists, while Wendell Carter Jr. chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.