Toronto drives Denver to fourth straight defeat
Fred Vanvleet scored 36 points, O.G. Anunoby had 24 and the host Toronto Raptors used a franchise-record 49-point first quarter to beat Denver, 125-110, on Tuesday, handing the slumping Nuggets their season-high fourth straight loss.
Nikola Jokic scored 28 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 23 and Aaron Gordon had 18 for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, who are winless since a March 6 home victory over the Raptors.
Vanvleet shot 13 for 22 and made a season-high eight of his 12 attempts from distance as Toronto extended its home winning streak to five.
Jakob Poeltl had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Pascal Siakam scored 12 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 11 for the Raptors.
Jamal Murray shot 5 for 18 and scored 14 points and Bruce Brown added 12, but the Nuggets lost the opener of a season-long five-game trip.
● CAVALIERS 120, HORNETS 104: Evan Mobley had 26 points, and visiting Cleveland scored 35 points off Charlotte turnovers and beat the Hornets for the second time in three days.
Cedi Osman scored 24 points off the bench and Caris Levert added 22 points and seven assists for the Cavaliers, who played without all-star guard Donovan Mitchell (sprained finger) and center Jarrett Allen (eye contusion). Darius Garland chipped in 19 points.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 28 points and Terry Rozier added 22 points and 10 assists for the Hornets, who have lost three straight and fell to 11-27 at home.
● SPURS 132, MAGIC 114: Jeremy Sochan had 29 points and 10 rebounds, and San Antonio had a franchise-high 22 threepointers and season-high 39 assists in a home win over Orlando.
Spurs center Zach Collins added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists. The Spurs are 6-27 in 2023 but have now won four of seven.
Orlando rookie Paolo Banchero had 27 points, and Wendell Carter Jr. added 16. The Magic has lost five of its last seven games in its push for a berth in the postseason play-in tournament.
Sochan returned from a onegame absence, but the Spurs were without Keldon Johnson, Malaki Branham, Tre Jones and Rome Langford.
● LAKERS 123, PELICANS 108: Anthony Davis had 35 points and 17 rebounds, Malik Beasley hit seven three-pointers in the first half, and Los Angeles took a 36-point, second-quarter lead on the way to a road victory over New Orleans.
Beasley finished with 24 points for the Lakers, who shot 18 of 39 from three-point range — including 15 of 27 before halftime. D’angelo Russell added 17 points to help Los Angeles (3435) move one game ahead of New Orleans (33-36) in the Western Conference standings as both clubs try to remain in contention for a spot in the postseason.
● THUNDER 121, NETS 107: Shai Gilgeous-alexander scored 35 points and Josh Giddey had 15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as Oklahoma City beat Brooklyn at home for its sixth win in seven games.
Lu Dort matched his season high with 24 points and added nine rebounds for Oklahoma City, which rallied from a 14point first-half deficit thanks mostly to a sizzling third quarter during which Dort made five three-pointers.
Mikal Bridges scored 34 points and Cam Johnson added 23 for Brooklyn, which had won five of its previous six games, with four of those wins on the road.
The Nets looked at times as if they would run away in the first half before settling for a 62-52 halftime lead. To that point, Oklahoma City had made only 2 of 10 from three-point range, but led by Dort, the Thunder went 8 of 15 from behind the arc while outscoring Brooklyn 38-20 in the third quarter.