NBA roundup: Davis pours in 48 as Pelicans edge Mavs
Anthony Davis scored a season-high 48 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the host New Orleans Pelicans ended a five-game losing streak by beating the Dallas Mavericks 114-112 on Friday night.
Julius Randle added 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 18 for the Pelicans.
Rookie Luka Doncic scored 34 points, Harrison Barnes added 21, Dennis Smith Jr. had 14, Dirk Nowitzki 11 and Dwight Powell 10 for the Mavericks, who ended a six-game losing streak by beating the Pelicans 122-119 on Wednesday in Dallas.
It was Smith’s first game back after missing six games because of a sprained right wrist. Nuggets 102, Spurs 99 Jamal Murray scored 31 points and Nikola Jokic had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as host Denver held on to beat San Antonio.
Malik Beasley scored 21 before leaving the game with an undisclosed injury for Denver, which snapped a twogame losing streak.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points, DeMar DeRozan had 15 and Bryn Forbes scored 13 for the Spurs. Thunder 118, Suns 102 Russell Westbrook recorded 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead Oklahoma City past host Phoenix.Dennis Schroder scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Thunder prevailed without star forward Paul George (quadriceps). It marked the first game George has missed this season.
Abdel Nader scored a career-best 18 points off the bench for Oklahoma City, which halted a two-game slide. Devin Booker contributed 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for the Suns, who had won five of their previous seven games. Clippers 118, Lakers 107 Lou Williams scored a season-high 36 points off the bench for the Clippers, who took over with a 22-0 run that started late in the third quarter in winning the first meeting this season between the Los Angeles rivals.
Danilo Gallinari added 19 points for the Clippers. After a slow start, Montrezl Harrell had 12 points. Gallinari and Tobias Harris each added 10 rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma scored 24 points and Lonzo Ball added 19 for the Lakers, who were playing without LeBron James (groin injury) and Rajon Rondo (finger injury). James is listed as day-to-day, while Rondo is expected to miss at least a month. Heat 118, Cavaliers 94 Justise Winslow led a balanced offense for host Miami, whose defense wore down short-handed Cleveland.
Winslow finished with 24 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. He has had only eight 20-point games in his career, six of them in December. Bam Adebayo added 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting, plus nine boards and five assists.
Because of injuries, Cleveland had only nine players available. Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points and Alec Burks added 17. Miami has won six of seven while Cleveland has lost five straight. Magic 116, Raptors 87 Nikola Vucevic recorded 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists to help host Orlando thrash Toronto. D.J. Augustin added 17 points as Orlando halted a four-game slide.
Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points for the Raptors, who saw their NBA-best record fall to 26-11. Serge Ibaka added 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, while Fred VanVleet tallied 11 points for Toronto, which played without point guard Kyle Lowry (back).
Vucevic connected on 12 of 17 shots while posting a 30-point, 20-rebound performance for the third time in his career. It also was his eighth career 20-rebound contest.
—Field Level Media