RJ Barrett scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks stopped a three-game losing streak by holding on for a 112-108 victory over the host Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 33 points after shooting 5-of-24 in his previous game, but Barrett played the role of closer. He was 6 of 12 in the fourth quarter and his layup snapped a 93-93 tie with 9:26 remaining. Barrett’s bucket made it 110-100 with 2:34 left, but it was New York’s final basket, and the Knicks survived a dicey finish.
A layup by Dennis Schroder made it 110-108 with 19.3 seconds left, and Josh Hart hit two free throws with five seconds remaining to make it 112-108. After the Lakers called their final timeout, the game ended when D’Angelo Russell missed a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left.
Russell made six 3-pointers and scored 33 points, but the Lakers saw their three-game winning streak stopped and they missed an opportunity to reach .500 for the first time this season. Anthony Davis added 17 points and 16 boards but also missed four free throws. The Lakers missed seven foul shots after going 19-for-19 in Friday’s win over Toronto.
Cavaliers 114, Hornets 108
Darius Garland came back after a one-game absence and scored 28 points and Cleveland put together a strong fourth quarter to defeat host Charlotte.
Donovan Mitchell pumped in 23 points and Evan Mobley had key late baskets on his way to 18 points as the Cavaliers won for the fourth time in their last five games. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Ricky Rubio had 11 points. Garland missed Friday night’s loss at Miami because of a quad injury.
Terry Rozier scored 27 to lead the Hornets, who committed 19 turnovers. P.J. Washington (19 points), Gordon Hayward (16), Nick Richards (15) and Dennis Smith Jr. (14) also supplied offensive boosts. Kelly Oubre Jr., who had been Charlotte’s leading scorer in the previous six games, didn’t play because of an ailing back.
Nets 122, Nuggets 120
Mikal Bridges scored 25 points, Spencer Dinwiddie had 15 points and 16 assists and visiting Brooklyn beat Denver.
Nic Claxton had 20 points, while Dorian Finney-Smith scored 15 for the Nets. Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists for his 27th triple-double of the season and Michael Porter Jr. scored 23 points for the Nuggets, who have lost three straight games.
With the Nets leading 121-117, Jokic hit two free throws, Christian Braun blocked Dinwiddie and Jokic split a pair of foul shots to make it 121-120 with 41.6 seconds left. After a successful challenge on a foul call on Jokic, Denver had two chances to take the lead, but Bruce Brown and Jokic missed short jumpers. Bridges split a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left and Jokic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
76ers 112, Wizards 93
Joel Embiid had 34 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots to lift Philadelphia past host Washington.
It was Embiid’s sixth straight game with at least 30 points. James Harden added 18 points and 14 assists and Tobias Harris contributed 11 points for the Sixers, who won their fifth in a row. De’Anthony Melton had 10 points off the bench.
Corey Kispert scored 25 points and Bradley Beal added 13 for the Wizards, who lost their third straight. Kyle Kuzma contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Monte Morris scored 11 points.
Thunder 102, Spurs 90
Jalen Williams racked up 21 points and 10 assists and Josh Giddey added 15 points and 11 rebounds as visiting Oklahoma City defeated San Antonio to stay in the hunt for a spot in the postseason.
The Thunder swept a road back-to-back that started Saturday night with a win in New Orleans. They played without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is managing an abdominal injury. Ousmane Dieng scored a career-high 17 points for Oklahoma City, with Luguentz Dort scoring 12 and Dario Saric adding 10.
Zach Collins led San Antonio with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Devonte’ Graham hit for 20 points, Keita Bates-Diop 12 and Doug McDermott 11. The Spurs, fresh off a win over West-leading Denver on Friday, played without starters Keldon Johnson (left foot soreness), Jeremy Sochan (right knee soreness) and Tre Jones (non-COVID illness).
Pelicans 127, Trail Blazers 110
Trey Murphy III finished with career highs of 41 points and nine 3-pointers as host New Orleans routed Portland.
The Pelicans shot 19 of 40 from beyond the arc. Former Trail Blazers player CJ McCollum added 22 points, making 4 of 8 3-pointers, and 11 assists. Josh Richardson scored 19 points, hitting 4 of 8 3-pointers. The Pelicans’ second-leading scorer, Brandon Ingram (22.9), missed his second consecutive game because of a sprained ankle.
Anfernee Simons scored 17 points and Shaedon Sharpe and Kevin Knox II added 14 each for Portland, which played without leading scorer Damian Lillard (32.1 ppg) because of right calf soreness.
–Field Level Media
