Jalen Brunson scored 35 points and handed out 11 assists as the host New York Knicks erased a 21-point deficit and pulled away for a 120-109 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.
The Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak and moved 2 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-place Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings. New York has the same record as the fourth-place Orlando Magic but would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker.
After learning Julius Randle would be out for the season due to a shoulder injury that he sustained Jan. 27, the Knicks trailed by 21 early in the second quarter before gradually rallying and outscoring Sacramento 33-22 in the fourth.
Josh Hart added a season-high 31 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists for New York. De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points but shot 2-for-9 in the fourth as the Kings fell one game behind the seventh-place New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference.
76ers 109, Heat 105
Tyrese Maxey had 37 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lift Philadelphia past host Miami.
Joel Embiid added 29 points in his second game back from knee surgery. Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 18 points for the Sixers, who ended the night on a 15-3 run to win their third game in a row and move within a half-game of the seventh-place Heat in the East.
Terry Rozier led Miami with 22 points, Jimmy Butler added 20 points, and Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Warriors 133, Rockets 110
Klay Thompson knocked down seven 3-pointers en route to a game-high-tying 29 points as Golden State won at Houston.
The Warriors dealt a crushing blow to the Rockets’ play-in hopes, as Houston is now four games behind Golden State for the final Western Conference play-in spot with six games remaining in the regular season. The Warriors also own the head-to-head tiebreaker after sweeping the teams’ three-game season series.
Jabari Smith Jr. paced Houston with 24 points. Cam Whitmore supplied 17 points for the Rockets, who failed to take advantage of 21 Golden State turnovers.
Mavericks 109, Hawks 95
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic combined for 51 points as Dallas held off visiting Atlanta for its eighth win in nine games.
Irving scored 26 points on 10-for-21 shooting. Doncic, who scored a franchise-record 73 points against the Hawks on Jan. 26 in Atlanta, finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Bogdan Bogdanovic finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and Dejounte Murray chipped in 16 points for the Hawks, who had won six of their previous seven games.
Clippers 102, Nuggets 100
Paul George scored 28 points as Los Angeles recovered from a slow start to end a five-game home losing streak by beating visiting Denver.
James Harden added 20 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who solidified their hold on fourth place in the Western Conference with six games remaining. Ivica Zubac finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds, Russell Westbrook had 12 points and Norman Powell contributed 11 points.
Nikola Jokic amassed 26 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists and Aaron Gordon added 18 points for Denver, which fell a half-game behind Minnesota for first place in the Western Conference.
–Field Level Media
