Steven Adams put back a missed Ja Morant layup and Dillon Brooks blocked a desperation 3-point attempt from Darius Garland as time expired to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their 11th straight win, 115-114 over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
The 11 straight wins matches the Memphis franchise record and is one shy of Brooklyn’s 12-game run as the longest in the NBA this season.
The Grizzlies rallied after Evan Mobley hit a turnaround hook and a six-footer that put Cleveland up, 114-111, with 1:14 left.
Desmond Bane led Memphis with 25 points, including 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point range, while Morant finished with 24 points and eight assists. Garland had 24 points and 14 assists, knocking down five 3-point tries, to lead Cleveland.
Nuggets 122, Timberwolves 118
Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, Jamal Murray scored 28 points — including a go-ahead basket in the final minute — and host Denver beat Minnesota.
Jokic, who recorded his 14th triple-double of the season and the 90th of his career, passed Alex English for the most career assists by a Nugget. English dished out 3,679 assists in 837 games with Denver, while Jokic now has 3,686 in 568 games.
Bruce Brown scored 16 for the Nuggets, who have won eight straight overall and 15 in a row at home. Jaden McDaniels put up 18 points for the Timberwolves, who lost their second game in a row.
Jazz 126, Clippers 103
Lauri Markkanen returned to the lineup and lifted Utah over Los Angeles with 34 points and 12 rebounds in Salt Lake City.
Markkanen, back after missing two games due to hip issues, hit 11 of 20 field-goal attempts, 6 of 8 3-point shots and 6 of 6 free throws. Utah evened its record at 24-24 with its fourth win in five outings.
Norman Powell led the short-handed Clippers with 30 points. Los Angeles played without Paul George (rest), Kawhi Leonard (rest), John Wall (abdominal injury) and Luke Kennard (sore calf).
Kings 116, Lakers 111
De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points and Harrison Barnes added 20 as Sacramento rallied from a slow start to extend its winning streak to five games with a victory at Los Angeles.
Kevin Huerter scored 18 points for the Kings, who went down by 14 points in the first quarter before pushing ahead by halftime. Sacramento won without second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Domantas Sabonis, who was sidelined due to a non-COVID illness.
LeBron James scored 32 points and Russell Westbrook added 19 as the Lakers lost for the fourth time in their past five games.
Thunder 126, Pacers 106
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe scored 23 points each to lead host Oklahoma City to a victory over Indiana. The Thunder finished with 41 assists, equaling their highest total since the franchise moved from Seattle in 2008.
Luguentz Dort added 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to help the Thunder extend their winning streak to four. Oklahoma City has won six of its past seven.
Andrew Nembhard produced 18 points and seven assists for the Pacers, who have dropped five consecutive games.
Hawks 130, Mavericks 122
Dejounte Murray scored 30 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter, to lead visiting Atlanta to a rare win in Dallas. Atlanta extended its winning streak to four games, while Dallas lost its third straight and fell for the fifth time in six games.
Murray made a 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the fourth to give the Hawks a four-point lead. Trae Young closed the game with a basket and four free throws in the final minute to preserve the win and allow Atlanta to end a four-game losing streak in Dallas.
Murray was 12-for-18 from the field and added seven rebounds and four assists. Young had 18 points and 12 assists, his 20th double-double of the season. Dallas was led by Luka Doncic, who amassed 30 points and eight assists but shot only 2-for-8 on 3-point attempts.
Heat 124, Pelicans 98
Bam Adebayo scored 26 points to lead seven Miami scorers in double figures as the visiting Heat dominated from start to finish in New Orleans, leading the short-handed Pelicans by as many as 30 at one point.
Jimmy Butler scored 18 points, Max Strus had 16 points and 10 assists and Gabe Vincent also scored 16 for the Heat, who finished with their largest margin of victory the season. The result was also New Orleans’ most-lopsided defeat.
CJ McCollum scored 21 points while Jonas Valanciunas had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who remained without injured starters Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Herbert Jones Jr.
Wizards 116, Knicks 105
Kyle Kuzma collected 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as visiting Washington started fast and never trailed in a victory over New York.
The Wizards won for the second time in seven games, led by double digits most of the way and were up by as many as 17 while fending off several New York comeback attempts. Kuzma, who scored 40 in Washington’s four-point home loss to New York on Friday, had 11 points in the fourth to help the Wizards recover.
Former Knick Kristaps Porzingis added 22 and 11 rebounds before fouling out. Bradley Beal returned from missing five games with a hamstring injury to score 18. Jalen Brunson scored 16 of his 32 in the third, but the Knicks fell to 11-13 at home.
Hornets 122, Rockets 117
Terry Rozier scored a team-high 26 points and Charlotte overcame the loss of LaMelo Ball to record a road win over Houston and snap a five-game skid.
P.J. Washington paired 16 points with eight rebounds for the Hornets, while Mason Plumlee and rookie Mark Williams each had 17 points. Ball scored 13 points before departing with a left ankle sprain early in the third quarter.
Jalen Green matched his career high with 41 points and added seven assists for the Rockets, who lost their 12th game in a row. Alperen Sengun recorded 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
–Field Level Media
