WASHINGTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 30 points, Kyrie Irving had 24 and the well-rested Brooklyn Nets methodically pulled away for a 112-100 win against the overmatched Washington Wizards on Monday night.
The Nets, who won at Indiana on Saturday night with their top seven scorers sitting out, matched a season best with their fourth straight victory. All those players were back in action Monday except Royce O’Neale, who missed a second consecutive game for personal reasons.
Will Barton had a season-high 22 points for the Wizards, who lost their season-worst seventh game in a row. Washington was missing leading scorer Bradley Beal (right hamstring strain) for the fourth straight game.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points for the Wizards, but departed with 3:37 left in the third quarter and didn’t return. Porzingis rode an exercise bike with a pad strapped to his back while on the bench in the first half.
CLIPPERS 113, CELTICS 93
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 26 points, Kawhi Leonard had season highs of 25 points and nine rebounds, and Los Angeles beat NBA-leading Boston.
Leonard also had six assists in one of his best all-around games of a young season that has been interrupted at times while he eases his way back from ACL surgery that cost him all of last season.
Jaylen Brown scored 21 points to lead the Celtics, who dropped two in a row for just the second time this season. They had won eight of 10, including a loss at Golden State on Saturday. Jayson Tatum added 20 — well below his 30-point average — and 11 rebounds.
MAVERICKS 121, THUNDER 114
DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic had 38 points and 11 rebounds in his return from a one-game absence, and Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points and 10 assists as Dallas defeated Oklahoma City.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 20 for the Mavericks, who ended a two-game skid.
Doncic sat out a 29-point loss at Chicago on Saturday night with a strained right quadriceps. The Mavericks were completing a back-to-back, having played at home Friday in a 9 p.m. start.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matched his season high with 42 points for the Thunder, who lost their third straight in the finale of a five-game road trip.
HEAT 87, PACERS 82
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 22 points and 17 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler scored seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to help Miami hold off Indiana.
Butler finished with 20 points. The Heat had lost three of their previous four but evened the season series with Indiana by pulling away late.
Buddy Hield led the Pacers with 19 points and Andrew Nembhard scored 18. Indiana has lost two straight and six of eight.
GRIZZLIES 128, HAWKS 103
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tyus Jones had 22 points and 11 assists, Dillon Brooks added 18 points and streaking Memphis beat shorthanded Atlanta with both teams minus key starters.
Santi Aldama scored 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 15 points and a career-best eight blocks for the Grizzlies, who won their sixth straight and moved within a half-game of Western Conference-leading New Orleans.
De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks with 19 points, and Jalen Johnson added 14 points and nine rebounds. Atlanta lost for the fourth time in five games.
Both teams were missing their leading scorers. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant sat out with right thigh soreness, while counterpart Trae Young was dealing with lower back tightness.
Young’s absence meant Atlanta was down five of its top six scorers, including Dejounte Murray and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
SPURS 112, CAVALIERS 111
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Keldon Johnson scored 21 points and blocked a late shot by Donovan Mitchell as San Antonio held off Cleveland.
Josh Richardson had 24 points to help the Spurs win their third straight after an 11-game losing streak.
Mitchell scored 28 to keep Cleveland close. The Cavaliers trailed by 19 in the third quarter and rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes for a chance to win.
Mitchell’s runner was blocked by Johnson with 6.1 seconds remaining. Following an offensive rebound by Caris LeVert, Darius Garland missed a 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining.
LeVert finished with 23 points, and Evan Mobley had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavs.
TRAIL BLAZERS 133, TIMBERWOLVES 112
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard tied his own franchise record by making 11 3-pointers and finished with 38 points, leading Portland past Minnesota.
Lillard shot 11 for 17 from long range and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers never trailed and led by as many as 27.
Jerami Grant had 24 points for Portland, and Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and 16 rebounds.
D’Angelo Russell scored 23 for the Timberwolves. Rudy Gobert grabbed 20 rebounds to go with 16 points.
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The Associated Press
