Morant, Jackson lead Grizzlies past Rockets
MEMPHIS, TENN. >> Ja Morant had 17 points and five assists in his return from an NBA suspension, and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with a season-high 37 points and 10 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets 130-125 on Wednesday night.
Desmond Bane had 20 points and Tyus Jones scored 14 for Memphis, with each adding seven assists.
Jalen Green had 32 points to lead the Rockets, while Kenyon Martin Jr. scored 31. Kevin Porter had his second career triple-double and first of the season with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Alperen Sengun scored 25 for Houston.
Morant, who did not start, was back in action after missing nine games — eight because of a leagueimposed suspension after a live stream from a Denver-area strip club earlier this month showed Morant briefly waving a firearm. Morant underwent counseling at a Florida facility for stress relief during the ban.
The two-time All-Star guard, who entered with 3:05 left in the first quarter, ended up playing 24 minutes and shot 6 for 13 overall. He also had four rebounds.
HEAT 127, KNICKS 120 >> Jimmy Butler had 35 points, Tyler Herro scored 14 of his 22 in the fourth quarter and Miami moved closer to avoiding the play-in tournament by beating New York.
Herro made four 3-pointers in the fourth for the Heat, who led by 11 in the third, lost the lead briefly, then took it back for good with a 16-2 run midway through the final quarter.
Herro and Max Strus each had a pair of 3s during
the clinching run for Miami (40-34), which is just percentage points behind Brooklyn (39-33) in the race for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Nets visit the Heat on Saturday.
It was the 700th career win for Miami coach Erik
Spoelstra.
New York's Julius Randle, coming off a 57-point effort Monday against Minnesota, was held to 15. RJ Barrett scored 26 for the Knicks, who also got 25 from Jalen Brunson.
BUCKS 130, SPURS 94 >> Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 14 rebounds in just 24 minutes as NBAleading Milwaukee rolled against San Antonio.
The Bucks extended their Eastern Conference advantage to 2½ games over Boston as they prepare for a four-game road swing that includes a matchup Saturday with the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.
76ERS 116, BULLS 91 >> Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his 21 points during Philadelphia's dominant first half against Chicago.
De'Anthony Melton had 25 points and Tobias Harris finished with 20 as the 76ers earned a split of the four-game season series. Joel Embiid added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in just more than 16 minutes of playing time.
The Sixers (49-23) pulled within a half-game of idle Boston for second in the Eastern Conference behind
Milwaukee (52-20).
NUGGETS 118, WIZARDS 104 >>
Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds as Denver shook off a slow start and beat short-handed Washington.
Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points and Jamal Murray had 17 for the Western Conference leaders. TIMBERWOLVES 125, HAWKS 124 >> Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points in his long-awaited return from a strained right calf and Minnesota rallied past Atlanta.
Young scored 29 points for the Hawks, who were missing second-leading scorer Dejounte Murray (illness) in the second game of a back-to-back.
PACERS 118, RAPTORS 114 >> Rookie guard Andrew Nembhard had 25 points and 10 assists in his first NBA game back home in Canada, and Indiana beat Toronto to snap its home winning streak at seven.