Chris Paul collected 21 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds as the Phoenix Suns held on to beat the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 134-124 on Friday night for their ninth consecutive win.
Phoenix’s Devin Booker led all scorers with 29 points to go along with nine assists. Cameron Johnson contributed 23 points, hitting 5 of 9 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
Anthony Edwards recorded 27 points and 10 assists for Minnesota, which lost for the second time in as many nights. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 23 points and nine boards, and Malik Beasley chipped in 26 points off the bench.
Magic 119, Pistons 103
Franz Wagner scored 13 of his 24 points in the first quarter to help build a double-digit lead, and Mo Bamba finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds as host Orlando defeated Detroit.
Terrence Ross (21 points) came off the Orlando bench to hit four 3-pointers and Chuma Okeke scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. Gary Harris also added 10 points and six assists as the Magic shot 49.4 percent (41-for-83) as a team.
Trey Lyles had a team-high 18 points for Detroit, which played without leading scorer Jerami Grant (return to competition reconditioning) and Kelly Olynyk (health and safety protocol)
Hornets 117, Lakers 114
Miles Bridges scored 26 points and Ish Smith provided a large boost off the bench with 22 points as host Charlotte held off injury-riddled Los Angeles.
Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball each scored 20 points for Charlotte, which was two nights removed from setting a franchise record with 158 points against the Indiana Pacers.
The Lakers’ Lebron James missed his second game in a.row with a sore knee. Russell Westbrook poured in all but five of his 35 points in the second half and Carmelo Anthony posted 19 points for the Lakers.
Hawks 108, Celtics 92
Trae Young and John Collins each scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Atlanta beat visiting Boston to earn its sixth consecutive win.
Bogdan Bogdanovic added 19 points and was instrumental in an 18-2 fourth-quarter run that allowed the Hawks to turn a one-point lead into a 17-point advantage.
The six-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the Eastern Conference and the second-longest in the NBA. Boston got 26 points and 12 rebounds from Jaylen Brown and 20 points and six rebounds from Jayson Tatum. However, the Celtics’ reserves were outscored 46-17 by Atlanta’s bench.
Grizzlies 119, Jazz 109
Ja Morant tallied 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead Memphis to a victory over visiting Utah. Morant is averaging 35.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists over his past five games.
Brandon Clarke finished with 22 points for the Grizzlies, who won for the 15th time in 18 games. Jaren Jackson Jr. chipped in 18 points, and Desmond Bane added 17.
Danuel House Jr. scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Jazz. Utah has lost four straight and 10 of its past 12.
Pacers 113, Thunder 110 (OT)
Domantas Sabonis registered 24 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists and Indiana rallied from a 16-point, third-quarter deficit to record an overtime victory at Oklahoma City.
Justin Holiday scored the go-ahead layup with 40.8 seconds remaining in OT as part of a 22-point effort. Jeremy Lamb added 14 points as Indiana snapped a three-game slide and won for just the fourth time in the past 17 games.
Luguentz Dort scored 27 points and matched a season high of eight rebounds for the Thunder, who lost their seventh straight game and their 12th in the past 13. Josh Giddey added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander departed early in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle.
Heat 121, Clippers 114
Gabe Vincent shot 6-for-8 on third-quarter 3-point attempts and Jimmy Butler went 16-for-16 on free throws en route to 26 points as Miami beat visiting Los Angeles.
Vincent, starting in place of point guard Kyle Lowry — who missed his sixth straight game due to personal reasons — scored 23 points. Butler, playing with a sore left foot, added six rebounds and a game-high nine assists for the Heat, who have the best home record in the Eastern Conference (18-5). Miami also has the best overall ledger in the East (32-17).
The victory was Miami’s first over the Clippers since Dec. 8, 2018, breaking a six-game losing streak in the series. Luke Kennard led the Clippers with 23 points.
Bucks 123, Knicks 108
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his 16th 30-point double-double of the season as Milwaukee defeated New York to win its fourth consecutive home game.
Antetokounmpo amassed 38 points on 12-of-19 shooting plus 13 rebounds and five assists to lead the Bucks to their fourth victory in the past five games overall. Jrue Holiday added 24 points and 10 assists, and Khris Middleton had 20 points.
Evan Fournier paced the Knicks with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, and RJ Barrett followed with 23 points. Quentin Grimes and Alec Burks were productive off the bench, tallying 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Julius Randle tallied nine points and 11 rebounds.
Spurs 131, Bulls 122
Dejounte Murray scored 29 points and dished out 12 assists as San Antonio took charge in the third quarter and held on to beat visiting Chicago.
Keldon Johnson added 23 points for San Antonio while Jakob Poeltl amassed 21 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick White scored 14 points, and Doug McDermott, Devin Vassell and Lonnie Walker IV tallied 11 points each in the win.
Former Spur DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points for the Bulls in his first return to the Alamo City after signing with Chicago in the offseason. Zach LaVine added 30 points, with Coby White and Nikola Vucevic hitting for 18 each, and Ayo Dosunmu contributing 10 for the Bulls in the loss.
Trail Blazers 125, Rockets 110
Anfernee Simons and CJ McCollum combined for 53 points, Jusuf Nurkic added a double-double and Portland rode a balanced offensive attack to its third consecutive road victory, defeating Houston.
Simons and McCollum shot a combined 21 for 37, including 9 for 18 on 3-pointers, while scoring 27 and 26 points, respectively. They paced six in double figures for Portland, with Nurkic pairing 25 points with 13 rebounds to offer Portland inside heft to complement the perimeter proficiency.
Garrison Mathews scored 21 points on 4-for-8 3-point shooting while Christian Wood posted a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double for Houston. Rookie Jalen Green tallied 17 points, five rebounds and five assists while KJ Martin (a season-high 17 points) and Josh Christopher (11 points) led the third-quarter surge that lifted the Rockets back into contention.
Nuggets 116, Pelicans 105
Nikola Jokic had a triple-double as visiting Denver won their fourth game in a row by defeating New Orleans.
Jokic finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets improved to 3-0 on a six-game road trip. Aaron Gordon scored 20 points. Denver has won nine of its last 12 games.
Herbert Jones scored 19 points, Willy Hernangomez added 18 points and 16 rebounds, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 18, Josh Hart had 16, Devonte’ Graham 15 and Jaxson Hayes 13 to lead the Pelicans.
–Field Level Media
