Wolves beat Wizards
MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns had 39 points and 13 rebounds, Ricky Rubio scored 22 points and broke his own franchise record with 19 assists, and Minnesota beat Washington.
Nemanja Bjelica added 16 points and 10 boards off the bench for the Timberwolves, who entered the game 3½ games behind Denver for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Minnesota shot 52 percent and Rubio topped 20 points in back-toback games for the second time in his six-year career.
John Wall scored 27 points for the Wizards, who fell 2 ½ games back of Cleveland for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Bradley Beal added 20 points, but Washington lost for the first time in six games.
Wall got off to a slow start shooting, but he attacked the rim relentlessly to help Washington climb back into the game. Wall made 14 of 19 free throws, Beal converted a four-point play and Wall’s two freebies made it 102-97 with 4:21 to play.
Grizzlies 113, Bucks 93
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Vince Carter made all eight of his shots, including six from beyond the arc, to score a season-high 24 points and lead Memphis past Milwaukee.
The 40-year-old Carter set a season high for 3-point makes in his first start of the season. Memphis shot 52 percent for the game, including 14 of 27 from deep.
Memphis stopped a five-game skid by ending the Bucks’ six-game winning streak.
Mike Conley had 20 points and 10 assists for Memphis, while Tony Allen scored 15 points. Zach Randolph finished with 14 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 18 points, while Malcolm Brogdon contributed 15 off the bench. Greg Monroe and Matthew Dellavedova finished with 13 points each for Milwaukee, which started a six-game trip against Western Conference teams.
Bulls 115, Hornets 109
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points, Rajon Rondo had a season-high 20 in his return to the starting lineup and Chicago beat Charlotte to snap a season-high, fivegame losing streak.
Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler each had 23 points for the Bulls (3235), who got a needed win to boost their hopes of earning the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Mirotic, who didn’t play in Chicago’s loss to Boston on Sunday, had five 3-pointers, while Rondo provided the spark for the Bulls in his first start since Dec. 30. Along with hitting a season-high three 3-pointers, he had six assists and seven rebounds.
Jeremy Lamb scored 26 points filling in for Nic Batum (migraine), while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 22 and Kemba Walker 21 for the struggling Hornets. Marvin Williams had 13 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds.
Raptors 100, Mavericks 78
TORONTO — DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points, Norman Powell added 19 and Toronto beat Dallas for the third straight time.
Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Raptors beat Dallas for the sixth time in their last eight meetings. Toronto swept the season series last year.
Harrison Barnes had 18 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored 17 for Dallas, which lost starting forward Wesley Matthews to a strained right calf. Matthews, who was averaging 14.7 points coming into the game, was removed with 1:07 to play in the first half and did not return.