Trail Blazers end Wizards’ string of six straight wins
Anfernee Simons scored 20 of his 33 points in the third quarter and the Portland Trail Blazers erased a 20-point deficit, snapping Washington’s six-game winning streak Friday night with a 124-116 victory over the Wizards.
Damian Lillard added 29 points for Portland, which has won five of six.
Bradley Beal scored 34 points for the Wizards, and Kristaps Porzingis had 32.
SUNS 106, CELTICS 94
Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and Dario Saric had 14 with 13 rebounds to lead Phoenix over Boston and send the Nba-leading Celtics to their fourth loss in six games.
Chris Paul added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Phoenix, which had a 20-point, second-quarter lead trimmed to one by the end of the third.
Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 for the Celtics, who were coming off a 43-point victory over the Brooklyn Nets. But the two Boston All-stars shot a combined 12 for 36 from the floor and 6 for 22 from 3-point range.
MAGIC 127, TIMBERWOLVES 120
Cole Anthony had 20 points and fellow reserve Moritz Wagner scored 19 as Orlando’s bench propelled the Magic to a win against Minnesota that included a fight between the teams and five player ejections.
The brawl broke out in front of the Orlando bench late in the third quarter, when Minnesota guard Austin Rivers and Magic center Mo Bamba got into an altercation. Bamba came off the bench and Rivers threw punches at him in a tussle that spilled over to include several others on the court.
76ERS 137, SPURS 125
Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds and Philadelphia sent San Antonio to its eighth straight loss.
San Antonio rookie Malaki Branham set a season high for the second straight game with 26 points, eclipsing the 22-point outing he had Wednesday in a loss to Sacramento.
RAPTORS 117, ROCKETS 111
Fred Vanvleet scored 32 points, Gary Trent Jr. added 29 and Toronto Raptors ended a two-game skid.
Both teams made two free throws before Daishen Nix’s basket cut Houston’s deficit to six again. Vanvleet made one of two free throws before a 3 by Jabari Smith Jr. made it 115-111 with 1.2 seconds to go. Trent added two free throws to secure the victory.
Houston got a seasonhigh 28 points from Eric Gordon and Alperen Sengun added 21 on night when Jalen Green missed a third straight game with a bruised right calf.
PISTONS 118, HORNETS 112
Saddiq Bey scored 22 points, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 32.1 seconds left, and Detroit rallied to beat Charlotte.
Mason Plumlee missed five free throws in the last 6:04 as Detroit outscored Charlotte 27-18 in the fourth quarter.
Lemelo Ball had 23 points, eight assists and eight rebounds for the Hornets before fouling out. Terry Rozier added 23 points.
PACERS 107, KINGS 104
Buddy Hield scored 21 points against his former team and Indiana beat Sacramento to stop a fourgame losing streak.
Hield shot 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Aaron Nesmith added 17 points for the Pacers, going 4 for 7 on 3s. Myles Turner had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
Harrison Barnes led the Kings with 23 points. The Kings were without leading scorer De’aaron Fox, who sat out for personal reasons.