Jordan Poole swished a 35-foot, 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to give the visiting Washington Wizards a stunning 126-123 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Poole had time to move closer but stopped well behind the 3-point line and hoisted the successful shot that gave the Eastern Conference-worst Wizards (15-51) a two-game season sweep of the Nuggets. Alex Sarr scored a career-high 34 points for Washington, which is 6-4 over its last 10 games.
It was a wild ending as Kyshawn George drilled a wide-open 3-pointer to give Washington a 123-121 lead with 10 seconds remaining. Denver’s Jamal Murray (24 points, seven assists and four steals) hit a tying 15-footer with 5.7 seconds left before the final sequence.
Nikola Jokic had 40 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for Denver (43-25). Russell Westbrook had 22 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets. Westbrook became the 21st player in NBA history to top 26,000 points. He finished the night with 26,013.
Celtics 115, Nets 113
Kristaps Porzingis returned from a viral infection and scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as visiting Boston continued its recent dominance over Brooklyn by holding on for a victory in New York.
After missing eight games, Porzingis helped the Celtics improve to 13-1 in their last 14 regular-season meetings with the Nets. Jayson Tatum added 20 as the Celtics won for the seventh time in eight games.
The Nets lost for the 10th time in 11 games after their late comeback bid fell short. Cameron Johnson scored 23 points to lead Brooklyn, and Keon Johnson added 21 as Brooklyn shot 46.7 per cent and hit 20 3-pointers.
Rockets 117, Bulls 114
Jalen Green scored a game-high 28 points, helping lead Houston to a victory over visiting Chicago.
Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Fred VanVleet finished with 23 points and seven assists, as Houston won its sixth straight game. Dillon Brooks’ 13 points and Jabari Smith Jr.’s 12 rounded out the balanced scoring night for the Rockets’ starters.
Chicago had its four-game winning streak snapped, despite Coby White’s 23 points and Tre Jones’ 19. Nikola Vucevic chipped in 15 points in the loss.
Bucks 126, Pacers 119
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 10 rebounds as Milwaukee held off visiting Indiana.
The win could prove crucial in NBA playoff tiebreakers. The teams entered the game tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee won the season series over the Pacers, taking three of the four matchups.
Damian Lillard had 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks and was 6-for-12 from 3-point range. Aaron Nesmith had a career-high 30 points for the Pacers, and Pascal Siakam had 26. Tyrese Haliburton posted 24 points and 15 assists.
Thunder 113, Pistons 107
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 48 points, and visiting Oklahoma City outlasted Detroit to continue its winning ways.
Cason Wallace had 20 points and Isaiah Hartenstein added 12 with 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who have won nine of their last 10.
Detroit All-Star Cade Cunningham was ejected late in the third quarter for arguing with the officials. He matched his season-low of 11 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds. The Pistons were assessed a total of five technicals in the quarter.
Warriors 97, Knicks 94
Moses Moody broke a tie with 2:26 to go, Draymond Green added a back-breaking hoop with 25 seconds left, and Golden State tightened the defensive screws on New York down the stretch in San Francisco.
Stephen Curry led the way with 28 points for the Warriors, who won their seventh straight. Moody finished with 18 points, while Jimmy Butler chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and a game-high-tying seven assists.
Shooting 12-for-21, Karl-Anthony Towns had a game-high 29 points for the Knicks, who closed out a 2-3 Western swing. OG Anunoby totalled 23 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while Mikal Bridges and Miles McBride contributed 19 points apiece.
Grizzlies 125, Heat 91
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 31 points, and Desmond Bane added 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead Memphis past visiting Miami.
Brandon Clarke scored 12 points, Zach Edey contributed 12 points and eight rebounds, and Scotty Pippen Jr. had 11 points and 11 assists off the bench for Memphis, which won for the fifth time in six games. The Grizzlies improved to 10-3 when playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Kel’el Ware led the Heat with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Bam Adebayo had 18 points and six boards. Kyle Anderson finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists off the bench for Miami, which has lost seven in a row.
Spurs 119, Pelicans 115
Devin Vassell scored 22 points, including a key 3-pointer with 1:03 to play, as host San Antonio held off New Orleans.
The Spurs have won two of their past three outings and pulled within four games of 10th-place Dallas for a spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament with 16 contests left in the regular season. Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson added 19 points apiece for San Antonio.
New Orleans’ CJ McCollum led all scorers with 26 points and added a game-high nine assists, while Trey Murphy III had 20 points. The Pelicans lost for the sixth time in seven games and played without Zion Williamson, who missed the game for personal reasons.