Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 123-114 home win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Neither team led by double digits until the Thunder pulled away in the last three minutes.
Gilgeous-Alexander easily topped his previous career high of 45. He attempted a career-high 35 shots, making 17, and also went 17 of 18 from the free-throw line. The two-time All-Star added eight rebounds, five steals, three steals and two blocks.
Jalen Williams, back from a one-game injury absence, put up 25 points as the Thunder won for the 21st time in 23 games. John Collins (22 points, 12 rebounds), Walker Kessler (17 points, 15 boards) and Keyonte George (15 points, 10 assists) had double-doubles for Utah, which has lost four in a row.
Rockets 109, Cavaliers 108
Alperen Sengun sank two free throws with 4.5 seconds left and Houston Rockets survived a seven-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter to outlast the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers appeared to secure the upper hand when Darius Garland was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2.8 seconds left. However, Garland missed the first two free throws, and Donovan Mitchell missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer as Cleveland fell to 3-3 in its past six games.
Fred VanVleet led Houston with 26 points, while Sengun (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Amen Thompson (16 points, 16 rebounds) chipped in double-doubles. Garland paced Cleveland with 26 points, Mitchell added 19 on 7-of-21 shooting, and Jarrett Allen posted 17 points and 13 boards.
Kings 123, Warriors 117
De’Aaron Fox saved eight of his 14 points for a game-ending flurry, DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points and Sacramento overcame an 18-point deficit to beat visiting Golden State.
In the last four minutes, the Kings rattled off 10 consecutive points to take a lead that turned into the 10th win in their past 11 games. Domantas Sabonis amassed 26 points and 18 rebounds for Sacramento.
Andrew Wiggins logged a team-high 25 points for the Warriors, who took their second loss in a row. Stephen Curry made just one 3-pointer on four attempts, finishing with 14 points and 12 assists.
Celtics 117, Clippers 113 (OT)
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum added 24 as Boston edged Los Angeles in Inglewood, Calif., on a night when key players were missing from both sides.
While the Celtics won without Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Al Horford (toe) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness), the Clippers were without four starters: Kawhi Leonard (rest), James Harden (groin), Norman Powell (back) and Ivica Zubac (eye).
Derrick White delivered 20 points for Boston, which improved to 2-0 to begin a four-game road trip following a 3-4 stretch. The Celtics will remain in Los Angeles and face the Lakers on Thursday.
Pistons 114, Hawks 104
Cade Cunningham scored 29 points and Malik Beasley came off the bench to score 19 to lead Detroit over host Atlanta.
The Pistons won their second straight and improved to 10-4 since Christmas. Detroit is now 13-10 on the road and moved past the Hawks into sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Detroit broke a seven-game losing streak in Atlanta and won there for the first time since Jan. 18, 2020.
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The Hawks were led by Dyson Daniels with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Johnson with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and six steals. Trae Young had 13 points and nine assists.
Timberwolves 115, Mavericks 114
Jaden McDaniels scored a career-high 27 points and Anthony Edwards added 21 as Minnesota held on to beat host Dallas.
Mike Conley added a season-high 18 points for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game losing skid and won the season series against Dallas 2-1, with the road team winning all three matchups.
Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 36 points and nine assists. While P.J. Washington scored a season-high 30. The short-handed Mavericks played without several key players, including center Dereck Lively II, who is expected to miss two to three months with a stress fracture in his right foot.
Grizzlies 132, Hornets 120
Desmond Bane scored 24 points to extend his streak of 20-point games to six, leading Memphis to a wire-to-wire win over visiting Charlotte.
Reserve Luke Kennard contributed a season-high 23 points — including 18 in the first half — and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 22 points to help the Grizzlies win their fourth game in a row. Memphis’ Ja Morant finished with 16 points and 13 assists.
Charlotte, which saw its three-game win streak end, got a career-high 38 points from Mark Williams. The center made 14 of 18 field-goal attempts and 10 of 13 free throws in addition to grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out five assists. LaMelo Ball had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Miles Bridges had 17 points and six assists.
Suns 108, Nets 84
Kevin Durant scored 24 points in three quarters against his former team and Phoenix ended a five-game road trip by never trailing in a victory over Brooklyn in New York.
Nearly two years after getting his trade request granted, Durant helped the Suns conclude a 3-2 road trip and win for the seventh time in 10 games to go back over .500 at 22-21. Devin Booker put up 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter for the Suns, who shot 47.7 percent and led by double digits for the entire second half.
The Nets had nine players available and saw their home losing streak reach nine games. Brooklyn also lost for the 10th time in 11 games and dropped to 5-21 since a 10-point win at Phoenix on Nov. 27. Keon Johnson led the Nets with 20 points and Jalen Wilson added 15.
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