NBA: Kemba Walker stretchered off as Celtics fall in Denver; Rockets lose again despite James Harden's 37pts

(REUTERS, AFP) - Nikola Jokic scored 18 points, collected a season-best 16 rebounds and also had 10 assists and three steals during his third triple-double of the season to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 96-92 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Friday (Nov 22) night.

But the National Basketball Association game was marred with a scary incident that led to Boston guard Kemba Walker being taken off the court on a stretcher with 3:13 remaining in the second quarter.

The Celtics later announced that Walker was diagnosed with"concussion-like symptoms" and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Coach Brad Stevens said scans run on Walker at half-time found no significant damage, adding: "I saw him in the ambulance at half-time that took him to the hospital, and he was - he had his wherewithal, and in pretty decent spirits, which was good, obviously... It was good to get at least early reports of good news."

Denver's Jamal Murray recorded a team-high 22 points to go with six rebounds and five assists as the Nuggets won their fourth straight game and eighth in the past nine. Will Barton added 15 points, and Paul Millsap contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Jaylen Brown had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum added 16 points for the Celtics, who have lost three of their past four games following a 10-game winning streak. Marcus Smart scored 15 points, and Brad Wanamaker added 14.

Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard hit a go-ahead jumper with 15.4 seconds left, lifting the hosts Los Angeles Clippers to a 122-119 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Lou Williams scored all 26 of his points in the second half. Leonard finished with 24 points and six rebounds, while Paul George had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Clippers, who won their fourth in a row.

James Harden had 37 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who dropped their second straight after an eight-game winning streak.

Russell Westbrook scored 22 points and Clint Capela had 17 points and 19 rebounds.

Williams hit a three-pointer with 30.8 seconds left, giving the Clippers a 118-117 lead before two free throws by Harden gave the Rockets a one-point advantage with 22.1 seconds remaining.

After Leonard's bucket, George converted two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining for the difference.

It was the first meeting between Westbrook and George, who spent two seasons together with the Oklahoma City Thunder, after the latter requested a trade to the Clippers to play with Leonard. The Thunder dealt Westbrook to the Rockets a short time later.

Elsewhere, a suspicious package resulted in the evacuation of the Utah Jazz's home arena just minutes after the end of their 113-109 win over Golden State.

The majority of fans had already left Vivint Smart Home Arena, so the evacuation mostly affected staff, coaches and players - some of whom were seen heading to their cars still in their uniforms.

The visiting Warriors immediately headed to their team bus. Reporters also had their interviews cut short by the evacuation order as they headed outside with everyone else.

In another NBA game, LeBron James had 23 points and Anthony Davis made four clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled out a 130-127 win over Oklahoma City on Friday.

Davis finished with a team high 33 points and 11 rebounds but it was his free-throw shooting that helped the Lakers seal the victory over the struggling Thunder.

Chris Paul made a lay-up with 11 seconds remaining to get the Thunder to within 126-125 before Davis made a pair of free throws to put the Lakers up by three with eight seconds left.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored with four seconds to go before two more free throws from Davis gave the Lakers another three-point cushion. The Thunder made a final long desperation inbounds pass but James stole the ball from Steven Adams to end the game.

This marked the Lakers' second win over the Thunder in a span of three days, after beating Oklahoma City 112-107 on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The Thunder have now lost three straight and five of their last six. The Lakers won their sixth straight game and earned a 13th victory in their past 14 contests.

This is the seventh consecutive game that James has posted double-digit assists. He leads the league with an average of 11.3 assists per game. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 24 points and Adams added 22 for the Thunder.