Balanced effort helps T-wolves snap a four-game losing streak
Naz Reid scored 20 points to lead a balanced offensive effort and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the New Orleans Pelicans 120-110 on Saturday night.
Anthony Edwards scored 18 points and Jared Vanderbilt set career highs with 16 points and 11 rebounds for Minnesota, which snapped a four-game skid. Jarrett Culver and Malik Beasley each scored 16 points, and Jordan Mclaughlin added 11.
Brandon Ingram had 30 points to lead New Orleans, which have lost three straight and eight of nine.
Minnesota center KarlAnthony Towns missed his fourth straight game after testing positive for the coronavirus on Jan. 15. The Timberwolves are 2-9 without Towns in the lineup this season.
NETS 128, HEAT 124 >> Kevin Durant scored 31 points and Brooklyn never trailed and survived multiple fourthquarter comeback attempts by Miami and a career-high 41-point night by Bam Adebayo.
Kyrie Irving added 18 of his 28 points in the fourth, including 10 in the final 2:41. Joe Harris added 23 and tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers. James Harden did not make a basket until the fourth and finished with 12 points and 11 assists.
Adebayo surpassed his previous career high of 30 points on Dec. 10, 2019 and made 14 of 20 shots but did not hit a basket in the final 5 1/2 minutes.
76ERS 114, PISTONS 110 >> Joel Embiid had 33 points and 14 rebounds to lead Philadelphia at Detroit.
Ben Simmons supplied 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Tobias Harris tossed in 17 points for the Sixers. Seth Curry added 14 points as Philadelphia won its third straight game.
Wayne Ellington led seven Pistons in double figures with 17 points. Svi Mykhailiuk contributed 15 points and Sekou Doumbouya had 13.
The Pistons rested Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose in the second game of a backto-back.
WIZARDS GET SOME REINFORCEMENTS >> Shorthanded Washington Wizards free-agent centers Alex Len and Jordan Bell, trying to fill out a roster decimated by COVID-19 and injuries.
The Wizards have scrapped six games since a win over Phoenix on Jan. 11 made them 3-8. They’re scheduled to play today at San Antonio.
Six Washington players have tested positive for the coronavirus and three other players were sidelined after contact tracing.
Starting center Thomas Bryant is out for the season with an injured left knee and point guard Russell Westbrook is still dealing with a left quadriceps injury.
The 7-foot Len averaged 7.9 points and 6.2 rebounds in 474 games over eight seasons. He played seven games for the Raptors this season. The 6-8 Bell averaged 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 154 games over three seasons. The 26-year-old hadn’t played in the NBA this year.