Nets welcome back Durant, roll to victory over Pelicans
NEW YORK — Kevin Durant returned from a 23-game absence to spark Brooklyn’s most explosive half of the season, scoring 17 points on 5-for-5
shooting with seven rebounds NBA and five assists over 19 minutes in the Nets’ 139-111 rout of New Orleans on Wednesday.
Durant, who had been out with a left hamstring strain, came off the bench with 7½ minutes left in the second quarter. By the time the period ended, the Nets had 79 points and a 20-point halftime lead. Brooklyn shot 14-for-18 (78 percent) in its 43-point quarter.
■ Suns 117, Jazz 113, OT: At Phoenix, Devin Booker scored 35 points and Chris Paul 29 for Phoenix, which didn’t trail after scoring the first five points of overtime. Donovan Mitchell had 41 points and Rudy Gobert 16 points and 18 rebounds for Utah in a matchup between the teams with the league’s two best records.
■ Wizards 131, Magic 116: At Orlando, Fla., Bradley Beal had 26 points in his return from a five-game absence, and Russell Westbrook added 23 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds in his 20th triple-double of the season for Washington, which made a season-high 19 3-pointers.
■ Hornets 113, Thunder 102: At Oklahoma City, Jalen Mcdaniels scored a career-high 21 points for Charlotte, which overcame Aleksej Pokusevski’s franchise rookie-record seven 3-pointers and 25 points for Oklahoma City.
■ Grizzlies 131, Hawks 113: At Atlanta, Grayson Allen scored 17 of his season-high 30 points in the third quarter for Memphis, which won its fourth straight and halted Atlanta’s four-game win streak.
■ Celtics 101, Knicks 99: At
Boston, Jaylen Brown had 32 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which overcame a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit in a game with eight ties and 17 lead changes.
■ Pacers 141, Timberwolves 137: At Indianapolis, Aaron Holiday scored 22 points and brother Justin Holiday 21 for Indiana, which had lost nine of its previous 10 home games.
■ Rockets 102, Mavericks 93: At Houston, John Wall had 31 points and seven assists in his return from a fourgame injury absence for Houston, which halted a five-game skid.
■ Nuggets 106, Spurs 96: At Denver, Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Denver, which won its seventh straight.