Morant returns and scores 17 in Grizzlies' victory
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 host Memphis Grizzlies beat the Houston Rockets 130-125 on Wednesday night.
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.
Morant, who did not start, missed 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.
WARRIORS 127, MAVERICKS 125 » Stephen Curry scored 20 points and assisted on Draymond Green's tiebreaking three-point play late for visiting Golden State. Luka Doncic had 30 points for Dallas after missing five games with a left thigh strain, but the Mavericks dropped below .500 as they try to stay out of the Western Conference play-in tournament.
NUGGETS 118, WIZARDS 104 »
Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Denver beat short-handed Washington. Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points for Western Conference-leading Denver. Kristaps Porzingis scored 25 points for the Wizards, who were without three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal (knee) and Kyle Kuzma (ankle).
HEAT 127, KNICKS 120 »
Jimmy Butler scored 35 points and Tyler Herro scored 14 of his 22 in the fourth quarter for host Miami. Herro made four 3-pointers in the fourth for the Heat. 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.
PACERS 118, RAPTORS 114 » Rookie guard Andrew Nembhard had 25 points and 10 assists for visiting Indiana, which snapped Toronto's home winning streak at seven. Myles Turner added 16 points for the Pacers. Pascal Siakam scored 31 points for the Raptors and Fred VanVleet had 28 points and 11 assists.
BUCKS 130, SPURS 94 » Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 14 rebounds as host Milwaukee rolled against San Antonio. The Bucks extended their Eastern Conference advantage to 2 ½ games over Boston. Bobby Portis and Khris Middleton each scored 19 for Milwaukee. Devin Vassell led Houston with 16 points.
76ERS 116, BULLS 91 » Tyrese Maxey scored 16 of his 21 points during visiting Philadelphia's dominant first half against Chicago. De'Anthony Melton had 25 points and Tobias Harris finished with 20 for the 76ers. Coby White scored 19 points for the Bulls. DeMar DeRozan had just four on 0-for-7 shooting.
TIMBERWOLVES 125, HAWKS 124 » Karl-Anthony Towns scored 22 points for host Minnesota in his longawaited return from a strained right calf. Naz Reid led the Timberwolves with 26 points off the bench. Towns missed 51 games. Trae Young scored 29 points for Atlanta, which was missing Dejounte Murray (illness).
TRAIL BLAZERS 127, JAZZ 115 » Damian Lillard scored 30 points and rookie Shaedon Sharpe had a careerhigh 24 and visiting Portland stopped a six-game losing streak. Lauri Markkanen had 40 points and 12 rebounds while Kris Dunn scored 15 off the bench for Utah.