Allen scores 24 points to lead balanced Suns in 123-113 victory over the Lakers
PHOENIX >> Grayson Allen scored 24 points, Kevin Durant added 22 and the Phoenix Suns pulled away late in the fourth quarter to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-113 on Sunday.
Allen and Royce O’Neale hit 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the Suns up 116104 with three minutes left. Jusuf Nurkic added 18 points, 22 rebounds and seven assists.
The Lakers trailed by 20 points late in the first quarter, but slowly cut the deficit to 9290 by late in the third. Phoenix responded with the next six points and didn’t trail in the fourth.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting and also had 12 assists. Anthony Davis had 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Four Phoenix starters scored at least 20 points and the Suns had a 51-34 rebounding advantage. Devin Booker scored 21 points and O’Neale added 20. Bol Bol had 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
NUGGETS 119, WARRIORS 103 >> Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists for his third straight triple-double and 18th of the season after his long buzzer-beater against Golden State sealed the last meeting, leading the defending champion Denver Nuggets past the Warriors again in a 119-103 victory Sunday night.
Jokic hit a Stephen Currylike 40-footer as Denver rallied for a 130-127 win at Chase Center on Jan. 4, then topped Curry and Co. to sweep the four-game season series. On Sunday, Jokic shot 13 for 24 on the way to his 122nd career regular-season triple-double.
Klay Thompson scored 23 points all in the first half and Curry overcame a slow start missing his first seven 3-point tries before finishing with 20 points — all but four scored in the second half. He hit his only 3 with 3:26 left in the third in a 1-for-10 performance from deep. The two-time MVP passed both Dwyane Wade (23,165) for 32nd place and Adrian Dantley (23,177) for 31st on the NBA’s scoring list.
BUCKS 119, 76ERS 98>> Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points, Damian Lillard added 24 and Milwaukee won in Doc Rivers’ return to Philadelphia.
Rivers was fired by Philadelphia after last season. He coached the 76ers from 202023, never getting past the second round of the playoffs, and Sunday was 12th game since taking over in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo also had 12 rebounds and nine assists. Tyrese Maxey had 24 points for Philadelphia. They have dropped eight of 12 games since losing reigning MVP Joel Embiid to a left knee injury. THUNDER 123, ROCKETS 110>>
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points and Chet Holmgren added 29 to lead Oklahoma City past Houston.
The Thunder won their fifth straight to moved back into a tie with Minnesota for the Western Conference lead.
Fred VanVleet and Jabari Smith Jr. had 20 points apiece for the Rockets in the first of consecutive games between these teams. Alperen Sengun added 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Smith led the team with 17 rebounds.
The teams meet against Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.
PACERS 133, MAVERICKS 111>> Myles Turner scored a seasonhigh 33 points, Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 10 assists and Indiana beat Dallas to snap the Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak.
Luka Doncic finished with 33 points, six assists and six rebounds for Dallas. Kyrie Irving added 29 points and six rebounds.
Indiana to shoot 56% and make 14 3-pointers.
HAWKS 109, MAGIC 92 >> Dejounte Murray had 25 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, finishing just short of his first triple-double of the season, and Atlanta beat Orlando to snap a threegame skid.
Murray helped offset the loss of All-Star guard Trae Young, who will undergo surgery on his left hand Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
Franz Wagner had 19 points to lead for Orlando, with Paulo Banchero missing his first game of the season because of an illness.
CAVALIERS 114, WIZARDS 105 >> Jarrett Allen had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Caris LeVert added 18 points and 12 boards and Cleveland beat Washington to avoid its first three-game skid since December.
Evan Mobley added 21 points and Donovan Mitchell had 16 points in his return after missing the first two games following the All-Star break with an illness.
Jordan Poole scored a season-high 31 points for Washington. The Wizards have lost 11 straight to fall to 2-12 under interim coach Brian Keefe. BULLS 114, PELICANS 106 >> Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Chicago beat New Orleans to sweep the season series.
DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, including a left wing 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to give the Bulls a 111-106 lead.
Zion Williamson scored 19 points, tied a career high with 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pelicans.
JAZZ 128, SPURS 109>> Lauri Markkanen scored 26 points and Utah beat San Antonio to snap a five-game skid.
Jordan Clarkson added 22 points and 10 assists for the Jazz. John Collins had 20 points and Collin Sexton added 16 points and 10 assists.
Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 27 points, and ictor Wembanyama added 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. The Spurs have lost 11 of 12.