Cavs beat Nets again
Collin Sexton had 25 points and nine assists, Andre Drummond added 19 points and 16 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Brooklyn Nets for the second time in three days, 125-113 on Friday night.
The Nets played without superstar forward Kevin Durant, who was held out as a precautionary measure as he continues his comeback from Achilles tendon surgery.
Kyrie Irving scored 38 points and James Harden had 19 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which lost 147-135 in double-overtime to the Cavaliers in the debut of its highscoring trio Wednesday. Durant scored 38 points in that game and played 50 minutes, so the Nets rested him Friday with another game scheduled Saturday.
Jarrett Allen — acquired from the Nets in the Harden megatrade on Jan. 14 — had 19 points and six rebounds off the bench. Larry Nance Jr. scored 15 points for Cleveland, which has won three in a row to improve to 8-7.
Rockets 103, Pistons 102 — Jerami Grant’s driving layup on the final play came too late, and Houston held on to beat Detroit.
Down one with 3.4 seconds remaining, the Pistons inbounded to Grant, who faked a handoff to Blake Griffin and then drove down the right side of the lane. Time clearly ran out before he laid the ball in, but he was also bumped by Houston’s P.J. Tucker. Replays showed that contact also came after time expired.
Grant scored 21 points for Detroit, which nearly rallied from a 20-point second-quarter deficit.
Pacers 120, Magic 118 — Malcolm Brogdon hit the decisive 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in overtime, lifting Indiana past Orlando.
Evan Fournier’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim at the buzzer for Orlando.
Brogdon led the Pacers with 23 points. Jeremy Lamb and Myles Turner each scored 22 points, and Domantas Sabonis had 18.
Fournier scored 26 points for the Magic.
Hawks 116, Timberwolves 98 — Trae Young scored a season-high 43 points, Clint Capela had 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 blocks and Atlanta topped Minnesota.
Young scored 25 points in the first half as the Hawks took a 19-point lead at halftime.
Capela had six blocks in the first half as Atlanta held Minnesota to 43 points on 16-of-35 shooting.
Malik Beasley was one of the few bright spots for Minnesota with 17 points. Minnesota has lost four straight and 11 of its last 12 after starting the season 2-0.
Raptors 101, Heat 81 — Norman Powell scored 23 points, OG Anunoby added 21 and Toronto recovered to beat Miami after blowing a 21-point.
Pascal Siakam had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Raptors, who never trailed.
Bulls 123, Hornets 110 — Zach LaVine continued his strong play with 25 points and nine assists, leading Chicago past Charlotte for its third straight victory.
Lauri Markkanen added 23 points, and Coby White had 18 points and eight assists.
Gordon Hayward led Charlotte with 34 points. Mavericks 122, Spurs 107 — Luka Doncic had 36 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks withstood a late rally to beat the San Antonio Spurs .
San Antonio lost point guard Dejounte Murray in the opening minute. The severity of the injury is unknown.
DeMar DeRozan had 29 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 26 for the Spurs.