Jokic, Porter propel Nuggets past Wolves

Nikola Jokic had 35 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter as the visiting Denver Nuggets fended off the undermanned and undersized Minnesota Timberwolves 115-112.

Jamal Murray added 18 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets.

Denver (48-21) moved within percentage points of idle Oklahoma City (4720) for the Western Conference lead. The Timberwolves (47-22) dropped one game back into third place.

Anthony Edwards had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Minnesota.

With Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) out indefinitely and Rudy Gobert (ribs) sidelined for a third straight game for the Wolves, Naz Reid (head) joined them on the inactive list after getting hurt the night before in a win at Utah.

ROCKETS 137, WIZARDS 114 >> Jalen Green tied a career high with 42 points and visiting Houston closed the third quarter on a 25-6 run en route to its sixth straight victory. The Rockets are now just 2 1/2 games behind Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. Amen Thompson scored 25 points for Houston.

Corey Kispert scored 16 points for Washington

MAGIC 112, HORNETS 92 >> Cole Anthony scored 17 of his 21 points in the second quarter and host Orlando routed Charlotte to clinch at least a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Magic (41-28) have secured only their second non-losing season since 2011-12. They went 42-40 in 2018-19.

Brandon Miller scored 21 points for the Hornets.

MAVERICKS 113, SPURS 107 >> Kyrie Irving scored 28 points, Luka Doncic had a triple-double with 18 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds and visiting Dallas held off San Antonio. Tre Jones scored 22 points for the Spurs and Victor Wembanyama had 12 points and 11 rebounds.