Knicks defeat Kings, lose Randle for season

Jalen Brunson had 35 points and 11 assists, Josh Hart scored a season-high 31 points and the host New York Knicks erased a 21-point deficit and beat the Sacramento Kings 120-109 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

Hours after announcing that Julius Randle would have right shoulder surgery and miss the rest of the season, the Knicks showed why they might still be dangerous without him. Hart shook off a sprained right wrist to shoot 14 for 19 and add nine rebounds and eight assists, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points.

The Knicks tied Orlando for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 45-31. The Magic own the head-to-head tiebreaker and would have home-court advantage in a first-round series if they finish with the same record.

De'Aaron Fox had 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who missed a chance to tie New Orleans and Phoenix for sixth in the West. They had won two in a row. Keegan Murray scored 18 points.

Domantas Sabonis finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who open a four-game road trip, with back-to-back games against the Pelicans and Suns when they get home next week.

It was a tough start to the day for the Knicks, who announced in the morning that Randle would need surgery for the injury he sustained in a victory over Miami on Jan. 27. The Knicks looked like one of the strongest teams in the league at that point, when they would match the second-most victories for any month in franchise history by finishing 14-2.

The Knicks said Thursday that Randle would be re-evaluated in five months, meaning it's unclear if he will even be ready for the start of next season. Randle was hurt after landing hard with 4:27 remaining in the victory over the Heat when Jaime Jaquez Jr. stepped in front of him trying to take a charge.

MAVERICKS 109, HAWKS 95 >> Luka Doncic finished with 25 points after a rare scoreless first quarter and host Dallas stayed alone in fifth place in the Western Conference with a victory over Atlanta . Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and Doncic had 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Mavericks won their 12th game in their past 14.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and Dejounte Murray added 16 for the Hawks, who have clinched a spot in the play-in tournament in the East and are jockeying with Chicago for the final two spots as the ninth and 10th seeds.

76ERS 109, HEAT 105 >> Tyrese Maxey scored 37 points, Joel Embiid added 29 and the visiting Philadelphia topped Miami to tighten the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Maxey was one rebound shy of a triple-double, finishing with 11 assists and nine boards for the 76ers, who moved within a half-game of Miami for No. 7 in the East.

Terry Rozier had 22 points and Jimmy Butler added 20 for the Heat, who entered the night No. 6 in the East but ceded that spot back to Indiana.