Luka Doncic scored 21 of her 31 points during the first quarter, Austin Reaves added 22 overall and Los Angeles Lakers transformed a quick start to a 120-108 home victory over the short-handed Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
The victory allowed the Lakers to tie the nuggets for third place in the Western Conference position. The team shared the season series with two wins each.
Dorian Finy-Smith scored 14 points when Lakers earned his third straight victory and ninth home victory in a row despite playing without Lebron James (Ljumsk) and Rui Hachimura (knee).
Aaron Gordon counted 26 points and 11 returns for Nuggets, who played without Nikola Jokic (Ankle/Escape) and Jamal Murray (Ankel). Denver has changed profits and losses for the last eight matches.
Spurs 120, Knicks 105
Sandro Mamulashvili received a career pile of 34 points, 21 during the fourth quarter, when host San Antonio baked New York.
Mamulashvili shot 13-first-14 from the floor, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range. He had never made more than four 3 points in a game before. Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio. Chris Paul produced 12 points and nine assists.
Karl-Anthony cities collected 32 points and nine returns for Knicks, which fell to 3-3 since Jalen Brunson was lost indefinitely with an understood right ankle. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby added 14 points per piece, and Mitchell Robinson counted 13 points and 11 returns.
Kings 123, Cavaliers 119
Keegan Murray broke a late tie with a driving bow, Demar Derozan dropped in a couple of clutch baskets in the final 1:35 and host Sacramento extended Cleveland’s losing line to three matches.
Derozan finished with a team high 27 points, Malik Monk added 22 and Rookie Devin Carter chipped in with a season best 16 from the bench when Kings moved three matches before Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in his duel for ninth place in the Western Conference.
Evan Mobley registered 31 points and 10 returns and Donovan Mitchell finished with 26 points for Cavaliers. For Jerome added 14 points and six assists. Dean Wade and Max Strus chipped in with 12 points per piece, and Jarrett Allen had 10.
Trail Blazers 115, Grizzlies 99
Deni Avdija recorded 31 points, 16 returns and eight assists to lead Portland to a victory over the visiting Memphis.
Avdija matched season heights for boards and 3-points (five) when Portland won their third straight match. Anternee Simons got 22 points, Shaedon Sharpe produced 17 points, seven returns and five assists and Toumani Camara had 15 points for Trail Blazers. Duop Reath had 13 points and nine returns from the bench for Portland, which are two matches behind Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in the fight for the last Western Conference-Play-in-Kaj.
Desmond Bane scored 20 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. Added 18 from the bench for Grizzlies, who lost their second straight match. Santi Aldama had 16 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. counted 14 but was only 5 out of 18 from the field.
Suns 127, bulls 121
Devin Booker scored 41 points, including 33 after halftime, when Phoenix beat the Chicago visited.
Kevin Durant added 26 points and Ryan Dunn contributed 16 when Phoenix moved past Dallas Mavericks to 10th place in the race for the last Play-in place in the Western Conference.
Nikola Vucevic and Coby White both published 24 points for Chicago, and Josh Giddey had 22 from the bench in his return from a three-game absence with an ankle injury.
Pistons 116, heat 113
Cade Cunningham knocked in a tiebreaking 3 pointer with 0.6 seconds left when the Detroit visit sent Miami to a ninth straight loss.
Cunningham finished with 25 points, 12 returns and a game high 11 assists. Detroit also got 15 points and 11 returns from Jalen Duren. Malik Beasley scored 16 points, Ausar Thompson had 14 points and Tobias Harris added 13 points and a game -high five blocks.
Bam Adebayo received 30 points and added nine returns and eight assists for Miami, who has been in the middle of its longest losing line since the 2007-08 season. Tyler Herro gave Heat 29 points, and Rookie Kel’el Ware added 14 points, 12 returns and three blocks.
Pacers 135, Mavericks 131
Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points in the last 5:54 and Andrew Nembhard hit a 3-point with 14.7 seconds left when Indiana opened a five-game home and beat Dallas in Indianapolis.
Indiana’s Pascal Siakam led all scores with 29 points. Mathurin finished with 23 points. Nembhard added 22 points and hid out eight assists. Aaron Nesmith added 18 points and Obi Toppin 13.
PJ Washington led Dallas with 26 points. Jaden Hardy added 24 points, Naji Marshall counted 20 points and nine returns. Kai Jones had 18 points and 11 returns, Spencer Dinwiddie added 17 points and 12 assists, and Max Christie scored 17 points.
Pelicans 119, Timberwolves 115
Zion Williamson scored 29 points on 12-for-16 shooting and New Orleans exceeded Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Williamson added eight assists, five returns and three steals for New Orleans (19-51), who had dropped seven of their previous eight matches. CJ McCollum added 18 points.
Anthony Edwards got 29 points but shot only 5-for-19 from the Timberwolves field, which has lost two in a row since he won eight straight. Julius Randle finished with 17 points.
Rockets 116, Magic 108
Jalen Green scored 26 points, the Alperen Sengun had 22 points and 12 returns, and the visit Houston extended his season best winning line to eight matches by beating Orlando.
Fred Vanvleet added 19 points for Rockets, which surpassed Magic 32-20 during the third quarter and never dragged during the second half.
Paolo Banchero scored 31 points to lead the magic, which has lost eight of his last 11 games. Franz Wagner scored 20 points, and Goga Bitadze added 19 from the bench.
Jazz 128, Wizards 112
Kyle Filipowski scored 21 points and Keyonte George had 20 when Utah snapped a 10-game losing line with a victory over Washington in Salt Lake City.
Jazz used a 14-0 driving during the second half to build a 21-point lead on the way to its first victory in March in a battle in the team with the worst records in the NBA.
Colby Jones made 9 out of 11 shots to lead all scorers with 24 points while Alex Sarr netted 22 points and took nine returns for Wizards, who had an early 11-point lead.
Thunder 133, 76ers 100
Aaron Wiggins got 26 points and Jaylin Williams had his second career triple double when host Oklahoma City struck by Philadelphia.
Thunder, who went towards the top seed in the Western conference, dressed the Northwest Division. Williams finished with career heights in points (19) and returns (17) and added 11 assists on 7-of-11 shooting. Isaiah Joe added 21 points while Chet Holmgren scored 19 and the fire Carlson finished with a pile of career 16.
Quentin Grimes led the 76th century with 28 points while Justin Edwards added 19. Chuma Okeke had 15 returns from the bench to go with 14 points.
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