Wizards roll past Timberwolves after Towns hurt

Kristaps Porzingis scored a career-high 41 points, including 29 in the first half, and the Washington Wizards beat visiting Minnesota 142-127 on Monday after Timberwolves star Karl-AnthonyTowns was helped off the court in the third quarter with a right leg injury.

Towns grabbed at his leg and went down near midcourt. He was helped off without putting weight on the leg, and the team announced that he had a right calf strain.

Porzingis made all six of his 3-pointers in the first half. Washington shot 57% from the field for the game.

Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points for the Wizards; Bradley Beal added 22.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 29.

Porzingis made his first four shots, all from 3-point range, and Washington pulled ahead 21-6 early. It was a five-point game after one quarter, but the Wizards pulled away in the second. A 3-pointer by Porzingis capped a 12-0 run to make it 68-44, and his final 3 gave Washington its biggest lead, 73-46.

Minnesota closed the half with a 12-4 run and scored the first 10 points of the third, but the Timberwolves never got much closer. Towns left the game immediately after Kuzma made a 3-pointer to make it 93-76.

76ers 104, Hawks 101: Joel Embiid sank the go-ahead 14-footer with 18.6 seconds left and scored 30 points in his return from a sprained left foot to lead host Philadelphia past Atlanta.

Celtics 140, Hornets 105:

Jayson Tatum scored 35 points, Marcus Smart had 22 points and a careerhigh 15 assists and host Boston jumped to a 27point first-quarter lead and beat Charlotte.

Raptors 100, Cavaliers 88: Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds in his return from injury, and O.G. Anunoby scored 20 for host Toronto. Siakam returned after missing 10 games because of a strained right adductor. Evan Mobley had 18 points and 15 rebounds and Darius Garland added 18 points and 10 assists for Cleveland.

Nets 109, Magic 102: Kevin Durant scored a seasonhigh 45 points, carrying host Brooklyn to a win that put it back at .500. Durant shot 19 of 24 from the field and added seven rebounds and five assists, playing 39 minutes on the second night of back-toback games.

Pelicans 105, Thunder 101: Zion Williamson scored 23 points with eight rebounds and eight assists for host New Orleans. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for Oklahoma City but had seven turnovers, including a charge in the final seconds with the Thunder down two points.

Walker to Mavs: The Dallas Mavericks are close to a deal with four-time AllStar guard Kemba Walker, a person with knowledge of the agreement told the Associated Press. Walker's career has been on hold because of knee injuries, but the 32-year-old could give superstar Luka Doncic backcourt help for the struggling Mavericks.