Hawks beat Heat 120-110 for 3rd straight win

ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 28 points and the Atlanta Hawks closed out a four-game homestand, winning a third straight contest, 120-110 over the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Trae Young added his 22nd double-double of the season, with 11 point and 15 assist, and De’Andre Hunter scored 26 points in his 14th consecutive game with at least 15 points coming off the bench.

Tyler Herro scored 28 points and dished out 10 assists and Bam Adebayo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. It was the Heat’s fourth game in a row without star Jimmy Butler, who sat out for what the team called “return to competition reconditioning.”

THUNDER 106, HORNETS 94

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 22 points, Jalen Williams added 20 points and Oklahoma City beat Charlotte for their 10th straight regular-season win.

Aaron Wiggins added 17 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Thunder, who never trailed.

Miles Bridges had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Vasa Micic added 16 points for the Hornets, who have lost 15 of their last 16 games.

Both teams were missing multiple starters with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller sitting out for Charlotte and Luguentz Dort and Cason Wallace out for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City bolted to a 61-46 halftime lead with Gilgeous-Alexander and Wiggins combining for 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The Thunder extended the lead to 20 in the third quarter and were never truly challenged again.

KNICKS 136, WIZARDS 132, OT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored nine of his season-high 55 points in overtime and Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points and 14 rebounds as New York extended their season-long winning streak to seven games in a win over Washington.

It was the first overtime game for both teams, and New York outscored Washington 17-13 in the extra period.

Brunson, who scored 42 points after halftime, had two jump shots and hit five free throws in overtime.

Justin Champagnie scored a career-high 31 points with 10 rebounds and Malcolm Brogdon added 22 as the Wizards failed to win their second straight game after beating the Hornets 113-110 on Thursday.

Playing without leading scorer Jordan Poole, who was out with a bruised left hip, Washington led for most of the game but committed 17 turnovers, which resulted in 26 New York points.

BULLS 116, BUCKS 111

CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Giddey had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double this season to lead Chicago to a win over Milwaukee.

Giddey, who missed the previous four games with an ankle injury, sank two free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 115-111, then pulled down a rebound to help seal it as Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak.

Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and 13 rebounds. Coby White, who scored 22, nailed a tiebreaking jumper with 32 seconds remaining.

Damian Lillard returned to the lineup with 29 points and 12 assists, but the Bucks dropped their second straight. The star guard came on with 18 points in the second half as Milwaukee played without NBA scoring leader Giannis Antetokounmpo (illness) for a fourth consecutive game.

Brook Lopez had 22 points and Khris Middleton scored 17 of his 21 in the first half. Middleton appeared to hurt his ankle and played sparingly in the second half before hitting two key baskets late.

The Bulls led 62-60 at halftime after opening a pair of 13-point leads.

WARRIORS 109, SUNS 105

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jonathan Kuminga had 34 points and made the go-ahead free throw in Golden State's win over Phoenix.

With the Warriors down one, Kuminga was fouled after getting inside positioning on Kevin Durant on an out-of-bounds play with 29 seconds to go. Kuminga made both free throws to put Golden State ahead and tie his career high in points a day after setting it against the Clippers on Friday.

Durant, who led the Suns with 31 points, missed a shot on the other end, and Dennis Schroder made two free throws after the Suns committed a loose ball foul on the rebound.

Phoenix led 65-61 at halftime. Stephen Curry, who had 22 points, beat the first-half buzzer with a one-handed, off-balance floater over seven-footer Oso Ighodaro after going behind the back to split two defenders.

NUGGETS 134, PISTONS 121

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 37 points, Jamal Murray scored 21 of his 34 points in a decisive third period, and Denver survived Detroit’s fourth-quarter rally to win.

Michael Porter Jr. finished with 26 points for Denver, which used an 18-4 run to take the lead for good at halftime and then opened a 25-point lead heading into the fourth. Murray scored 12 points in the final 2:27 of the period to give him his first 30-point game of the season.

Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey scored 17 points each to lead Detroit.

With the starters on the bench in the fourth quarter, the Pistons cut a 25-point deficit to 10 and forced Denver coach Michael Malone to put his starters back in. Ronald Holland’s 3-pointer made it 128-121 with 2:35 left but Jokic closed it out with six straight points.

76ERS 114, JAZZ 111

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 32 points to lead Philadelphia to a victory over Utah.

Embiid went 11 of 13 from the free-throw line to rally the 76ers from a 14-point first-half deficit for their ninth victory in 12 games. Paul George had a season-high five steals to go along with 13 points.

Utah trailed by 11 early in the second half before rallying, but the 76ers took a 110-108 lead with 1:38 left on back-to-back baskets from Maxey and Embiid. Lauri Markkanen cut the deficit to 112-111 on a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds remaining, but Maxey sealed the win with two free throws.

Markkanen led the Jazz with 23 points. Collin Sexton and Brice Sensabaugh added 20 apiece.

Utah shot 54% from the field in the first quarter and led 42-28 early in the second following back-to-back layups from Sexton and Sensabaugh. Philadelphia erased the deficit before halftime behind a 24-5 run spanning six minutes, taking a 52-47 lead when Embiid punctuated the run with a pair of baskets.

TRAIL BLAZERS 126, MAVERICKS 122

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Shaedon Sharpe had 23 points, Anfernee Simons scored 22 and Portland held off Dallas Mavericks.

Deandre Ayton had 21 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks and Deni Avdija had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. Scoot Henderson had 19 points, four rebounds, six assists and a career-high five steals off the bench.

Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 46 points and was the only consistent offensive threat for the Mavericks who were playing without Naji Marshall, PJ Washington — suspended for their involvement in an on-court fight against the Suns — Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II.

Irving had 20 points in the fourth quarter as Dallas tried to mount a comeback that ultimately fell short.

LAKERS 132, KINGS 122

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis had 36 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in Los Angeles' win over Sacramento in the Kings’ first game under interim coach Doug Christie.

LeBron James didn’t play for the Lakers because of illness, but a balanced effort helped make up for his absence, led by Austin Reaves with 26 points and a career-high 16 assists. Rui Hachimura had 21 points, Max Christie chipped in with 16 and Dalton Knecht had 18 off the bench.

Playing for the first time since Mike Brown was fired on Friday in controversial fashion, De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 29 points and 12 assists, and DeMar DeRozan had 25 points.

Los Angeles erupted for 12 straight points to end the third and start the fourth to open up a 20-point advantage.

Sacramento got it to 123-117 with less than four minutes to go, but Reaves and Christie made sure the home team held on.

The Associated Press