CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Luka Doncic had 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Dallas Mavericks continued their surge heading into the postseason, beating the Charlotte Hornets 130-104 in the NBA on Tuesday night for their 15th win in 17 games.
The NBA’s leading scorer had 21 points and made five 3-pointers in the first quarter as the Mavericks bolted to a 36-14-point lead. Doncic finished 8 of 17 from beyond the arc in his 21st triple-double of the season. He also set a Mavericks franchise record for points in a season with 2,341, surpassing Mark Aguirre’s 2,330 in 1983-84.
Daniel Gafford scored 26 points and Kyrie Irving added 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Mavericks (49-30), who are fifth in the Western Conference.
Miles Bridges scored 22 points and Brandon Miller 21 for the Hornets, who wrapped up a franchise-long eight-game homestand with a 2-6 record.
76ERS 120, PISTONS 102
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 37 points and 11 rebounds and Philadelphia 76ers extended their winning streak to six games with a win over Detroit Pistons
Buddy Hield scored 18 and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 as the 76ers (45-35) continued their push to avoid the Play-In Tournament and stayed in contention for the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Embiid added eight assists and played 36 minutes — his most in the four game since his return from a meniscus injury suffered on Jan. 30.
Jaden Ivey scored 25 points and Evan Fournier added 21 for the Pistons, who fell to 13-66 and inched closer to clinching the worst record in the NBA this season.
PACERS 140, RAPTORS 123
TORONTO (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 30 points, Pascal Siakam added 16 points in 26 minutes in his second game back in Toronto and Indiana Pacers pulled away early in the second half and beat Toronto Raptors.
Obi Toppin scored 23 points and T.J. McConnell added 17 as the Pacers won their third straight to remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Pacers are a game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers in the race to avoid a spot in the Play-In Tournament. Both teams have two games remaining.
Siakam suited up for his 39th game with the Pacers after playing the first 39 games of the season with Toronto. He was traded to Indiana on Jan. 18. Indiana have gone 22-17 with Siakam, who also had nine rebounds and three assists.
HEAT 117, HAWKS 111, 2OT
ATLANTA (AP) — Tyler Herro scored four of his 33 points in the second overtime and Miami Heat outlasted Atlanta Hawks.
Jimmy Butler had 25 points and nine assists and Nikola Jovic added 23 points and eight rebounds as the Heat won for the fifth time in seven games.
With the win, Miami remained a half-game behind the Philadelphia 76ers, in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Dejounte Murray had 29 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in 49 minutes for the Hawks. De’Andre Hunter finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hawks are in 10th place in the conference, a game behind the Chicago Bulls.
BUCKS 104, CELTICS 91
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo left late in the third quarter with a calf injury, but Milwaukee Bucks hung on to beat Boston Celtics in a game that featured an NBA record-low total of two free-throw attempts.
Milwaukee snapped a four-game skid as Patrick Beverley had 20 points and 10 rebounds after the Bucks shook up their lineup by having the veteran guard start ahead of Malik Beasley, who came off the bench for the first time all season.
Antetokounmpo was heading up the court late in the third quarter after a Celtics basket when he grabbed his left calf and took a seat. The two-time MVP was helped off the floor, and cameras showed him heading to the locker room under his own power.
KNICKS 128, BULLS 117
CHICAGO (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 45 in his second straight 40-point game, and New York Knicks beat Chicago Bulls.
Brunson delivered his 10th 40-point game this season after scoring 43 in a win at Milwaukee on Sunday. He nailed seven 3-pointers, helping New York win their second in a row after losing four of five.
OG Anunoby scored 24. Donte DiVincenzo hit a heave from midcourt to end the first half and finished with 21 points.
Josh Hart scored 17 and grabbed 13 rebounds, and the Knicks also got some payback for a loss at Chicago on Friday. The two teams close out the regular season in New York on Sunday.
ROCKETS 118, MAGIC 106
HOUSTON (AP) —Fred VanVleet scored a season-high 37 points and Houston Rockets snapped a five-game skid with a victory over Orlando Magic.
The Magic fell into a tie for fourth place with Cleveland in the Eastern Conference. They came into the night with a chance to clinch the Southeast Division title with a win and a loss by the Miami Heat, but they couldn’t get it done against Houston and the Heat beat the Hawks 117-111 in double overtime.
A basket by Markelle Fultz got the Magic within eight with about four minutes to go but VanVleet made a jump shot followed by a three-point play to make it 114-101 about a minute later to secure the victory.
Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs scored 21 points apiece for the Magic and Fultz added 18.
VanVleet made six 3-pointers and had eight rebounds and six assists. Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 points and Dillon Brooks had 15 as the Rockets played their last home game of the season.
SPURS 102, GRIZZLIES 87
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 18 points, seven blocks, seven rebounds and six assists, Julian Champagnie added 17 points, and San Antonio Spurs rode a third-quarter burst to a victory over Memphis Grizzlies.
Sandro Mamukelashvili added a career-best 16 rebounds along with 11 points as the Spurs snapped a 13-game losing steak to the Grizzlies. San Antonio had not beaten Memphis since Dec. 23, 2020. Blake Wesley scored 13 points.
Jordan Goodwin had a career-best 19 rebounds while scoring 10 points for the Grizzlies. Brandon Clarke, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Trey Jemison each had 14 points for Memphis.
The Spurs led 49-48 at halftime, then blew the game open in the third quarter. San Antonio began the period with a 25-9 run and led 77-61 heading into the fourt
TIMBERWOLVES 130, WIZARDS 121
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored a career-high 51 points and Minnesota overcame an early 21-point deficit with a dominant second half to beat Washington.
Edwards had 30 points in the second half. Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 23 points and Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 16 rebounds for the Wolves, who have won four of five and eight of 10.
Minnesota have clinched a top-three seed in the Western Conference and have a showdown at Denver on Wednesday with a potential No. 1 seed at stake. The Timberwolves and Nuggets were tied atop the West entering Tuesday, one game ahead of Oklahoma City. The Thunder beat Sacramento Tuesday night to keep pace.
THUNDER 112, KINGS 105
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points in his return from injury, and Oklahoma City rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat Sacramento as the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis had his double-double streak halted at 61 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander had missed six of the team’s previous seven games with a bruised right thigh, and the team went 2-4 without him. He gave Oklahoma City a much-needed boost against the Kings, scoring the team’s final six points to seal an important win. The Thunder entered the contest a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference with four games remaining.
D’Aaron Fox scored 33 points and Keon Ellis scored a career-high 26 points for the Kings. Sabonis had eight points and 13 rebounds. The game was important to the Kings, too. They entered the night eighth in the Western Conference standings with a shot at avoiding the Play-In Tournament.
NUGGETS 111, JAZZ 95
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 28 points, Nikola Jokic tallied 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Denver Nuggets pushed past shorthanded Utah.
Murray missed seven games with a knee injury but is working his way back into game shape the last two contests. After being restricted to 21 minutes against Atlanta on Saturday, Murray went 11-for-20 in 27 minutes against the Jazz.
Murray dunked a career-high five times in the first half and had four steals. In the fourth quarter, he hit three straight 3s to push a close game to 104-90 with 4:10 to play.
Talen Horton-Tucker scored 24 points for Utah. Omer Yurtseven posted a season-high 20 points and Luka Samanic had a season-best 15 points for the Jazz, who have lost 13 straight.
WARRIORS 134, LAKERS 120
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 27 points, Stephen Curry had 23 and Golden State Warriors capitalized on Anthony Davis’ injury absence for a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points for the 10th-place Warriors, who hit 26 of their 41 3-point attempts — including an astonishing 16 of 23 from Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green, who went 5 for 5 in the first half by himself.
Golden State’s 26 3s were the most allowed in a game by the Lakers.
The Warriors (44-35) have won eight of nine down the stretch to move within a half-game of ninth-place Los Angeles (45-35). Golden State also won the head-to-head tiebreaker between the rivals, putting homecourt advantage for a potential 9-10 play-in game next week in the Warriors’ hands over their final three regular-season games.
CLIPPERS 105, SUNS 92
PHOENIX (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 16 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists for his first triple-double of the season and 199th of his career, and the Los Angeles Clippers built a 31-point lead in the first quarter before holding on late for a victory over Phoenix.
It was an embarrassing early showing for the Suns, who are fighting to stay out of the Western Conference play-in tournament. They eventually rallied to cut the margin to 91-84 with 6:45 left on Bradley Beal’s free throw, but couldn’t get closer.
The Clippers have won four straight and seven of eight. They host the Suns on Wednesday in the second game of the home-and-home series.
Paul George led Los Angeles with 23 points while Ivica Zubac added 17 points and 13 rebounds. All five starters scored in double figures.
PELICANS 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 100
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Trey Murphy III had 31 points and eight rebounds, and New Orleans beat Portland.
C.J. McCollum added 29 points and made five 3-pointers against his former team, and Zion Williamson had 22 points and seven rebounds for the Pelicans.
Deandre Ayton led the Trail Blazers (21-58) with 30 points on 15-of-22 shooting and 13 rebounds. Scoot Henderson had 19 points and a career-high 15 assists. Kris Murray added 14 points for Portland.
New Orleans moved into sixth in the Western Conference, out of the play-in, with the win and Phoenix’s loss to the Clippers.
