Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points, including 17 in the third quarter, Chet Holmgren finished with 24 points and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 119-93 on Friday night.
Josh Giddy scored 12 points and Jalen Williams had 11 points and nine assists for Oklahoma City, which has won three straight overall and beat Denver for the second time in two weeks.
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and seven turnovers, Peyton Watson scored 14 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 12 points and Jamal Murray dished 11 assists for the Nuggets, who had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Denver was without forward Aaron Gordon for the second straight game while he recovers from lacerations on his hands and face as a result of dog bites on Monday.
Celtics 120, Raptors 118
Jaylen Brown had 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to help Boston beat Toronto and improve its home record to 16-0 this season.
Derrick White had 21 points, five rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who won their fifth game in a row. Luke Kornet scored 20 points and Jrue Holiday added 15 points for Boston.
With his team trailing by three, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam was fouled with 1.4 seconds left. He made the first free throw and missed the second intentionally, but the Raptors were unable to control the rebound.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Siakam finished with 27 points, and Jakob Poeltl added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Wizards 110, Nets 104
Kyle Kuzma saved nine of his game-high 26 points for the final 5:23, Deni Avdija recorded his second double-double in nine days and Washington pulled away from visiting Brooklyn late for a victory.
Avdija finished with 21 points to go with a game-high 13 rebounds and a game-high-tying six assists for the Wizards, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Mikal Bridges had a team-high 19 points for the Nets, who dropped their second straight.
Suns 133, Hornets 119
Devin Booker scored 35 points and four Phoenix scorers posted at least 21 points as the Suns earned back-to-back wins for the first time in more than a month with their victory over visiting Charlotte.
Phoenix shot 46 of 74 from the floor, including 18 of 30 from 3-point range, on a balanced offensive night. Kevin Durant had 21 points and 11 assists and Jusuf Nurkic added 24 points and 15 rebounds. Eric Gordon chipped in another 21 points off the bench for his second consecutive game scoring at least 21.
Terry Rozier tried to rally the Hornets, shooting 8 of 12 from the floor in the second half as part of his 14 of 22 night. Rozier scored 42 points, one shy of matching his career high, and added a team-leading eight assists. Brandon Miller added 20 points while Miles Bridges finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Trail Blazers 134, Spurs 128
Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points each to help short-handed Portland earn a win over visiting San Antonio in the second game of a back-to-back set between the teams.
The Trail Blazers bounced back from a 118-105 home loss to San Antonio on Thursday in the first game of the mini-series despite again playing without Deandre Ayton (knee), Anfernee Simons (illness), Shaedon Sharpe (thigh) and Duop Reath (back). Jabari Walker added 25 points off the Portland bench, with Scoot Henderson racking up 22 points and 11 assists, Toumani Camara producing 13 points and 11 rebounds and Skylar Mays scoring 11 points.
San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson led all scorers with 29 points off the bench. Devin Vassell hit for 22, Doug McDermott added 18 points, Zach Collins had 17, Tre Jones tallied 14 and Malaki Branham had 11 for the Spurs.
Clippers 117, Grizzlies 106
Paul George scored 23 points and Ivica Zubac added 15 points with a season-high 20 rebounds as Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting Memphis in its fourth consecutive game without Kawhi Leonard.
James Harden had 16 points and 13 assists, while Russell Westbrook scored 14 points as the Clippers won for the 11th time in their last 13 games. Los Angeles has split the four games without Leonard, who has been out with a left hip contusion. Amir Coffey and Norman Powell each scored 13 points for the Clippers. Coffey has started the past four games in Leonard’s place.
Ja Morant had 19 points and 10 assists for the Grizzlies after missing Thursday’s blowout loss at Denver with an illness. Marcus Smart and Jaren Jackson Jr. each scored 22 points and Desmond Bane added 18 for the Grizzlies, who went 2-2 on a four-game road trip.
Magic 117, Knicks 108
Franz Wagner scored a season-high 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Orlando used a dominating second quarter to beat the visiting New York.
Paolo Banchero added 29 points and 10 rebounds while Jalen Suggs scored 21 points as the Magic won for the third time in four games after a four-game losing streak. Goga Bitadze added 13 points in his return to the starting lineup, and Moritz Wagner had a team-high 11 rebounds.
Julius Randle recorded 38 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, the 16th consecutive game in which he reached the 20-point mark. Jalen Brunson scored 20 points and RJ Barrett added 19 as New York lost for the third time in four games and fell to 0-2 to start a three-game road trip.
Kings 117, Hawks 110
De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points, hitting seven 3-pointers in the second half, and Domantas Sabonis added 25 points to help Sacramento overcome a 23-point deficit in beating host Atlanta.
The Kings took their first lead, 106-105, with 5:48 remaining on a 3-pointer by Fox. After the game was tied 110-110, Chris Duarte sank a 3-pointer, Sabonis made 1 of 2 free throws and Keegan Murray hit a jumper to give Sacramento a six-point lead with 49 seconds left. Atlanta did not score in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
Fox finished 10-for-20 from the field, 8-for-16 on 3-point attempts, and added six rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Sabonis was 12-for-17 from the field and had 10 rebounds and seven assists. Atlanta got 24 points and nine assists from Trae Young and 18 points from Dejounte Murray.
Bucks 119, Cavaliers 111
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points and Damian Lillard added 31 to lead Milwaukee over host Cleveland.
Antetokounmpo also grabbed 16 boards while Malik Beasley added 15 points thanks to five 3-pointers. Khris Middleton contributed 13 points and 11 assists as the Bucks won for the ninth time in 10 games.
Cleveland was led by Donovan Mitchell, who returned after missing four games with an illness and contributed 34 points and nine assists. Jarrett Allen added 30 points and 12 boards. Craig Porter Jr. came off the bench to score all 14 of his points in the fourth quarter, and Max Strus wound up with 12 points.
76ers 131, Rockets 127
Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 42 points and Philadelphia, playing without Joel Embiid, outlasted host Houston.
Maxey blitzed the Rockets throughout and Tobias Harris added 22 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocked shots. Reserves gave a lift late. Patrick Beverley drilled a corner 3-pointer for a 121-120 lead, and Marcus Morris Sr. delivered the knockout blow with a four-point play with 31.6 seconds left, pushing the lead to 127-122.
Fred VanVleet paced the Rockets with 33 points — making a season-high eight 3-pointers — and 10 assists. Jalen Green added 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting.
–Field Level Media
