DINWIDDIE HAS 25 IN BROOKLYN RETURN

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 25 points in his first game since returning to Brooklyn and the host Nets beat the Chicago Bulls 116105 on Thursday night, hours after trading superstar Kevin Durant to Phoenix.

Nets 116, Bulls 105

Joe Harris had 18 points, and Yuta Watanabe chipped in 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Dorian FinneySmith, who came with Dinwiddie from Dallas in the trade for Kyrie Irving, had nine points and nine rebounds in his Nets debut.

“We just found a way,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “No panic from our guys. I thought we did a really good job of focusing on the game plan. It’s great to see us really lock in, especially at the end of the game.”

It was Dinwiddie’s first game in a Nets uniform since Dec. 27, 2020. He spent five seasons with the team and returned with 18 points in the second half.

“The entire last four or five days have been weird for me,” Dinwiddie said. “If I was going to revisit a spot, out of the three I’ve been at, it would definitely be here, unequivocally.”

Zach LaVine scored 38 points and DeMar DeRozan had 14 for Chicago, which lost its second straight and fell to 10-18 on the road.

The Durant trade was agreed to in the early hours of the morning Thursday then announced shortly before tipoff.

Magic 115, Nuggets 104:

Reserves Cole Anthony and Bol Bol each scored 17 points to lead host Orlando to a win over Western Conferenceleading

Denver.

Wendell Carter Jr. led seven Magic scorers in double figures with 19 points, and Orlando’s bench outscored the Nuggets’ reserves 56-10. Orlando is in 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-33.

Aaron Gordon had a season-high 37 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Nuggets.

Hawks 116, Suns 107:

Trae Young scored 25 of his 36 points in the second half and host Atlanta beat shorthanded Phoenix.

Josh Okogie had 25 points and Deandre Ayton added 23 points for Phoenix, which had its three-game winning streak end.

The Suns had only nine players available.

Bucks 115, Lakers 106:

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 38 points and 10 rebounds, and Milwaukee rallied in the second half to beat host Los Angeles without LeBron James.

Khris Middleton scored 22 points in the Bucks’ ninth consecutive victory.

James sat out to rest his sore left ankle and foot two nights after he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA’s career scoring leader.

Dennis Schroder had 25 points and 12 assists for the Lakers, who had only nine players in uniform after trading away five players. Anthony Davis had 23 points and 16 rebounds in Los Angeles’ third straight loss.

Notable

Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown has a broken bone in his face. The team confirmed the injury but did not specify how long he will be out.

The Celtics said Brown will miss tonight’s game against Charlotte but provided no further details.