INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points, James Harden added 21 and the Los Angeles Clippers had the largest margin of victory in franchise history, routing the Brooklyn Nets 126-67 on Wednesday night.
The Clippers broke the team margin mark of 50 against Oklahoma City on April 10, 2022. It also was the worst loss in Nets' history, eclipsing a 52-point defeat to Houston on Oct. 18, 1978.
LA's largest lead was 64 points midway through the fourth quarter, despite coach Tyronn Lue emptying his bench late in the third quarter.
Leonard logged a season-high 24 minutes as he took part in his fourth game since coming back from a knee injury.
Jalen Wilson led the Nets with 16 points and Day’Ron Sharpe had 12. Brooklyn haVE dropped five of six.
Norman Powell added 18 points for the Clippers, who led 58-35 at halftime before opening the third quarter with by scoring the first 13 points en route to a 29-3 run. At the end of the quarter, LA had a 102-51 advantage.
76ERS 125, KNICKS 119
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Josh Hart had the 11th triple-double of his career as the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 125-119.
Hart had 10 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, Mikal Bridges scored 23 points and OG Anunoby added 17 as the Knicks won a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff series.
Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 33 points. Paul George had 26, and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams played without their All-Star centers. Joel Embiid (left foot sprain) was ruled out for the sixth straight game. Karl-Anthony Towns missed the game with a right thumb sprain.
RAPTORS 110, CELTICS 97
TORONTO (AP) — RJ Barrett had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Toronto Raptors snapped a 10-game losing streak against Boston with a victory over the Celtics.
Jakob Poeltl added 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors won consecutive games for the third time. Scottie Barnes scored 18 points.
Toronto, which beat Golden State on Monday, have yet to win three straight this season.
Peyton Pritchard scored 20 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 18 and Jayson Tatum added 16 for Boston. The Celtics shot 16 for 46 from 3-point range.
It was Boston’s first loss to Toronto since March 28, 2022. Brown, Tatum and Horford were among four Celtics regulars who missed that defeat.
HAWKS 110, BULLS 94
CHICAGO (AP) — Keaton Wallace had a career-high 27 points and short-handed Atlanta Hawks beat Chicago Bulls
Wallace nearly doubled his previous high of 14. He made four 3-pointers and had six assists.
Daeqwon Plowden scored 19 points in his NBA debut after being called up from the G League’s College Park Skyhawks.
Dyson Daniels scored 18 points, and Onyeka Okongwu added 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to help the Hawks win for the third time in four games even though Trae Young sat out due to a bruised right rib. The three-time All-Star was hurt against Phoenix on Tuesday night when he scored a season-high 43 points in a 122-117 win.
Coby White scored 16 points for Chicago. Zach LaVine had 15, and Nikola Vucevic added 14 points and 16 rebounds.
BUCKS 122, MAGIC 93
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Damian Lillard scored 30 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Milwaukee Bucks capitalized on a fast start for the second straight night and trounced Orlando Magic.
The Bucks (22-17) passed Orlando (23-19) to take over fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks are 3-0 against the Magic, with the finale of the season series scheduled for March 8 at Milwaukee.
Milwaukee led 34-16 at the end of the first quarter and rolled to its most lopsided victory of the season. The Bucks were playing one night after racing to a 47-26 advantage in the opening period of a 130-115 victory over Sacramento that snapped the Kings’ seven-game win streak.
Paolo Banchero scored 22 points for Orlando.
PELICANS 119, MAVERICKS 116
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Dejounte Murray scored 30 points, Trey Murphy III blocked Spencer Dinwiddie’s layup for the lead with 4 seconds left and New Orleans Pelicans outlasted injury-depleted Dallas Mavericks
Murphy had 24 points and 10 rebounds, capped by game-sealing free throws with 2 seconds remaining, and Javonte Green added 13 points to help New Orleans (10-32) take their third victory in four games after winning just five of their first 34 contests.
Daniel Gafford scored a career-high 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting and also grabbed 12 rebounds for Dallas, which played without top two scorers Luka Doncic (left calf) and Kyrie Irving (back), as well as usual starting center Dereck Lively (right ankle).
GRIZZLIES 129, SPURS 115
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Ja Morant had 21 points and 12 assists to lead Memphis Grizzlies to a win over San Antonio Spurs.
Desmond Bane scored 21 points, Santi Aldama added 20 and Jaren Jackson Jr. 19 for Memphis, which had lost four of its last six games entering Wednesday.
Memphis attacked Spurs 7-foot-3 center Victor Wembanayma often and early.
Morant hit a one-handed, fadeaway floater over Wembanyama for the game’s first basket. Later, Morantsoared over Wembanyama for a one-handed slam dunk with just over two minutes remaining, but the basket didn’t count because it came after play was stopped by a referee’s whistle.
Grizzlies rookie center Zach Edey tossed in a hook shot over Wembanyama and later pushed his way past the center for a two-handed dunk in the first quarter.
San Antonio rookie Stephon Castle had a season-high 26 points and Wembanyama finished 13 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks.
ROCKETS 128, NUGGETS 108
DENVER (AP) — Jalen Green scored 34 points, Alperen Sengun had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and Houston Rockets beat short-handed Denver Nuggets
Green, who hit six 3-pointers, continued his recent scoring surge. He is averaging 32 points in Houston’s last six games, including a career-best 42 points against Memphis on Monday.
Fred VanVleet added 16 points, eight assists and three steals for the Rockets, who beat Denver for the fifth time in six meetings.
The Nuggets were without two of their five leading scorers in reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic (right elbow inflammation) and Aaron Gordon (right calf injury).
Jamal Murray and Christian Braun each scored 22 point for Denver, which had 18 turnovers in the loss, including five apiece from its starting backcourt of Murray and Russell Westbrook.
HORNETS 117, JAZZ 112
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mark Williams scored a career high 31 points and had 13 rebounds to help Charlotte beat Utah.
LaMelo Ball added 27 points, nine assists and three blocks to help Charlotte snap a seven-game road losing streak. Miles Bridges had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Miller finished with 20 points.
Keyonte George led Utah with 26 points and six assists. Brice Sensabaugh added 19 points.
Sensabaugh made back-to-back baskets on both ends of a 19-2 run that erased an 11-point first-quarter deficit and put Utah up 26-20.
Charlotte trailed until the fourth before finally taking a 98-97 lead on back-to-back baskets from Bridges and Ball.
Utah went ahead again on back-to-back threes from Sensabaugh and George, but the Hornets pulled back in front for good behind a 9-0 run. Miller capped the spurt with a running layup, giving Charlotte a 111-105 lead with 2:50 left.
WARRIORS 116, TIMBERWOLVES 115
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Stephen Curry made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points to help Golden State stave off a furious comeback by Minnesota for a victory.
Andrew Wiggins added 24 points for a depleted Warriors team seeking a spark on the last stop on a four-game trip after falling below .500 for the first time this season in a loss Monday at Toronto.
Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo each scored 28 points for the Wolves, who trailed by 24 points late in the first quarter and fought back for a 108-all tie with 1:07 left.
After Gary Payton II stepped out in a backcourt trap, DiVincenzo took an easy layup to cut the lead to 113-112 with 12.1 seconds left and promptly fouled Payton. He missed the second free throw, but Wiggins grabbed the rebound and Curry sealed it with two foul shots.
LAKERS 117, HEAT 108
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rui Hachimura scored 23 points and Anthony Davis had 22 points and 11 rebounds as Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-game skid with a victory over Miami Heat.
LeBron James finished with 22 points and nine assists and Austin Reaves added 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Lakers won for the first time since having two games postponed due to the deadly wildfires in Southern California.
Tyler Herro shot 7 for 12 from 3-point distance and scored 34 points for the Heat, who lost both games of a Los Angeles swing after falling to the Clippers on Monday. Haywood Highsmith and Nikola Jovic each scored 12 points.
The Lakers trailed by 12 points at the break and moved in front at 88-87 with 10:47 remaining after going on a 15-4 run.
