Knicks win fifth straight, deal Nuggets most decisive defeat
OG Anunoby scored 26 points and Jalen Brunson 21 as host New York routed Denver 122-84 on Thursday, handing the defending NBA champion Nuggets their most lopsided loss this season.
The Knicks, who never trailed, shot 52.9 percent en route to their fifth straight win and 11th in 13 games since Anunoby was acquired from Toronto.
Nikola Jokic had 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets, who had won three in a row and five of six. They missed 21 of 26 3-point tries.
■ Celtics 143, Heat 110: At Miami, Jayson Tatum scored 26 points for Boston, which shot 63.7 percent while hitting 22 of 40 3-point tries in its most lopsided win over Miami in the teams’ 172 meetings. The Celtics have won three straight and six of seven. The Heat lost their fifth in a row.
■ Timberwolves 96, Nets 94: At New York, Karl-anthony Towns assisted on Rudy Gobert’s go-ahead alley-oop dunk with 58 seconds left and totaled 27 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota. Brooklyn, which trailed by 17 in the third quarter, lost for the seventh time in eight games.
■ Pacers 134, 76ers 122: At Indianapolis, Pascal Siakam had 26 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Indiana, which never trailed while halting a three-game skid. Joel Embiid scored 31 points for Philadelphia, which had won six in a row.
■ Kings 134, Warriors 133: At San
Francisco, Harrison Barnes scored 39 points for Sacramento, which hit 22 of 48 3-point tries and went ahead to stay on Domantas Sabonis’ dunk with 22 seconds left.
■ Lakers 141, Bulls 132: At Los Angeles, Lebron James had 25 points and 12 assists for Los Angeles, which shot 60.9 while hitting 20 of 31 3-point tries and didn’t trail in the second half.
■ Jazz 123, Wizards 108: At Washington, Lauri Markkanen scored 29 points for Utah, which halted a three-game skid and dealt Washington its sixth straight loss and 12th in 13 games.