Robert Covington scored a career-high 43 points thanks to 11 3-pointers as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers routed the Milwaukee Bucks 153-119 on Friday night to snap a four-game road losing streak.
With four of Los Angeles’ starters out, Covington added eight rebounds and shot 15 of 24 from the field to hand the Bucks their first home loss since Feb. 26. His 11 3-pointers are the most in a single game in Clippers franchise history.
Los Angeles’ 153 points were also the most scored in a regular-season game in franchise history, breaking the previous record of 152. Amir Coffey finished with 32 points and Luke Kennard put up 23 points for the Clippers.
Jordan Nwora paced Milwaukee with 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Bobby Portis supplied 25 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee, which lost for just the fourth time in 16 games.
Grizzlies 122, Suns 114
Dillon Brooks collected 30 points and seven assists as short-handed host Memphis won its seventh straight while ending Phoenix’s nine-game winning streak.
Ziaire Williams scored 19 points as the Grizzlies received double-digit scoring performances from seven players to win their ninth straight at home. Memphis opted to rest several players after clinching the Western Conference’s second seed following its 112-111 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
Memphis held a decisive 16-2 edge in offensive rebounds and took advantage of 20 turnovers by Phoenix. Devin Booker scored 41 points on 17-of-28 shooting for the Suns, who shot 54.7 percent from the floor.
Raptors 102, Magic 89
Fred VanVleet and rookie Scottie Barnes paced a balanced scoring effort with 19 points apiece, Pascal Siakam posted a double-double and Toronto extended its winning streak to five games by defeating host Orlando.
Siakam contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds. VanVleet also had five steals, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Orlando, which committed 21 turnovers that resulted in 32 points for the Raptors, was led by Mo Bamba’s 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Spurs 130, Trail Blazers 111
Devin Vassell scored 22 points and Keldon Johnson added 21 to lead a balanced attack as host San Antonio produced a huge first half and rolled past Portland.
Zach Collins added 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Spurs, who won for the fifth time in six games.
Keon Johnson had 20 points and led eight players who scored in double figures for the Trail Blazers, who were eliminated from postseason consideration after their sixth straight loss and 16th in 18 games.
Timberwolves 136, Nuggets 130
Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and nine rebounds, D’Angelo Russell scored 24 points and visiting Minnesota beat Denver.
The Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards had 18 points, Taurean Prince scored 16 and Malik Beasley finished with 15 points in his return to the lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury. Minnesota won for just the second time in six games.
Nikola Jokic had 38 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists, Aaron Gordon scored 24 and Monte Morris had 23 for the Nuggets, who had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Wizards 135, Mavericks 103
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 35 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists against his former team, and host Washington cruised past Dallas.
The Wizards never trailed and led by as many as 34 points en route to the fourth win in the past five games. Washington shot a blistering 17 of 33 from beyond the 3-point arc, part of a 54.4 percent shooting effort from the floor.
Luka Doncic was responsible for five of the Mavericks’ 13 turnovers, although he led all scorers with 36 points. He also recorded seven rebounds and six assists. Dallas’ Jalen Brunson added 21 points.
Kings 122, Rockets 117
Harrison Barnes scored a team-high 25 points while Damian Jones and Chimezie Metu recorded double-doubles as visiting Sacramento beat Houston for the second time in three nights.
The Kings rallied from a 19-point deficit in the finale after eking out a 121-118 win Wednesday. Jones posted 17 points and 17 rebounds while blocking six shots, and Metu added 18 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Donte DiVincenzo finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Sacramento.
Rockets rookie Jalen Green scored a career-high 33 points, while Kevin Porter Jr. added 27 points and 11 assists. Garrison Mathews scored 22 points and matched his career high of six 3-pointers.
Celtics 128, Pacers 123
Jaylen Brown had 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting and Jayson Tatum added 31 points as Boston held off visiting Indiana.
Six of the eight players who took the floor for the Celtics scored in double digits. Al Horford posted 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to help Boston break a two-game skid.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 30 points despite fouling out with 8:13 left. Oshae Brissett and Jalen Smith added 17 points apiece for Indiana, which has lost six straight games.
Pistons 110, Thunder 101
Killian Hayes and Frank Jackson scored 26 points each to lift Detroit over host Oklahoma City as several players from both teams played sparingly or not at all.
The Pistons won their second game in a row. The Thunder lost for the 13th time in 15 games to move within a half-game of Detroit for the third-worst record in the NBA. The bottom three teams in the league have the best odds to win the first overall pick in this summer’s NBA draft.
Theo Maledon scored a season-high 28 points and Lindy Waters III and Isaiah Roby each contributed 16 points for Oklahoma City, which had just eight players available for the second game in a row. Three Detroit starters — Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart — checked out for good by the time there was four minutes left in the first quarter.
Pelicans 114, Lakers 111
CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Brandon Ingram added 29 as visiting New Orleans helped its play-in tournament cause with a victory over Los Angeles.
Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and 12 rebounds as the ninth-place Pelicans moved three games ahead of the 11th-place Lakers and two games ahead of the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs.
Despite the return from injury of both Anthony Davis and LeBron James, the Lakers lost their fifth consecutive game as their hopes of playing at the conclusion of the regular season continued to fade. Davis produced 23 points and James compiled 38 points and eight rebounds in 40 minutes.
-Field Level Media