Keldon Johnson poured in 25 points off the bench and Stephon Castle added 24 as the host San Antonio Spurs waylaid the Oklahoma City Thunder 130-110 on Tuesday in a matchup of teams with the best records in the Western Conference.
The Spurs have won seven straight for the first time since a nine-game run in the 2018-19 season. Two of the victories in the current run came against Oklahoma City, the league’s top team all season.
Harrison Barnes scored 20 points for San Antonio, with Devin Vassell hitting for 17 and Victor Wembanyama scoring 12 off the bench. Wembanyama did not have a blocked shot, snapping a 101-game streak with at least one block.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander produced 33 points and eight assists for the Thunder, who have dropped three of their past five following a 24-1 start. Jalen Williams added 17 points and eight assists.
Mavericks 131, Nuggets 130
Cooper Flagg finished with a game-high 33 points along with nine rebounds and nine assists and Anthony Davis added 31 points and nine rebounds as Dallas halted Denver’s franchise-best road winning streak at 11.
Naji Marshall scored 15 points, Ryan Nembhard chipped in 11 points and seven assists and Brandon Williams, Caleb Martin and D’Angelo Russell all scored nine points off the bench for the Mavericks.
Jamal Murray led the way for the Nuggets with 31 points, a season-high 14 assists and seven rebounds. Nikola Jokic added 29 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 23 points on a season-high-tying seven 3-pointers and fellow reserve Bruce Brown filled up the statsheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.
Hornets 126, Wizards 109
LaMelo Ball scored 23 with the help of four 3-point baskets and Charlotte beat visiting Washington.
Brandon Miller poured in 20 points and Kon Knueppel provided 15 of his 19 points in the second half as the Hornets used a strong fourth quarter to secure the win. Miles Bridges added 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Moussa Diabate scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds.
Khris Middleton led Washington with 16 points, Marvin Bagley III had 15 points off the bench, and Bilal Coulibaly and CJ McCollum both finished with 14 points.
Cavaliers 141, Pelicans 118
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and Sam Merrill tied his season high with 22 points and made six 3-pointers as Cleveland pulled away for a victory over visiting New Orleans.
Cleveland had nine players reach double digits in points for the second time in franchise history. Jaylon Tyson scored 18 points, Thomas Bryant had 15 points and Jarrett Allen logged 14 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 21-23.
Zion Williamson scored 26 points in 21 minutes off the bench for the Pelicans, who had their season-best winning streak snapped at five games. Rookie Derik Queen posted 19 of his 21 points in the second half, while Trey Murphy III chipped in 14 points.
Suns 132, Lakers 108
Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Devin Booker went for 21 points and 11 assists, and host Phoenix rolled past Los Angeles, which was playing without the injured Luka Doncic.
After taking the lead for good late in the first quarter, the Suns steadily built on their advantage and blew the game open with a 45-point third quarter. Phoenix went on a 16-4 run coming out of intermission and held Los Angeles to just one made field goal for the first three-plus minutes of the second half.
Four Suns knocked down multiple triples, led by Royce O’Neale’s 4-of-5 shooting from deep. Mark Williams finished with 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. LeBron James led the Lakers with 23 points.
Bulls 126, Hawks 123
Coby White scored 24 points and made the go-ahead free throw following an away-from-the-ball foul with 1.9 seconds left to give visiting Chicago a come-from-behind win over Atlanta.
Chicago earned its fourth consecutive win and swept the three-game season series with Atlanta. The Hawks took their fourth straight loss. Vucevic had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Giddey recorded 19 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists for his seventh triple-double of the season.
Atlanta was led by Jalen Johnson with 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, his 11th straight double-double. Trae Young added 22 points and 15 assists, and Alexander-Walker finished with 21 points.
Bucks 111, Pacers 94
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 24 points to help Milwaukee top host Indiana in Indianapolis, handing the Pacers their sixth straight loss while snapping the Bucks’ own three-game skid.
Ryan Rollins added 23 points for the Bucks while Kyle Kuzma scored 15 and Bobby Portis finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for Milwaukee. Myles Turner chipped in 10 points in the win against his former team.
T.J. McConnell led Indiana with 16 points, followed by Pascal Siakam’s 15 and Andrew Nembhard’s 14.
Nets 114, 76ers 106
Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 of his 28 points in the first half as visiting Brooklyn topped Philadelphia.
Egor Demin added 20 points for Brooklyn, which improved to 6-3 in its last nine games. Nic Claxton chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the visitors.
Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 27 points, while Paul George contributed 19 points. Tyrese Maxey, who came into the night averaging 31.7 points, was limited to 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting as the Sixers lost for just the third time in their last nine games.
Timberwolves 115, Knicks 104
Anthony Edwards scored 38 points and Julius Randle logged 17 of his 25 in the fourth quarter as Minnesota topped visiting New York.
Rudy Gobert added 11 points and 16 rebounds as the Timberwolves won for the 10th time in 12 games. Randle caught fire against his old team in the fourth quarter, at one point scoring 15 straight points and flexing for the crowd.
The Knicks played without starters Jalen Brunson (right ankle injury management) and OG Anunoby (left ankle soreness). Karl-Anthony Towns got a warm reception from the Minnesota crowd that remembered him from his days with the Wolves, and he kept New York close with a game-high 40 points before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Tyler Kolek made his first NBA start for the Knicks, filling in for Brunson, and finished with career-high totals of 20 points and 11 rebounds to go with eight assists. New York took just its third loss in 14 games.
Raptors 112, Heat 91
South Florida native Scottie Barnes scored a game-high 27 points and added eight rebounds and four assists to lead Toronto past host Miami.
Barnes, held to just six points in his previous game, made 10 of 14 shots. Immanuel Quickley added 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds as Toronto snapped a two-game losing streak. Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles had an impressive game, leading all players with nine offensive rebounds. He finished with 11 points and a career-high 12 total boards in 25 minutes off the bench.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 21 points off the bench as the Heat lost their third straight and their eighth in nine games. Miami also got 17 points from Norman Powell and 14 from Andrew Wiggins. The Heat played without All-Star guard Tyler Herro (toe injury) as well as Nikola Jovic (elbow) and Pelle Larsson (ankle).
Grizzlies 137, Jazz 128
Santi Aldama scored a career-high-tying 37 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 21 and GG Jackson scored 18 with nine boards to lead Memphis past Utah in Salt Lake City.
Aldama’s total included a career-best seven 3-pointers to go with seven assists and five rebounds. He was 13 of 21 from the field. Memphis also got a double-double of 11 points and a career-high 13 assists from Cam Spencer. Memphis shot 55.7% overall and 42.2% from long range (19 of 45).
Kyle Filipowski led the Jazz with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Keyonte George contributed 24 points and Taylor Hendricks scored 21. Rookie Ace Bailey added 17 points for Utah, which lost its fourth straight.
