Anthony Black scored a career-high 38 points, Desmond Bane tallied 24 including two free throws with 6.9 seconds left, and the host Orlando Magic beat the Denver Nuggets 127-126 on Saturday night, overcoming another triple-double by Nikola Jokic.
Black knocked down seven 3-pointers, also a career high, Wendell Carter Jr. contributed 18 points, Tristan da Silva had 17 and Paolo Banchero scored 12 for Orlando. Denver committed 16 turnovers and Orlando capitalized with 27 points, while the Magic only turned the ball over six times, resulting in four Nuggets points.
Jokic finished with 34 points, a season-high 21 rebounds and 12 assists for the 180th triple-double of his career, one behind Oscar Robertson for second all-time. It was his 16th triple-double of the season. Jamal Murray added 24 points, but missed a fade-away jumper at the buzzer.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 points and Peyton Watson added 15 for Denver, which has lost two straight on the road after an 11-game winning streak away from home.
Bucks 112, Bulls 103
In a return from injury, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 29 points to help visiting Milwaukee earn a victory over Chicago.
Antetokounmpo had missed eight straight games with a right calf strain for Milwaukee, which had dropped four of its last five games. Ryan Rollins added 20 points, while Bobby Portis had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Myles Turner chipped in 13 points and Kyle Kuzma scored 12.
Nikola Vucevic and Coby White led Chicago with 16 points apiece, while Josh Giddey tallied 13 points, nine assists and seven boards. Ayo Dosunmu had 11 points off the bench for the Bulls, who saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.
Jazz 127, Spurs 114
Lauri Markkanen poured in 29 points and Keyonte George added 28 as Utah made all the winning plays in the final minutes to beat host San Antonio.
Waller Clayton Jr. hit for 17 points off the bench for the Jazz, who followed up Friday’s home win over East-leading Detroit by beating the Spurs, the second-best team in the West. Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and Brice Sensabaugh had 11 for Utah.
Victor Wembanyama led all scorers with 32 points in his first start since Nov. 14 as the Spurs had their eight-game winning streak snapped. Keldon Johnson added 27 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, with Stephon Castle scoring 20 and Devin Vassell producing 11 points.
Knicks 128, Hawks 125
OG Anunoby scored 15 points and hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to help visiting New York hang on for a close win over Atlanta.
Atlanta erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and took the lead on a 3-pointer by Onyeka Okongwu with 2:01 remaining. After a pair of lead changes, Anunoby hit two free throws with 29.6 seconds left and added two more with 7.3 seconds remaining. Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
New York was carried by Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 36 points and 15 rebounds for his 21st double-double, and Jalen Brunson, who scored 34. Okongwu finished with 31 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 30 seconds left.
Kings 113, Mavericks 107
Keon Ellis scored a season-best 21 points, Russell Westbrook matched it with 21 of his own and Sacramento held off visiting Dallas to win for just the second time in its last eight games.
Rookie Maxime Raynaud chipped in with 19 points for the Kings, who led by as many as 18 in the first half and never trailed over the final two periods. Cooper Flagg overcame a slow start to pace Dallas with a game-high 23 points and five assists.
The Kings held Flagg without a field goal and to just two points in the first half while running up a 59-44 lead at the break. Ellis had 13 of his 21 points in that span. Seeking a second win in their last three games, the Mavericks got within 71-68 midway through the third quarter before the Kings went on a 9-0 run and held off every Mavs comeback attempt from there.
Heat 142, Pacers 116
Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins scored 28 points apiece as Miami pulled away with a dominant fourth quarter to beat visiting Indiana. Miami scored a franchise-record 83 points in the second half and won its second straight following a three-game losing streak.
Norman Powell had 23 points, Nikola Jovic scored 19 and Pelle Larsson added 16 for Miami, which led 98-94 at the end of the third quarter before outscoring the Pacers 44-22 in the fourth. Kel’el Ware contributed 15 points and seven rebounds.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with four 3-pointers and 33 points. Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half, Andrew Nembhard had 15 points and a career-high 16 assists, and Jay Huff had 11 points.
Suns 115, Pelicans 106
Devin Booker finished with 20 points, including six in the fourth quarter, and Dillon Brooks added 18 points to lead Phoenix Suns to a win over New Orleans, completing the two-game road sweep.
Collin Gillepsie and Jordan Goodwin were among the seven Suns to finish with double-digit points with 17 and 16, respectively. Royce O’Neale chipped in with 15 points and Jamaree Bouyea added 12. Mark Williams, who was ejected for fighting in the third quarter, finished with 10 points.
Trey Murphy III led the Pelicans with 24 points and Zion Williamson scored 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Derik Queen, who was celebrating his 21st birthday, recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Saddiq Bey added 17 points and Jeremiah Fears finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Rockets 117, Cavaliers 100
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points, while Reed Sheppard added 18 off the bench as host Houston rolled past Cleveland.
Durant, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter, shot 11 for 17 from the floor and added seven assists to pace the Rockets. Sheppard drilled four 3-pointers and produced a game-high eight assists in 32 minutes.vAmen Thompson (13 points, nine rebounds) and Jabari Smith Jr. (15 points, seven boards) rounded out the balanced attack for Houston, which shot 48.9% and 16 for 35 from deep.
Jaylon Tyson (23 points, 15 rebounds) produced a double-double off the bench for the Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell added 16 points and six assists while Sam Merrill chipped in 13 points.
Nets 123, Timberwolves 107
Cam Thomas scored 30 points off the bench in an impressive return from a hamstring injury and surging Brooklyn earned a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Thomas made 9 of 15 shots, three 3-pointers and nine of nine free-throw attempts in 20 minutes as the Nets won a season-high third straight game. Michael Porter Jr. added 27 and 10 rebounds. He shot 9-for-16 and hit three clutch 3s in the final five-plus minutes. Nic Claxton contributed 14 as the Nets shot a season-best 54.8%.
Anthony Edwards was questionable for the game with a sore shoulder after scoring 44 points in Thursday’s overtime loss at Denver and led the Timberwolves with 28 points. Jaden McDaniels added 16 for the Wolves, who lost for the fourth time in 14 games.
–Field Level Media
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