Heat shock Bucks again
The Miami Heat stand alone, the first team to beat the Milwaukee Bucks twice this season.
Jae Crowder and Jimmy Butler each scored 18 points, Goran Dragic added 15 and the Heat beat the Bucks 105-89 on Wednesday night — moving to 2-0 against the NBA’s best team.
Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 39-22 and matched their win total from last season with 19 games remaining. Kendrick Nunn had 13 points and Kelly Olynyk added 11 for Miami.
Knicks 125, Rockets 123 — Rookie guard RJ Barrett tied his season high with 27 points and the New York Knicks held on to beat Houston, snapping the Rockets’ six-game winning streak.
The Knicks pummeled the small-ball Rockets on the boards and in the paint.
Julius Randle added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who held on after building a 21-point lead.
James Harden had 35 points and eight assists for the Rockets. Russell Westbrook had 24 points and nine rebounds but missed a pull-up jumper on Houston’s final attempt.
Jazz 126, Cavaliers 113 — Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 points, Rudy Gobert added 20 and the Utah Jazz began a four-game trip against Eastern Conference teams with a win over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, who dressed only nine players and used just seven.
Donovan Mitchell had 19 points and nine rebounds, and the Jazz made 20 3-pointers while staying in the fifth playoff spot out West.
Collin Sexton scored a career-high 32 points and Kevin Love scored 22 for Cleveland, which dropped to 3-4 under coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Grizzlies 127, Hawks 88 — Gorgui Dieng had 17 points and 10 rebounds, leading nine Memphis scorers in double figures, and the Grizzlies pulled away in the second half for a win over the cold-shooting Atlanta Hawks.
Memphis, trying to protect its No. 8 spot in the Western Conference playoff field, has won two straight following five consecutive losses.
Jonas Valanciunas had 15 points with 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Josh Jackson had 15 points and Ja Morant scored 13.
Trail Blazers 130, Magis 107 — C.J. McCollum scored 41 points and Gary Trent Jr. added 24 to help the Portland Trail Blazers run away from the Orlando Magic.
Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Trevor Ariza scored 11 as the Blazers ended a 3-game losing streak by outscoring Orlando 38-19 in the final period.
Nikola Vucevic led Orlando with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Terrence Ross scored 23 points, but the Magic struggled offensively in the final period, hitting just six of 21 shots.
Bulls 109, Mavericks 107 — Coby White scored 19 points, Otto Porter Jr. added 18 in his return from a broken left foot and the Chicago Bulls hung on to beat the Dallas Mavericks when Luka Doncic’s desperation heave bounced off the rim.
Denzel Valentine added a season-high 17 points and the Bulls won for just the second time in 12 games even though leading scorer Zach LaVine sat out with a strained left quadriceps.
Pacers 116, Spurs 111 — Malcolm Brogdon scored 26 points, T.J. Warren added 23 and the Indiana Pacers rallied to beat the San Antonio Spurs after blowing a 15-point lead.
Indiana won its fourth straight, moving into a fifth-place tie with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference.
Patty Mills scored 24 points to lead San Antonio and Trey Lyles added 20. The Spurs, who have lost eight of 11, dropped four games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for eighth place in the West.