INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Julius Randle made six free throws in the final minute and the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers 109-106 on Sunday for their NBA-best seventh consecutive victory.
The 19th and final lead change came in the final minute, when Randle made two foul shots with 45.6 seconds remaining for a 105-104 lead. After the teams exchanged turnovers, Randle hit four more free throws in the final two possessions. The Pacers missed a shot from just inside half-court at the buzzer.
Randle finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds. RJ Barrett added 24 points.
Brunson, who was 11 of 22 from the field with three 3-pointers, started a fourth-quarter comeback from a 104-98 hole with a 3-pointer and then a steal and a layup in a span of 24 seconds.
Buddy Hield and Aaron Nesmith each had 23 points for Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Haliburton each added 15.
TIMBERWOLVES 150, BULLS 126
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had season highs with 37 points and 11 assists and Minnesota broke the franchise record for points in a game.
D’Angelo Russell added 28 points after missing two games and the Timberwolves made a season-high 23 pointers to roll past Chicago despite missing four regulars.
Rudy Gobert missed his second straight game because of a sprained left ankle. Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) and top reserves Jordan McLaughlin (left calf strain) and Taurean Prince (right shoulder) also sat out.
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 29 points, Nikola Vucevic added 23 and Zach LaVine had 22. Starting a four-game trip, Chicago lost its fourth straight and sixth in eight games.
MAGIC 95, CELTICS 92
BOSTON (AP) — Paolo Banchero scored 31 points and Admiral Schofield had 11 of his 13 in the fourth quarter to help Orlando complete a sweep of consecutive games in Boston.
Franz Wagner added 12 points and Bol Bol had 11 with eight rebounds for the Magic, who were 1-11 on the road before the two straight wins over the Celtics.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 24 points, Marcus Smart had 15 and Grant Williams 14.
Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum missed the game due to personal reasons. The 24-year-old star is the team’s leading scorer (30.2 points) and rebounder (8.2), and fifth in the league in scoring. Boston center Robert Williams III played his second straight game after missing the first 29 following left knee surgery in September. He had six points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.
WARRIORS 126, RAPTORS 110
TORONTO (AP) — Jordan Poole scored a career-high 43 points, Klay Thompson had 17 and Golden State won for the first time in five tries this season without the injured Stephen Curry.
Draymond Green returned after sitting out Friday’s loss at Philadelphia because of a sore right quadriceps and finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes as the Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to 3-14 on the road. Kevon Looney added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, whose last road win came Nov. 27 at Minnesota.
Poole shot 14 for 23, a career-high for made baskets, and went 5 for 11 from 3-point range. His previous career high was 38.
Pascal Siakam scored 27 points, Fred VanVleet had 22 and Scottie Barnes 17 as Toronto’s losing streak hit a season-high five games. The Raptors have lost three straight at home.
NETS 124, PISTONS 121
DETROIT (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 26 of his 43 points in the third quarter, helping Brooklyn overcome a 17-point halftime deficit.
Kyrie Irving added 38 points in Brooklyn’s seventh straight victory over Detroit.
Durant was 8 of 10 from the floor, going 3 of 3 on 3-pointers and 7 of 7 from the free-throw line as he outscored the Pistons 26-25 in the third.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 26 points.
NUGGETS 119, HORNETS 115
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 40 points, a career-high 27 rebounds and 10 assists in yet another triple-double to help Denver beat Charlotte.
Jokic got his fifth triple-double of the season and 81st overall. He had 20 rebounds in the first half. Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with at least 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists in an NBA game. He did it four times, the last when he had 53 points, 32 rebounds and 14 assists for Philadelphia on March 18, 1968.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 20 points and Aaron Gordon had 19 as the Nuggets sent the Hornets to their eighth consecutive loss.
LaMelo Ball had 31 points for Charlotte. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16 points and Gordon Hayward had 15.
LAKERS 119, WIZARDS 117
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists, Lonnie Walker scored 21 points and Los Angeles overcame the absence of Anthony Davis.
Davis, the Lakers’ leader at 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds, injured his right foot Friday night in a victory over Denver and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
Thomas Bryant added 16 points and 10 rebounds to help the Lakers win for the third time in their last four games and hand Washington its 10th straight loss and 13th in 14 games.
Bradley Beal scored 29 points in his return to the Wizards after missing six games because of a hamstring injury. Kyle Kuzma scored 22 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 21.
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The Associated Press
