Beal scores 43 points to help Suns rout Wizards
WASHINGTON » Bradley Beal scored a season-high 43 points in his return to Washington and the Phoenix Suns routed the Wizards 140-112 on Sunday.
Beal played 11 seasons before being dealt to Phoenix last offseason. He received a video tribute and standing ovation during player introductions before the game. Then he scored 26 points in the first half.
He had 41 after three quarters and then exited for good with 8:44 to play.
Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic scored 18 points apiece for Phoenix, and Devin Booker had 14. The Suns went 4-3 on a sevengame trip.
Deni Avdija had 24 points for the Wizards. They were without Kyle Kuzma because of left shoulder soreness.
MAGIC 111, PISTONS 99 » Franz Wagner scored 27 of his 38 points in the second half as the Orlando Magic defeated the Detroit Pistons 111-99 for their third straight win on Sunday.
Paolo Banchero added 20 points for Orlando. The Magic got 58 points from three players who are very familiar to the Little Caesars Arena fans. Franz Wagner attended the University of Michigan, as did his brother Moritz Wagner who scored 10 points. Gary Harris, who went to Michigan State, also scored 10.
Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey each scored 18 for Detroit (6-43).
The game was tied at 78 early in the fourth when the local players took over for the Magic. Franz Wagner and Harris combined for 15 points in the next five minutes and Moritz Wagner added two more.
Franz Wagner’s 3-pointer made it 98-90 with 6:44 to play, and he shushed the crowd as Pistons coach Monty Williams called a timeout. He hit his first 10 shots of the second half, including three 3-pointers.
Detroit’s offense came up empty on four straight possessions, needing Jalen Duren’s put-back to stay within 103-97 with 3:07 to play. CLIPPERS 103, HEAT 95 » Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and 11 rebounds, James Harden scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and the Los Angeles Clippers remained red-hot by topping the sliding Miami Heat 103-95 on Sunday night.
Harden flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and eight assists. Norman Powell scored 16 points and Paul George added 11 for the Clippers. They are 25-5 since the start of December — by far the best record in the NBA over that span.
Jimmy Butler scored 21 points and Terry Rozier finished with 17 for the Heat. They have lost eight of their last 10.
Bam Adebayo and Josh Richardson each had 14 points for the Heat. Adebayo grabbed 13 rebounds and Caleb Martin scored 11 points for Miami, which played without its two best 3-point shooters. Duncan Robinson remains in the NBA’s concussion protocols and Tyler Herro was slated to start Sunday, then was a very late scratch after being diagnosed with a migraine.
Miami was held under 100 points for the 12th time this season. The Heat are 2-10 in those games; only Portland and Charlotte have more such games this season.
The Clippers improved to 5-1 in their seven-game, 11-day trip necessitated because the arena where they and the Los Angeles Lakers play their home games was taken over by Sunday night’s Grammy Awards. The trip ends Monday in Atlanta, and then the Clippers get a three-game homestand before going to Golden State in their finale before the AllStar break.
PACERS 115, HORNETS 99 » Pascal Siakam had 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds and the Indiana Pacers overcame a career-high 35 points from Hornets rookie Brandon Miller to beat Charlotte 115-99 on Sunday night and snap a three-game skid.
Aaron Nesmith added 22 points and Myles Turner had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers (28-23), who held the Hornets to 39.8% shooting from the field and 27.6% from beyond the arc.
Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points in 20 minutes while remaining on a minutes restriction due to a lingering hamstring injury.
Miller finished 10 of 25 from the field, 10 of 12 from the foul line and had five 3s for the Hornets. P.J. Washington added 22 points for Charlotte (10-38), which has lost seven straight — five of those by double digits.