Hayward goes for 34, Hornets rout N.Y.
Two more games called off due to covid issues
CHARLOTTE, N.C. —Gordon Hayward scored 34 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat the New York Knicks 109-88 on Monday night for their fourth straight win.
Devonte Graham had 19 points and seven assists for Charlotte, and P.J. Washington had 13 points as the Hornets handed the Knicks their third straight defeat.
Kevin Knox had 19 points to lead the Knicks, and Mitchell Robinson had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
LaMelo Ball, who became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double on Saturday night against the Hawks, was 3 of 13 from the field and finished with eight points, a career-high 14 rebounds and seven assists.
HAWKS 112, 76ERS 94: In Atlanta, Trae Young scored 26 points, including the first three baskets of Atlanta’s dominant start to the second half, and the Hawks beat the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers.
De’Andre Hunter and Brandon Goodwin had 15 points as the Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Joe had 18 points.
The Sixers used nine players. That may have seemed like an abundance of depth after Philadelphia was limited to only seven players in Saturday’s 115-103 home loss to Denver. Forward Mike Scott (knee) and Embiid (back tightness) returned to add depth.
Philadelphia is far from full strength. Ben Simmons (sore left knee) was again held out. The depth problems will continue through the week after Seth Curry tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.
Tobias Harris and reserves Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle and Vincent Poirier were again held out due to COVID-19 protocols.
BUCKS 121, MAGIC 99: In Orlando, Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a one-game absence because of a minor back injury and scored 22 points as Milwaukee beat Orlando.
Antetokounmpo, the reigning two-time NBA MVP, started slowly and battled through second-half foul trouble before coming alive in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee won a second straight and beat Orlando for a fifth consecutive time in the regular season.
Khris Middleton finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, while reserve Bobby Portis played well for a second straight game, scoring 20 points.
Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 13 rebounds to lead the short-handed Magic, who have lost three straight since Markelle Fultz was lost to a season-ending knee injury. Aaron Gordon had 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds and contributed solid defense against Antetokounmpo.
WIZARDS 128, SUNS 107: In Washington D.C., Bradley Beal scored 34 points and the Wizards snapped their three-game losing streak and won at home for the first time this season, beating Phoenix.
The Wizards (3-8), who had lost five straight at home, played without guard Russell Westbrook. He will miss at least a week with a left quadriceps injury.
Devin Booker lead Phoenix (7-4) with 33 points.
GRIZZLIES 101, CAVALIERS 91: In Cleveland, Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and Memphis Grizzlies recovered after blowing a 16-point lead to beat the Cavaliers.
Brandon Clarke scored 15 points and Tyus Jones had 13 points, seven assists and three steals for the Grizzlies, who won their second straight and improved to 3-1 on the road.
Cavaliers center Andre Drummond had 19 points and 14 rebounds for his 11th straight double-double to start the season.
KINGS 127, PACERS 122: In Sacramento, Calif., Buddy Hield made a 3-pointer moments after Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis had a basket taken away following a replay review, and the Kings beat the Pacers.
Hield finished with 18 points on six 3s as the Kings won for the second time in seven games. Harrison Barnes had a season-high 30 points and eight rebounds.
Sabonis had 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers.
NOTE: The NBA called off two more games because of COVID-related and contact-tracing issues on Monday, and the Miami Heat were preparing to be without eight players — including All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo — for several days because of possible exposure to the coronavirus.
Monday’s game in Dallas between the Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans was postponed by the league, as well as Tuesday’s matchup in Chicago between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics. The league’s general managers met Monday to discuss the virus situation, with involvement from the National Basketball Players Association. The NBA’s board of governors will meet Tuesday.
The latest postponements came one day after Miami’s game in Boston was called off because of contact-tracing issues within the Heat. The Celtics would have been without seven players for virus-related issues for that game. Miami’s Avery Bradley, who did not play in the NBA’s restart bubble last season out of concern about exposure to the virus, was also ruled out of that game because of the protocols.