James Harden scored 17 of his 40 points in the third quarter, and Norman Powell added 33 points as the Los Angeles Clippers finished off a 127-117 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks at Inglewood, Calif.
Kawhi Leonard scored 18 points while matching a season-high with 24 minutes in his seventh game of the season. Ivica Zubac had 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Clippers went 3-2 over a stretch of five games in seven days.
The Clippers used a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to turn a 100-98 deficit into a 112-100 lead. Harden, who had nine assists, scored the final six points in the run.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 36 points with 13 rebounds, and Damian Lillard had 29 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth career triple-double as the Bucks saw a five-game winning streak come to an end. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points, Taurean Prince added 14 and Brook Lopez had 13 for Milwaukee, which opened a four-game road trip.
Pacers 136, Spurs 98
Tyrese Haliburton scored a game-high 28 points and took over in the pivotal final five minutes of the third quarter as Indiana handled San Antonio to split the NBA Paris Games series.
San Antonio captured the first game of the set 140-110 on Thursday but had no answer for the Pacers in the finale. Indiana led by 15 points at halftime and by 12 after three. Haliburton scored 16 points in a decisive 19-6 run to end the period. Pascal Siakam added 23 points and 11 rebounds for Indiana, which won for the third time in its past four contests.
Andrew Nembhard had 15 points, Myles Turner scored 14, Bennedict Mathurin hit for 13, T.J. McConnell 12 and Thomas Bryant 10.
Harrison Barnes led San Antonio with 25 points while Victor Wembanyama, a Paris native, added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Stephon Castle scored 17 points and Chris Paul tallied 11. The Spurs have dropped four of their past five games.
Timberwolves 133, Nuggets 104
Anthony Edwards poured in 34 points as Minnesota cruised past Denver for a win in Minneapolis.
Edwards also had nine assists for Minnesota, which shot a stunning 55.8 per cent from the field (53 of 95). Seven Timberwolves had scoring totals in double figures, including Julius Randle (21), Rudy Gobert (14), Jaden McDaniels (13) and Naz Reid (13). Gobert added 14 rebounds to complete a double-double.
Jamal Murray paced Denver with 25 points. Nikola Jokic failed to record his sixth straight triple-double, collecting 20 points, three boards and 11 assists. Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon chipped in 13 points apiece as the Nuggets lost for just the second time in 10 games.
Celtics 122, Mavericks 107
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 24 points and Derrick White added 23 to lead visiting Boston to a victory over Dallas.
Tatum and White each made four 3-pointers, while the Celtics were 20 of 52 (38.5 per cent) from 3-point range as a team in the victory. All five Boston starters scored at least 17 points. Jaylen Brown tossed in 22, Kristaps Porzingis finished with 18 and Jrue Holiday had 17. Holiday was 5 of 10 from 3-point range.
Kyrie Irving scored 22 points for the Mavericks, who have lost six of their last eight games. Quentin Grimes scored 20 points off the bench for Dallas, and Daniel Gafford had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
Knicks 143, Kings 120
OG Anunoby scored a team-high 33 points, helping New York defeat visiting Sacramento.
Mikal Bridges added 27 points, Jalen Brunson had 25 points and 11 assists, and Josh Hart collected 20 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists as the Knicks won their third straight game. Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 15 boards for New York, which made 17 of its 36 (47.2 percent) 3-point attempts.
Malik Monk led the Kings with 31 points. Domantas Sabonis chipped in 25 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, while DeMar DeRozan scored 18 as Sacramento dropped its second in a row.
76ers 109, Bulls 97
Tyrese Maxey had 31 points and nine assists while Kelly Oubre Jr. notched 22 points and 12 rebounds to lift visiting Philadelphia over slumping Chicago.
The 76ers have won two games in as many nights on the heels of a seven-game losing streak. Chicago has lost seven of eight. The Bulls committed 20 turnovers.
Zach LaVine had 25 points and eight rebounds for Chicago. Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Josh Giddey registered his third straight double-double for the Bulls, contributing 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists.
Lakers 118, Warriors 108
Anthony Davis and LeBron James combined for 61 points as part of double-doubles, Dorian Finney-Smith contributed a 3-pointer to a game-breaking surge early in the fourth quarter and Los Angeles ran off from Golden State in San Francisco.
Davis finished with 36 points and 13 rebounds, and James chipped in with 25 points and 12 assists as the Lakers improved to 2-0 this season against the rival Warriors, with both wins coming on the road.
Andrew Wiggins paced Golden State with 20 points on a night when Stephen Curry missed all eight of his second-half shots, made just two 3-pointers overall and finished with 13 points.
Magic 121, Pistons 113
Franz Wagner scored 25 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter as Magic snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over visiting Detroit.
Paolo Banchero also had 32 points for Orlando (24-23), which trailed by two before opening the fourth quarter with a 20-4 run to move ahead 99-85. Jonathan Isaac finished with 14 points, and Wendell Carter Jr. had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 35 points and 11 assists. Malik Beasley scored 18 points, Ausar Thompson added 16, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Ron Holland II had 13 apiece, and Jalen Duren finished with 10.
Suns 119, Wizards 109
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Nick Richards continued to make a stellar impression as Phoenix notched a victory over visiting Washington.
Richards scored 20 points and collected a career-best 19 rebounds in his fourth game with the Suns and first at home since being acquired from the Charlotte Hornets last week. Bradley Beal, the former Washington star, also scored 20 points for the Suns. Devin Booker added 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and Tyus Jones had 16 points.
Kyle Kuzma recorded 30 points and 11 rebounds for Washington, which lost its 13th consecutive game. The Wizards are 0-5 on a six-game trip and are 1-20 on the road this season. Jordan Poole had 19 points, 10 assists and a career-best six steals for the Wizards. Jonas Valanciunas scored 16 points, Bilal Coulibaly added 12 points and Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington had 11 apiece for Washington.
Grizzlies 125, Jazz 103
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points and Zach Edey added 19 points, seven rebounds and four blocks as host Memphis beat Utah for its sixth straight win to tie a season-best streak.
Memphis guard Ja Morant returned after missing Friday’s game against the Pelicans and had 11 points and seven assists. Desmond Bane contributed 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists, Jaylen Wells scored 16, and GG Jackson had 15 points and six rebounds.
Utah, which lost its fifth straight and for the eighth time in nine games, was led by Collin Sexton with 20 points and Svi Mykhailiuk with 16.
Raptors 117, Hawks 94
Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Chris Boucher combined for 70 points to lead visiting Toronto to a win over Atlanta and earn back-to-back road wins for the first time this season.
Toronto swept the two-games-in-three-days series and took the season series 2-1. Toronto won for just the third time in 22 road games and has won three straight in Atlanta. The Hawks have lost four in a row and dropped to 11-10 at home. Barnes had 24 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Barrett added 23 points and eight rebounds, and Boucher came off the bench to score 23.
Atlanta was led by Vit Krejci, who scored 20 points. Krejci matched his career high with six 3-pointers and had a season-high seven assists. Trae Young had a miserable game. He scored 16 points, had a season-low four assists — ending a streak of 202 consecutive games with at least five assists — and committed a season-high 11 turnovers.
Rockets 135, Cavaliers 131
Amen Thompson came up with critical late rebounds and points as part of his triple-double performance, and visiting Houston completed the regular-season sweep of Cleveland.
Houston never trailed after taking the lead midway through the first quarter, but Cleveland chipped away at a deficit of as many as 19 points to force a tie with 1:51 remaining in regulation. Alperen Sengun matched Jalen Green with a team-high 26 points. Thompson finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his second career triple-double. He was one of four Houston starters to score at least 20 points, with Fred VanVleet adding 20.
Cleveland’s Darius Garland led all scorers with 39 points and dished a team-high nine assists in the loss. Georges Niang came off the bench to score 21 points, and Max Strus finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Heat 106, Nets 97
Tyler Herro scored 25 points as Miami pulled away in the third quarter and withstood Brooklyn’s late comeback to win in New York.
The Heat moved back to .500 for the 12th time this season at 22-22 and won for just the ninth time in 21 games since winning four straight games in early December. Herro made 8-of-14 shots and had eight of Miami’s 22 assists.
Keon Johnson scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help Brooklyn chip away at an 18-point deficit early in the period. D’Angelo Russell also scored 22 for the Nets, who were without Cameron Johnson (right ankle) for the ninth time in 12 games.
Hornets 123, Pelicans 92
LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges returned from injuries to drop 25 and 22 points, respectively, as host Charlotte drilled New Orleans.
Seth Curry tallied 16 points off the bench and Josh Green supplied 13 points for Charlotte. Despite getting Ball and Bridges back, the Hornets were without centre Mark Williams, who was managing a right foot injury. Moussa Diabate logged 29 minutes off the bench to help fill in for Williams and put up nine points and 13 boards.
Zion Williamson, who hadn’t played since January 17, racked up 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who lost their second game in a row following a season-best four-game winning streak. Williamson made 11 of 20 shots from the field. Trey Murphy III added 16 points, Jordan Hawkins had 14 and Yves Missi provided 12, but the Pelicans couldn’t overcome 38.1 per cent shooting from the floor. They fell to 4-18 in road games this season.
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