Russell stays hot for surging Nets

D’Angelo Russell had 31 points and eight assists, and the surging Brooklyn Nets won their fourth straight game in a secondhalf runaway at home against the Sacramento Kings in a Monday matinee 123-94 victory.

Russell, announced as the Eastern Conference player of the week shortly before the game, made seven three-pointers. He hit all four three-point attempts and was 5 for 6 overall in the third quarter, fueling a 22-4 spurt that launched the Nets into the lead for good.

Joe Harris added 19 points and rookie Rodions Kurucs had 16 for the Nets, who won for the 17th time in 22 games.

Bucks 116, Mavericks 106: Giannis Antetokounmpo led host Milwaukee, with a little help from Brook Lopez’s defense and blossoming longrange shooting.

Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 15 rebounds, Lopez had five blocks and 10 rebounds. The 7-foot Lopez added four threepointers.

Milwaukee has won five in a row and 12 of 14 to improve to 34-12 overall. Eric Bledsoe added 21 points, and Malcolm Brogdon had 19.

Bulls 104, Cavaliers 88: Zach LaVine scored 25 and Chicago broke a 10game losing streak, beating Cleveland in a meeting of teams that began the day with the worst records in the NBA.

Chicago (11-36) never trailed and has won all three games this season against Cleveland (9-39), which has lost 16 of 17 overall.

Thunder 127, Knicks 109: Paul George scored 31 and Russell Westbrook just missed a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for visiting Oklahoma City.

The Knicks have lost six in a row and 14 of 15, including nine in a row at Madison Square Garden.

Magic 122, Hawks 103: Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points apiece as Orlando won the season’s first matchup between the Southeast Division rivals.

Vucevic had 14 rebounds and Fournier had seven assists for the Magic, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Dewayne Dedmon led host Atlanta with 24 points on the holiday celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and in the city where the civil rights leader was born.

Wizards 101, Pistons 87: Exchanging their freewheeling ways for an improved defensive showing, host Washington looked like an entirely different team in their first game back from London.

The Wizards turned in their best defensive performance of the season. Even though Blake Griffin put up a game-high 29 points, Detroit’s scoring output was the lowest by a Washington opponent this year. That’s a major step forward for the NBA’s second-worst defensive team.

Pelicans 105, Grizzlies 85: Jrue Holiday and Nikola Mirotic scored 21 points, Jahlil Okafor and Julius Randle had 20, and New Orleans won at Memphis without injured star Anthony Davis.

Okafor had a season high for points and added 10 rebounds filling in for Davis, out with a sprained finger. Randle had 12 rebounds and Holiday grabbed 11 as New Orleans out-rebounded the Grizzlies 50-35.

ELSEWHERE

Rockets-Bulls trade: Houston is trading Carmelo Anthony and an undisclosed amount of cash to Chicago, according to a source, in a deal expected to be finalized Tuesday. Anthony will not play for the Bulls, who will either trade him by the Feb. 7 deadline or waive him.

The trade ends a shortlived saga for Anthony, who averaged 13.4 points in 10 games with the Rockets. He has not played since Nov. 8.