Doncic is 1st in NBA to record 6 straight 30-pt triple-doubles as Mavs top Pistons
Celtics dim Suns’ shine
DETROIT, March 10, (AP): Luka Doncic became the first NBA player to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles as the Dallas Mavericks pulled away in the second half and beat the Detroit Pistons 142-124 on Saturday night.
Doncic finished with 39 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, eclipsing Russell Westbrook’s mark of five straight 30-point triple-doubles. He also extended his own record with a fifth straight 35-point tripledouble.
Kyrie Irving added 21 points for Dallas, which has won two in a row after a three-game losing streak.
Cade Cunningham had 33 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost 10 of 12. Simone Fontecchio added a career-high 27 points.
Celtics 117, Suns 107
In Phoenix, Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, Jaylen Brown added 27 and NBA-leading Boston beat Phoenix.
The Celtics came into the game on a rare two-game skid after dropping games to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets. After Saturday’s win, Boston still hasn’t lost three in a row and improved to 49-14 overall.
The Suns - playing without injured All-Star Devin Booker were led by Kevin Durant’s 45 points on 18-for-26 shooting. Bradley Beal added 25 points while Jusuf Nurkic scored 11 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Brown scored 18 points to lead the Celtics to a 62-50 halftime advantage and they never trailed in the second half.
Spurs 126, Warriors 113
In San Francisco, Keldon Johnson had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and a San Antonio team without Victor Wembanyama beat a Golden State team without Stephen Curry.
Jeremy Sochan and Malaki Branham each scored 20 points for San Antonio, which had dropped seven of nine. Julian Champagnie had 17 points and seven rebounds.
Klay Thompson came off the bench to score 27 points for Golden State, which dropped consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 25-27 to the Kings and Lakers - also at home in Chase Center.
Both Curry and Spurs rookie Wembanyama sat out with right ankle injuries.
Nuggets 142, Jazz 121
In Denver, Nikola Jokic played through a bruised right arm that kept him out of shootaround and finished with 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists as Denver beat short-handed Utah.
Jamal Murray scored 37 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 points for Denver, which led by as many as 39 points in the first half, which helped to withstand a third-quarter letdown.
Keyonte George led Utah with 29 points and fueled the Jazz’s third-quarter surge that made it more respectable and had the sellout crowd buzzing over a potential historic collapse.
Hornets 110, Nets 99
In Charlotte N.C., Miles Bridges had 24 points and 10 rebounds, Brandon Miller added 23 points and Charlotte delivered another blow to Brooklyn’s sagging playoff hopes.
Nick Richards added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Vasa Micic chipped in with 12 points and 10 assists for the Hornets (16-48), who snapped a six-game losing streak.
Cam Thomas returned from a six-game absence due to an ankle injury and scored 31 points, but the Nets (25-39) fell 4 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th and final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference with their third loss in four games. Trail Blazers 125, Raptors 118, OT
In Portland, Ore., Deandre
Ayton returned from a right hand sprain and had a season-high 30 points and 19 rebounds to help the Trail Blazers beat the Raptors.
Dalano Banton had 25 points and Anfernee Simons added 23 to snap a three-game Portland losing streak. The Blazers (1845) were playing the second of a back-to-back after a 123-107 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night.
Immanuel Quickley scored 29 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 23 for the Raptors, who have won just once in the last five games. Toronto (23-41) was coming off a 120 -113 loss at the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Clippers 112, Bulls 102
In Los Angeles, Paul George scored 22 points, Kawhi Leonard added 19 and Los Angeles rallied for its third straight victory and fourth win in six games.
James Harden had his second triple-double of the season with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Norman Powell came off the bench and scored 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter as the Clippers scored 11 straight points to open the period after trailing 85-83 after three. Ivica Zubac had 10 of his 16 points in the third quarter as Los Angeles came back from a 16-point deficit early in the period.
DeMar DeRozan had 24 points and 10 assists, but the Bulls had their three-game winning streak snapped. Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 11 rebounds.