Harden, Nets blow past Magic
Nets 123, Magic 90: Kevin Durant scored 30 points and James Harden had his 59th career triple double in the visiting Nets’ victory over the Magic.
Durant, the NBA’S leading scorer at 29.5 points per game, made 11 of 12 shots, including both of his 3-point attempts, to help Brooklyn win for the sixth time in seven games. Harden had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to help. The two stars sat out the fourth quarter, with the Nets up 94-75 after three.
Lamarcus Aldridge came off the bench with a big second quarter to put Brooklyn in command. He had 21 points and eight rebounds.
Bucks 112, Knicks 100: Pat Connaughton scored a season-high 23 points, making three late 3-pointers to swing a wild second half back in Milwaukee’s favor, and the visiting Bucks blew a 24-point lead before beating the Knicks.
Less than a week after the Knicks came from 21 down to win 113-98 at Milwaukee, the Bucks opened a 70-46 cushion midway through the third quarter. But the Knicks’ reserves wiped that away and the game was tied with 5 minutes to play.
But Connaughton’s 3-pointers reopened a 10-point lead with 2:05 remaining and Grayson Allen added another pair to put it away.
Celtics 104, Raptors 88: Jayson Tatum had 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lift Boston at home.
Robert Williams III added 16 points and 13 rebounds, with a career-best eight coming on the offensive glass. Dennis Schroder scored 20 points, Josh Richardson had 15 and Marcus Smart 13.
Scottie Barnes led Toronto with 21 points, Fred Vanvleet had 16, and OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. each had 14. The Raptors dropped to 4-1 on the road.
Wizards 97, Cavaliers 94: Kyle Kuzma hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 12 seconds left as the visiting Wizards scored the final five points to win.
Darius Garland missed an open 3 on Cleveland’s subsequent possession,
and Corey Kispert made a layup with 0.7 seconds remaining for Washington. Garland’s desperation 70-footer at the buzzer was well off target.
Kuzma scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including two 3pointers in the final 26 seconds. Montrezl Harrell led the Wizards with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Bradley Beal had 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Pistons 112, Rockets 104: Jerami Grant scored a season-high 35 points to help the visiting Pistons beat the Rockets in a matchup of two of the worst teams in the NBA.
Grant shot 12 of 23 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. It was a stark contrast to his last game when he went 0 for 9 from the field, missing four 3s, in a 96-90 loss to Brooklyn on Friday night.
Detroit improved to 2-8, and Houston dropped to 1-10.
Bulls 117, Mavericks 107: Zach Lavine scored 23 points and Lonzo Ball made seven of Chicago’s 15 3-pointers, helping the Bulls top the visiting Mavericks. Five players scored in double figures for Chicago during its second straight victory. Nikola Vucevic had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Demar Derozan finished with 17 points.
Hornets 118, Grizzlies 108: Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a season-best 37 points on 13-of-17 shooting and visiting Charlotte snapped a five-game losing streak. Oubre matched his career high with seven 3-points on nine attempts and broke the franchise record for points off the bench. Gordon Hayward added 25 points for Charlotte.
Thunder 108, Pelicans 100: Lu Dort scored 27 points, Shai Gilgeous-alexander added 24 points, and the visitng Thunder beat the reeling Pelicans for their third straight victory.darius Bazley scored 14 points and Matt Muscala added 12, making all three 3-pointers he attempted.
Spurs 136, Kings 117: Dejounte Murray had 26 points and the host Spurs never trailed, overcoming De’aaron Fox’s season-high 37 points. San Antonio hit a season-high 18 3-pointers and snapped a three-game skid at the AT&T Center. The Spurs had not won at home since a season-opening victory Oct. 20 against Orlando. San Antonio had seven players in double figures, with Drew Eubanks adding 18 points and Doug Mcdermott scoring 17 on 4-for-6 shooting on 3s.
Suns 119, Trail Blazers 109: Frank Kaminsky scored a career-high 31 points, Chris Paul added 21 and the host Suns earned their their sixth straight victory. The 7-foot Kaminsky continued a stellar stretch of play, making up for the recent absence of injured starter Deandre Ayton. Kaminsky has at least 10 points in four of the past five games
and was at his best Wednesday, making 12 of 18 shots and grabbing seven rebounds.
Nuggets 101, Pacers 98: Will Barton scored a season-high 30 points, helping to make up for the absence of suspended star Nikola Jokic as Denver hung on to beat visiting Indiana. Zeke Nnaji added 19 points and Jeff Green and Bones Hyland had 12 apiece for the Nuggets, who have won four straight and six of seven.
Lakers 120, Heat 117 (OT): Malik Monk scored five of his season-high 27 points in overtime, and Los Angeles rallied from a big deficit in the final minutes of regulation before surging in overtime for a victory over visiting Miami. Russell Westbrook had 25 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who improved to 2-2 while Lebron James is sidelined by a strained abdominal muscle.
Warriors 123, Timberwolves 110: Andrew Wiggins dominated his former Timberwolves teammates with a season-high 35 points, leading Golden State over visiting Minnesota. Anthony Edwards scored a career-high 46 points for Minnesota, hitting seven 3-pointers in the Timberwolves’ sixth straight loss.