Murray, Nuggets silence Thunder in Oklahoma City
Thompson’s putback helps Warriors prevail
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jamal Murray scored 22 points to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-98 on Saturday night.
Nikola Jokic and Trey Lyles each scored 16 points and Juancho Hernangomez added 15 for the Nuggets, who won their third straight.
Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season and the 106th of his career. Paul George had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Dennis Schroder added 18 points for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City shot just 35.9 percent from the field and was just 9 of 39 on 3-pointers. The Thunder would have had sole possession of the best record in the Western Conference with a win.
Denver’s largest lead was 25 points in the second quarter. The Nuggets shot 50 percent in the first half to lead 63-42 at the break.
WARRIORS 117, KINGS 116: In Oakland, Calif., Klay Thompson put back his own miss with 5 seconds left, Kevin Durant scored a season-high 44 points, and Golden State barely held off Sacramento in a wild finish.
Durant converted two free throws with 1:27 left and also had 13 rebounds and seven assists, while Thompson wound up with 31 points — the second straight night the two each scored 30 or more.
Buddy Hield had 28 points on 12-for-21 shooting and seven rebounds. Rookie Marvin Bagley III contributed 20 points and a season-best 17 rebounds off the bench, but missed the first of two free throws with 1:08 remaining.
BUCKS 135, SPURS 129: In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points and 18 rebounds, rallying Milwaukee from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat San Antonio.
Antetokounmpo scored 14 points in the final period, hearing chants of “MVP! MVP!” each time he stepped to the free throw line. But he had plenty of help, with Malcolm Brogdon adding 23 points, Khris Middleton 21 and Eric Bledsoe finishing with 20 points and 10 assists.
DeMar DeRozan scored 34 points for the Spurs, who took a 106-95 lead with 11 minutes to play after a jumper by Rudy Gay.
MAVERICKS 113, CELTICS 104: In Dallas, J.J. Barea scored 20 points with a key 3-pointer that helped put Dallas in control in the fourth quarter, and the Mavericks won their sixth straight home game.
Harrison Barnes also had 20 points, teenage rookie Luka Doncic totaled 15 points and matched Barea with eight assists while starting at point guard with Dennis Smith Jr. sidelined by a wrist injury as the Mavericks (9-9) got back to .500 with their seventh win in nine games.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart had 19 apiece for the Celtics.
CAVALIERS
108: In Cleveland, rookie Collin Sexton scored a season-high 29 points and Cleveland overcame 40 points by Houston’s James Harden to win consecutive games
117, ROCKETS
for the first time this season.
Sexton, taken with the eighth pick in the draft, was 14 for 21 from the floor and hit several key baskets in the second half as the Cavaliers held off multiple runs from the Rockets.
Cleveland (4-14) won 121-112 in Philadelphia on Friday and rode that momentum against the Rockets, who played without star point guard Chris Paul.
WIZARDS 124, PELICANS 114: In Washington, Otto Porter Jr. scored a season-high 29 points, John Wall had 22 points and eight assists, and Washington beat New Orleans.
Austin Rivers had 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who shot a seasonhigh 56.7 percent (51 of 90) from the floor in a game between the league’s second- and third-worst defenses entering Saturday.
Julius Randle tied a season high with 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. He started in place of Anthony Davis, who was ruled out during pregame warmups after straining his right hip in Friday’s loss at the New York Knicks.
TIMBERWOLVES 111, BULLS 96: In Minneapolis, Karl-Anthony Towns had 35 points and 22 rebounds, Derrick Rose scored 22 points off the bench and Minnesota pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago.
Jeff Teague added 18 points for Minnesota, which won for the fifth time in seven games since trading Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia. Both the Timberwolves and Bulls were playing the second game of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights.
Zach LaVine scored 28 points and Jabari Parker had 27 for Chicago.