DALLAS (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 37 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 11 seconds to go, to lift the Phoenix Suns to a 130-126 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday in a thrilling showcase of stars for both teams.
The first meeting between Durant and Dallas’ Kyrie Irving since they were traded by Brooklyn before the deadline last month was even when Durant pulled up over Tim Hardaway Jr. and Irving for the lead.
Luka Doncic had 34 points for Dallas, but his point-blank shot for a tie rimmed out before he fouled Durant after the rebound with 3.5 seconds remaining.
After the play was over, Doncic and Devin Booker, who scored 36 points, ended up nose-to-nose and both were issued technical fouls before Durant hit two free throws to clinch the victory.
Irving scored 30 points exactly four years to the day since the last time he faced Durant, when his Boston Celtics blew out Durant and his Golden State Warriors 128-95.
LAKERS 113, WARRIORS 105
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anthony Davis scored 39 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and Los Angeles held on for a victory over Golden State despite Stephen Curry’s 27 points in his return to the lineup.
The Lakers led most of the game but a 3-pointer by Golden State’s Anthony Lamb tied it at 91 with 5:37 remaining in the game. Los Angeles ran off seven straight points and would go up 103-95 before 3-pointers by Klay Thompson and Curry made it a two-point game with 1:46 remaining.
That would be as close as the Warriors would get though as they missed three straight from beyond the arc and the Lakers converted at the foul line.
Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Troy Brown Jr. 14 for the Lakers, who have split their four games with LeBron James out of the lineup due to a foot tendon injury.
Curry, who missed 11 games due to a left leg injury, was 3 of 11 from the field with eight points after three quarters but scored 19 in the final 12 minutes. Thompson added 22 points as the Warriors had their five-game winning streak snapped.
KNICKS 131, CELTICS 129, 2 OTs
BOSTON (AP) — Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 38 points, playing 55 minutes in place of injured starter Jalen Brunson, and New York outlasted Boston in two overtimes for its season-high ninth straight victory.
Quickley had seven points in the second overtime and added eight rebounds and seven assists with Brunson sidelined because of soreness in his left foot.
Julius Randle had 31 points and nine rebounds, and RJ Barrett finished with 29 points and 11 boards for the Knicks, who held on when Boston’s Al Horford front-rimmed a 3-pointer from the right corner just before the final buzzer.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 40 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Horford finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
CLIPPERS 135, GRIZZLIES 129
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 42 points and led a fourth-quarter comeback to help Los Angeles beat Memphis, ending a five-game skid.
Kawhi Leonard added 34 points and 10 rebounds to give the Clippers their first win since the All-Star break.
After getting thrashed in the third when the Grizzlies scored 51 points, the Clippers responded in the fourth.
George and Leonard scored every point in a 17-0 spurt in which the Clippers erased a 10-point deficit and took a 124-121 lead. George had the first eight points and Leonard finished it off with the last nine, hitting a 3-pointer and dunking.
Desmond Bane scored 30 points, Tyus Jones added 25 and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 24 points for the Grizzlies, who were without star Ja Morant. He’s away from the team indefinitely while the NBA investigates his social media post in which the All-Star guard appears to be holding a gun.
BUCKS 117, WIZARDS 111
WASHINGTON (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points, had a season-high 13 assists and rebounded his intentionally missed shot with a second left for his fourth-triple double of the season as NBA-leading Milwaukee beat Washington.
Jevon Carter added 20 points while shooting 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, and Jrue Holiday scored 19 in Milwaukee’s victory a night after a home loss to Philadelphia snapped a 16-game win streak.
The Bucks made 22 of their 49 attempts beyond the arc, the most allowed by the Wizards this season, while moving 1 1/2 games in front of Boston for first in the Eastern Conference.
Bradley Beal scored 33 points for the Wizards, who remain 10th in the East and in line for the final play-in tournament spot. Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points and 14 rebounds for Washington, which lost for the second time at home in two nights.
PACERS 125, BULLS 122
CHICAGO (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points, including a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left, to give Indiana a victory over Chicago.
Haliburton’s game-winning shot occurred after Zach LaVine missed a free throw that would have given the Bulls the lead with 22.6 seconds left. LaVine, who scored a game-high 42 points, was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Bennedict Mathurin and converted the first two free throw tries.
After Haliburton’s 3-pointer, a game-tying shot attempt by Nikola Vucevic bounced off the rim.
Mathurin added 17 points for the Pacers (29-36), while DeMar DeRozan scored 23 for the Bulls (29-36), who lost despite shooting 60.8% (45-for-74) from the field.
TRAIL BLAZERS 122, MAGIC 119
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Damian Lillard scored eight of his 41 points from the foul line in the final three minutes to lead Portland over Orlando.
Jerami Grant added 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Blazers and Cam Reddish added 16 points.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 26 points. Franz Wagner added 24, and Markelle Fultz finished with 15 points, eight assists and four steals.
NETS 102, HORNETS 86
NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges went 9 for 9 in a 19-point first quarter, finishing with 33 to lead Brooklyn over Charlotte.
Two nights after coming from 28 down to beat Boston in the biggest comeback in the NBA this season, the Nets led by as much as 37 after Bridges’ fast start in the highest-scoring quarter of his career.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 24 points for the Nets, who have won two straight. Cam Johnson chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Joe Harris had 12 points.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 17 points and Mark Williams added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets, who have lost three consecutive games.
THUNDER 129, JAZZ 119
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 38 points and seven rebounds in his return from a five-game absence and Oklahoma City led all the way while beating Utah.
Rookie Jalen Williams added a career-high 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting and Josh Giddey just missed a triple-double with 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for Oklahoma City, which beat the Jazz for the second time in three days. The Thunder also won in blowout fashion on Friday, 130-103.
Utah trailed by double digits for the final 42 minutes of Sunday’s game. Jordan Clarkson led Utah with 18 points but missed all five of his 3-point attempts. The Jazz played without All-Star Lauri Markkanen, who sat out with what the team said was a low-back strain.
ROCKETS 142, SPURS 110
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored 31 points and Houston beat San Antonio for the second straight night in a matchup of the Western Conference’s worst teams.
The Rockets snapped an 11-game skid with a 122-110 win Saturday night in San Antonio and picked up where they left off at home Sunday, leading by as many as 32. They were up by 10 at halftime, used a 35-point third quarter to lead by 21 and to start the fourth and cruised to the victory.
It’s the first time Houston has won consecutive games since Jan. 28 and Feb. 1 and leaves the team tied with Detroit for the NBA’s worst record at 15-49. The Spurs are just ahead of the Rockets at the bottom of the Western Conference standings at 16-49.
Keita Bates-Diop led the Spurs with 17 points and Keldon Johnson had eight points and five assists in his return after missing two games with a sprained left foot.
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The Associated Press
