Butler has 32, Heat top Wizards
Heat 112, Wizards 97: Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and the Heat beat the visiting Wizards for their fourth straight victory.
The teams will meet again Saturday night in Washington.
Butler shot 11 of 19 from the field and made all 10 of his free throws in his second consecutive outing over 30 points.
Bam Adebayo added 20 points, Gabe Vincent had 18 points and P.J. Tucker 15. The Heat improved to 11-5.
Bradley Beal scored 30 points for Washington, and Kyle Kuzma added 19 points. The Wizards have lost two straight to drop to 10-5.
The Heat made 7 of 8-pointers in the third period to take control. Duncan Robinson’s 3-pointer with 3:59 remaining in the quarter gave Miami its largest lead at 75-57. The double-digit result was the ninth in the Heat’s 11 wins.
Guard Tyler Herro, Miami’s secondleader scorer, sat out because of a bruised right wrist. The Wizards rested third-leading scorer Spencer Dinwiddie.
Warriors 104, Cavaliers 89: Stephen Curry scored 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three straight 3pointers, and the Nba-leading Warriors overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the host Cavaliers.
Curry made 8 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, in the final period to help Golden State outscore the Cavaliers 36-8. The Warriors ran off the first 17 points of the quarter to seize an 85-81 advantage, holding Cleveland to 12 consecutive empty possessions.
Nemanja Bjelica added 14 points, Andrew Wiggins had 12 points and Draymond Green had four points and 14 rebounds for Golden State. The Warriors improved to 13-2. They have won nine straight over the Cavaliers and are 17-1 against them since January 2017.
The injury-plagued Cavaliers dropped tp 9-8. The took an 81-68 lead into the fourth after Dean Wade batted in a layup as time expired in the third.
Darius Garland scored a season-high 25 points, Wade and Kevin Love had 17
points apiece, and Ed Davis added seven points and 14 points.
Timberwolves 115, Spurs 90: Karlanthony Towns had 25 points and 12 rebounds to help Minnesota beat visiting San Antonio.
D’angelo Russell added 22 points, and Malik Beasley hit five of Minnesota’s season-high 21 3-pointers for all 15 of his points.
Devin Vassell scored 18 points for San Antonio, and Larry Walker IV and Keldon Johnson each had 12. The Spurs have lost four in a row.
On Wednesday night, Minnesota coach Chris Finch called out his team for poor defense and rebounding in the first half of a victory over Sacramento. The Wolves responded by outrebounding the Spurs 47-42 and holding them to just 41.7% shooting from the field and a season-low 90 points.
The Timberwolves entered the game shooting an Nba-leading 42.6 3-pointers per game. Making those shots is another story, and they’ve had a hard time doing that as their 32.5% shooting percentage beyond the arc was 24th in the league.
Grizzlies 120, Clippers 108: Ja Morant scored 17 of his 28-points in a thirdquarter rally in the host Grizzlies’ victory over the Clippers.
Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 18 points each, and Desmond Bane had 16. Brandon Clarke finished with 14 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter.
Paul George led the Clippers with 23 points and six assists. Reggie Jackson had 18 points, hitting 4 of 8 3-point attempts. Luke Kennard added 15 points for Los Angeles, going 6 of 8 overall and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Memphis held the lead through most of the game, but Morant provided an offensive burst in the third quarter and the Grizzlies stretched the advantage to 20 when Clark converted four consecutive inside baskets early in the fourth.
The Clippers entered the game having won eight of their last nine and coming off a 106-92 victory over San Antonio on Wednesday. Their defensive rating is among the best in the league.
76ers 103, Nuggets 89: Tyrese Maxey scored 22 points, Seth Curry added 20 and the short-handed 76ers beat the host Nuggets to snap a five-game losing streak.
Playing without Joel Embiid and three other regulars, the 76ers held Nikola Jokic to three points in the second half on a night when enraged Nuggets coach Michael Malone was ejected and had to be restrained by Jokic after charging onto the court as the Philadelphia took control in the third quarter.
Jokic had 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists before leaving the court for the locker room late in the fourth quarter. Will Barton returned from a back injury to finish with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Denver.
The Nuggets shot 36% from the field in their second straight defeat after a five-game winning streak.
Jazz 119, Raptors 103: Rudy Gay hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 points in his season debut to help the Utah Jazz beat the Toronto Raptors 119-103 on Thursday night.
Gay also had five rebounds while playing just 18 minutes. He missed Utah’s first 14 games while recovering from offseason surgery on his right heel.
Donovan Mitchell also scored 20 points, and Royce O’neale added a season-high 16. Rudy Gobert chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 31 points for Toronto, and Fred Van Vleet added 24s. Toronto lost for the sixth time in seven games despite scoring 33 points off 21 Jazz turnovers.
Birch gave Toronto an early spark, scoring all 14 of his points before halftime. He made back-to-back baskets to kickstart a 9-2 run.