Murray scores 20, Nuggets beat Clippers 120-98

DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored a game-high 20 points and the Denver Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 120-98 on Friday night despite a quiet game from Nikola Jokic.

Jokic, who scored 56 and 48 points in the last two games, had a season-low two assists and tied season lows with 16 points and seven rebounds.

James Harden had 15 points and nine turnovers for Los Angeles, which has dropped two straight.

The Clippers scored 18 straight points in the second quarter to turn a 12-point deficit into a five-point lead. Denver missed eight shots and had 10 turnovers in nearly six minutes when Los Angeles went on its run.

The Nuggets answered that with a 23-5 run in the third quarter to take control of the game. Michael Porter Jr. scored 10 of his 17 points in the third quarter.

Denver held an opponent below 100 points for the first time since April 9.

CAVALIERS 115, WIZARDS 105

CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 24 points and Jarrett Allen had 21 points and 11 rebounds as NBA-leading Cleveland beat Washington, sending them to theirs 18th loss in 19 games.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points and Garland added eight assists for Cleveland, which is 22-4 and holds a 1 1/2-game lead over Boston for the top record in the league. The Cavaliers, who lead the NBA in field-goal percentage, shot a season-low 39.6%.

Caris LeVert had 14 points and six assists and Isaac Okoro scored 13 points. Cleveland went 15 of 51 on 3-pointers.

Bilal Coulibaly tied his career high with 27 points and Jordan Poole scored 17 for the Wizards. Justin Champagnie had 16 points and eight rebounds as Washington fell to a league-worst 3-20.

PACERS 121, 76ERS 107

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton had 32 points and 11 assists and Indiana won, with Philadelphia playing the second half without Joel Embiid after he sustained a sinus fracture when he was struck in the face late in the first.

Embiid was battling Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin when he caught an errant forearm and elbow to the bridge of the nose. Embiid crumpled to the ground as play continued up floor and stayed down near the Philadelphia bench, holding his face.

Playing just his sixth game of the season, Embiid had 12 points, four rebounds and five assists in 17 1/2 minutes.

Pascal Siakam added 23 points for Indiana, and Obi Toppin had 20. They each had eight rebounds.

Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 22 points. Paul George added 15.

TIMBERWOLVES 97, LAKERS 87

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 23 points and Minnesota beat Los Angeles.

Julius Randle added 21 points and Jaden McDaniels scored 18 for Minnesota, which won for the fifth time in six games. Rudy Gobert had a game-high 13 rebounds to go with 12 points.

The Timberwolves are 14-2 against the Lakers at home since the 2015-16 season, including four straight wins.

Anthony Davis led Los Angeles with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but the Lakers lost for the eighth time in 11 games. Austin Reaves scored 18 points in his first game back after missing five games with a left pelvic contusion, and Max Christie added 15.

Los Angeles had 21 turnovers.

BULLS 109, HORNETS 95

CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Giddey had 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Chicago beat struggling Charlotte.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 19 points as Chicago bounced back from two straight losses. Coby White added 18 points.

Giddey and Dosunmu each hit three 3-pointers for the Bulls, who led almost the entire way, sending the Hornets to their 13th loss in 16 games.

Brandon Miller led Charlotte with 21 points, and Mark Williams had 15. Miles Bridges added 14 points and nine rebounds after missing 10 games because of a bruised right knee.

Former Bull Taj Gibson got a standing ovation when he checked into the game with about a minute remaining.

GRIZZLIES 135, NETS 119

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 28 points and 10 assists, and Memphis beat Brooklyn for their fourth consecutive win.

Desmond Bane added 21 points as Memphis improved to 10-1 in its last 11 games overall. Santi Aldama and Jaren Jackson Jr. each had 20 points.

Memphis lost its first two games against Brooklyn this season.

Dorian Finney-Smith led the Nets with 19 points, while Dennis Schroder and Jalen Wilson each finished with 15. The Nets lost for the fifth time in six games.

The Grizzlies led 69-56 at halftime. Morant scored 18 in the first half.

SUNS 134, JAZZ 126

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devin Booker scored 34 points and Kevin Durant added 30 in his return to Phoenix’s lineup, leading them to a victory over Utah.

Durant and Booker also each had eight assists to help the Suns snap a three-game losing streak. Tyus Jones had 19 points and 11 assists.

Durant missed three games because of a left ankle sprain. Suns center Jusuf Nurkic also was back after sitting out five games with a left ankle sprain and right thigh contusion.

Jordan Clarkson also returned for Utah following a seven-game absence because of plantar fasciitis. Clarkson led the Jazz with 23 points. John Collins added 22 points, and Lauri Markkanen had 19.

Phoenix opened the second half with six straight baskets – three coming from Booker – for a 92-80 lead. The Jazz countered with a 15-4 run and pulled to 99-97 on a running alley-oop layup from Walker Kessler.

SPURS 118, TRAIL BLAZERS 116

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 28 points and made two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to push San Antonio over Portland Trail.

Jerami Grant made a layup to tie the game at 116 with 6.1 seconds to go, but he fouled Wembanyama, who sealed the win at the charity stripe.

The Blazers led by as many as 17 points in the final period, but San Antonio tied the game at 109 on a Jeremy Sochan free throw before Julian Champagnie’s 3-pointer gave the Spurs the lead with 2:08 left.

The Spurs had only had 11 available players because of injuries and lost veteran guard Chris Paul in the first half after he picked up two technical fouls.

San Antonio led 52-42 at the half, but Grant pulled the Blazers even at 60 with a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter. The Blazers went into the fourth quarter ahead 88-80 and led 105-88 with 8:18 remaining.

Grant finished with 32 points, including 22 in the third quarter, and Anfernee Simons had 30 for the Blazers. Devin Vassell had 23 off the bench for the Spurs.

The Associated Press