In his Dallas debut, Anthony Davis scored 26 points with 16 rebounds before leaving in the third quarter with an abdominal injury to guide the host Mavericks to a 116-105 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
It was Davis’ first game with the Mavericks since he was acquired in a league-shaking trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1.
Davis, who added seven assists and three blocks, left the game near the end of the third quarter after clutching at his lower abdomen and did not return. He had been dealing with abdominal strain when he was acquired from the Lakers.
Max Christie, who also was acquired from Los Angeles, scored 23 points off the bench while Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving each had 13 points.
Lakers 124, Pacers 117
Austin Reaves scored a career-high 45 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, helping Los Angeles top visiting Indiana with LeBron James sitting out with ankle soreness.
Reaves took advantage of his chance to shine, knocking down 14 of 26 from the field — making four 3-pointers — and hitting all 13 of his free-throw attempts. Rui Hachimura added 24 points and nine boards as the Lakers won their fifth in a row.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points, followed by Tyrese Haliburton’s 19 and Bennedict Mathurin’s 16. The Pacers have dropped two of three.
Thunder 125, Grizzlies 112
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points and Aaron Wiggins added 26 points and 11 rebounds as Oklahoma City topped host Memphis in a matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Jalen Williams added 25 points and six assists, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander had eight assists and scored 25 or more points for the 20th consecutive game.
Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 19 points, snapping a streak of nine straight 20-point games. Santi Aldama came off the bench to contribute 18 points. Ja Morant had 16 points.
Nuggets 122, Suns 105
Jamal Murray made a season-high six 3-pointers and scored 30 points to help Denver roll to a victory over host Phoenix.
Nikola Jokic recorded 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists and didn’t play in the final quarter as he missed out on a triple-double. Christian Braun had 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Julian Strawther added 18 points and six rebounds for the Nuggets, who won their sixth straight game and 14th in their past 18.
Devin Booker scored 24 points and Bol Bol added 19 off the bench for the Suns, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games. Tyus Jones had 15 points and 10 assists and reserve Damion Lee had 11 points.
Warriors 132, Bulls 111
Steph Curry scored 24 of his game-high 34 points after halftime and Jimmy Butler added 25 points in his team debut to boost Golden State past host Chicago.
Golden State shot 57.8 per cent in the second half and 50 per cent in the game. The Warriors erased a 24-point third-quarter deficit and led by as many as 25 in the fourth.
Chicago managed just 42 second-half points while losing for the third time in four games. Coby White paced the Bulls with 27 points. He has scored at least 20 points in five consecutive games.
Celtics 131, Knicks 104
Jayson Tatum scored 19 of his 40 points in the third quarter for visiting Boston, which led wire-to-wire in a rout of New York.
Starting in place of Kristaps Porzingis (illness), Luke Kornet posted 14 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season for the Celtics. Payton Pritchard scored 25 points off the bench as Boston moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the Knicks in the race for the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points for the Knicks, who have been outscored 263-213 in two games against the Celtics.
Clippers 130, Jazz 110
Ivica Zubac collected 26 points and 15 rebounds and Norman Powell also had 26 points as Los Angeles rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to earn an easy win over Utah in Inglewood, Calif.
James Harden scored 23 points with a season-high 17 assists and Amir Coffey had 17 points as the Clippers ended a three-game losing streak, which had matched their longest of the season.
Jordan Clarkson scored 14 of his 24 points in the first quarter and Keyonte George added 21 points for the Jazz, who lost for the 11th time in their past 13 games.
Hawks 125, Wizards 111
Trae Young scored 35 points, his 14th game with 30-plus points this season, and led visiting Atlanta to a win over Washington.
The Hawks have won two straight and three of four and divided the season series with Washington at 2-2. Young was 13 for 26 from the floor and 5 for 14 on 3-pointers. He added 14 assists for his 31st double-double of the season. Zaccharie Risacher added 18 points, and Georges Niang made his Atlanta debut and scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, with six assists.
Washington got 23 points and seven assists from Bub Carrington and 21 points and six assists from Jordan Poole. The Wizards have lost two straight following their season-long three-game winning streak.
Magic 112, Spurs 111
Paolo Banchero buried the game-winning jump shot with 25.3 seconds remaining to lead host Orlando to a come-from-behind win over San Antonio.
Franz Wagner led the Magic with 33 points on 14-of-28 shooting in addition to grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out five assists. Banchero finished with 17 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter. Saturday’s win is only Orlando’s fourth in 12 games since Banchero’s return, so it was a timely statement by the former top pick in the fourth quarter.
Devin Vassell scored 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead the Spurs, while Victor Wembanyama added 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Harrison Barnes scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while newly acquired De’Aaron Fox scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting in his third game with the team.
Timberwolves 114, Trail Blazers 98
Jaden McDaniels scored 30 points on 12-for-17 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Minnesota rallied for a win over Portland in Minneapolis.
Naz Reid finished with 23 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 21 points, and Rudy Gobert notched 15 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota won despite playing without Anthony Edwards (hip) and Mike Conley (finger) Julius Randle (groin) and Donte DiVincenzo (toe).
Anfernee Simons scored 21 points on 9-for-21 shooting to lead Portland, which had a six-game winning streak snapped. Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe finished with 14 points apiece, and Scoot Henderson chipped in 12.
Kings 123, Pelicans 118
Zach LaVine had 22 points in the second game for his new team, Domantas Sabonis led the way with 27 points and 16 rebounds, and Sacramento brought a two-game losing streak to an end with a come-from-behind victory over visiting New Orleans.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 19 points while Malik Monk and Keon Ellis had 13 apiece for the Kings, who won for just the third time in their last nine games.
Zion Williamson was the game’s top scorer with a season-best 40 points and CJ McCollum went for 31 for the Pelicans, who lost for the eighth consecutive time.