Knicks rout Bucks 140-106 behind Brunson's 44 points

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 44 points despite missing part of the third quarter with an apparent injury, and the New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 140-106 on Sunday.

Brunson had 23 points in the first quarter, one off his career high for any period, and was off to another strong start in the third when he was slow to get up after having his shot blocked on a drive to the basket. Once he did stand up, he immediately motioned to the bench that he needed to come out and walked directly to the locker room area.

The Knicks never announced an injury and Brunson eventually emerged from the tunnel about six minutes later to a loud ovation and checked back into the game. He reached 40 points for the 17th time as a Knick, tying Carmelo Anthony for third on the franchise list.

Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 18 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost four of five before shooting 58% from the field.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Damian Lillard added 22 points.

NUGGETS 112, MAVERICKS 101

DALLAS (AP) — Russell Westbrook had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Nikola Jokic added 19 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists as Denver rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Dallas.

The Nuggets trailed by 19 points late in the third period and by 12 early in the fourth. They outscored the Mavericks in the fourth period 33-12. After hitting only four of 25 3-pointers through three quarters, Denver shot 3 for 7 down the stretch while the Mavs missed all 11 3-point tries in the fourth.

The Nuggets won for the 12th time in 17 games.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks, who are 2-5 playing without All-Star guards Luka Doncic (calf strain) and Kyrie Irving (back sprain). Thompson was scoreless on four shots, all 3-pointers, in the fourth period.

KINGS 124, BULLS 119

CHICAGO (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, and Sacramento beat Chicago to extend their season-high win streak to seven games.

De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Sacramento after missing three games because of a bruised right glute. Malik Monk had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan got a warm reception in his return to Chicago and finished with 21 points. The six-time All-Star spent three seasons with the Bulls before leaving for Sacramento in a three-team trade in July.

Sabonis had another big outing after he had 23 points and a season-high 28 rebounds against Boston on Friday. He helped the Kings improved to 7-1 under interim coach Doug Christie, who took over when Mike Brown was fired on Dec. 27.

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 36 points. Making his first start since Jan. 14, 2022, Lonzo Ball set season highs with 15 points and five 3s.

PACERS 108, CAVALIERS 93

CLEVELAND (AP) — Andrew Nembhard scored 19 points, Pascal Siakam had 18 points and nine rebounds and Indiana ended NBA-leading Cleveland’s winning streak at 12 games.

The teams will complete the home-and-home set Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

Myles Turner added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jarace Walker had eight points and 12 rebounds off the bench to help Indiana win its sixth straight. The Pacers held the Cavaliers to a season low in points and outscored them 68-40 in the second half.

Cleveland lost for the first time since Dec. 8 at Miami. It is 33-5 overall and 20-2 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Darius Garland had 20 points and seven assists for the Cavs. Donovan Mitchell scored 19 points and Evan Mobley had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

CELTICS 120, PELICANS 119

BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 38 points with 11 rebounds and Kristaps Porzingis had 19 points and 11 boards as Boston overcame the return of Zion Williamson to New Orleans lineup to win.

Trey Murphy III scored 30 points and Williamson scored 16 in his return from a one-game suspension for being late to team activities. The 2019 draft lottery prize also had seven rebounds in 28 minutes.

New Orleans led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter, taking advantage when the Celtics made just one of their first 11 3-point attempts. Boston finished 13 for 44 from long distance and shot just 43.6% overall from the floor.

THUNDER 136, WIZARDS 95

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 16 of his 27 points from the foul line to overcome his worst shooting performance of the season and help Oklahoma City to a rout of Washington.

Gilgeous-Alexander shot only 29.4% (5 of 17) from the floor over 30 minutes, well below his previous worst of 35% against San Antonio on Oct. 30.

But Gilgeous-Alexander’s ability to draw fouls, combined with another strong showing by the NBA’s best defense, lifted Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City to its largest margin of victory and sent NBA-worst Washington to its most lopsided defeat.

Aaron Wiggins added 23 points, Jalen Williams scored 17, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points and 12 rebounds to help the Thunder improve to 2-1 on their four-game trip.

Corey Kispert scored 17 points for Washington, which became the NBA-high 17th opponent held under 100 points by the Thunder this season. Washington shot 33.7% from the floor and 19.6% from 3-point range.

MAGIC 104, 76ERS 99

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cole Anthony had 27 points, Paolo Banchero scored seven points in the final 1:32 and Orlando beat Philadelphia.

Banchero finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his second game back after being sidelined by a torn oblique.

Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 29 points. Paul George had 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists before fouling out with the 76ers leading 94-91 with 2:49 left.

Orlando also got a lift from reserve Jonathan Isaac, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds in his first double-double since 2019. Anthony Black finished with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists.

JAZZ 112, NETS 111, OT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Isaiah Collier drove for the go-ahead layup with 2 seconds left to lift Utah to an overtime victory over Brooklyn.

Collier finished with a career-high 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Collin Sexton added 21 points to lead the Jazz, snapping a three-game losing streak. Svi Mykhailiuk and Brice Sensabaugh chipped in 16 points apiece.

Sensabaugh put Utah up 110-108 on a 3-pointer with 1:48 left but Tosan Evbuomwan knocked down a pair of go-ahead free throws with 6.4 remaining.

Evbuomwan led Brooklyn with 22 points and Ziaire Williams added 19. Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton each tallied 14 points. Simmons added nine assists and Claxton collected 12 rebounds.

SUNS 120, HORNETS 113

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 30 points, Kevin Durant added 27 and Phoenix rallied in the final minutes to beat Charlotte.

The Suns have won three straight and four of five. Charlotte has lost 10 of 11.

The Hornets — who were trying to beat the Suns for the second time in a week — pushed to a 98-93 lead after the third quarter and led for much of the fourth. Durant hit a stepback jumper to give the Suns a 111-110 advantage with just over three minutes left.

Durant found rookie Oso Ighodaro for a dunk to take a 115-113 lead. Royce O’Neale hit a 3-pointer for an 118-113 advantage with 41.5 seconds left.

The Associated Press