HOUSTON — Luka Doncic scored 47 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists, while Kyrie Irving contributed 24 points and seven assists, leading the Dallas Mavericks to their seventh consecutive win and putting an end to the Houston Rockets' 11-game winning streak with a 125-107 victory on Sunday night.
Doncic made 32 points in the first half on 12-of-18 shooting, including 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, as the Mavs led 66-45. Doncic scored 22 in the first quarter alone and finished 18 of 30 from the field, making 9 of 16 on 3s.
Dante Exum scored 13 points and P.J. Washington had 12 points and six rebounds for the Mavericks. Dallas had a 52% shooting percentage and made 24 of 47 on 3-pointers.
Dallas tied with idle New Orleans for fifth place in the Western Conference with eight games left for each team.
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 28 points and Aaron Holiday added 16, but Jalen Green only scored 12 on 5-for-15 shooting as Houston's push for a play-in spot slowed down.
Houston had a 42% shooting percentage and made 13 of 38 on 3s.
THUNDER 113, KNICKS 112
NEW YORK — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made the go-ahead basket from the corner with 2.6 seconds remaining, leading Oklahoma City to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 with a win over New York.
Josh Giddey contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for Oklahoma City, which moved back into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference at 52-22 with its second consecutive win.
It was Giddey's third career triple-double, all against the Knicks. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, when the Thunder outscored the Knicks 38-27.
Jalen Williams led all scorers with 33 points and Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 19.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points but missed the potential winning basket in another difficult loss for the Knicks, who lost in overtime Friday in San Antonio. Deuce McBride added 19 and Donte DiVincenzo scored 15.
NUGGETS 130, CAVALIERS 101
DENVER — Nikola Jokic scored 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and dished out 16 assists for his 22nd triple-double of the season, and Denver defeated Cleveland to end a two-game home losing streak.
Jokic achieved his 128th career triple-double despite dealing with a sore right wrist that nearly kept him out of Friday's loss to Minnesota.
Denver guard Jamal Murray missed his fifth consecutive game due to knee and ankle injuries but has made progress, coach Michael Malone said before the game.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from 3-point range. Reggie Jackson contributed 19 points starting in place of the injured Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. also scored 19 points for the Nuggets (52-23), who entered the game a half-game behind Minnesota and Oklahoma City for the top spot in the Western Conference.
Evan Mobley scored 23 points and Jarrett Allen had 19 for Cleveland, which has lost eight of 12. The Cavaliers (45-30) started the day a half-game ahead of New York for fourth place in the East.
LAKERS 116, NETS 104
NEW YORK — LeBron James had one of the best shooting nights of his illustrious career, making 9 out of 10 3-pointers to tie his career high, and matching a season high with 40 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a victory over Brooklyn.
James had the sold-out crowd at Barclays Center standing as he finished his 3-point shooting performance in the fourth quarter. He scored 40 points for the third time this season, most recently on March 16 in a home loss to Golden State.
The Lakers have won five of six since then, and this win moved them a season-high nine games over .500 with seven games left in the regular season. Los Angeles stayed ninth in the Western Conference, but could catch the Sacramento Kings for eighth or the Phoenix Suns for seventh in the West, which would prevent them from playing in the single-elimination No.9-vs.-No 10 play-in game.
If James has another game like this in the playoffs, just about anything is possible for the NBA’s career scoring leader who continues to impress at age 39.
The 20-time All Star finished 13 for 17 overall as the Lakers played the fourth game of a six-game road trip and bounced back from a loss Friday night at Indiana that ended their five-game winning streak.
Anthony Davis added 24 points and 14 rebounds, and Rui Hachimura had 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game the Lakers led by 20 in the first quarter and controlled throughout.
WARRIORS 117, SPURS 113
SAN ANTONIO — Stephen Curry scored 33 points and Golden State held on to defeat undermanned San Antonio for their fourth straight win.
Curry was 12 for 23 from the field, hitting 7 of 15 3-pointer attempts, as Golden State holds on to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference — two games ahead of Houston after the Rockets’ home loss to Dallas on Sunday.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama scored 32 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Wembanyama was called for an over-the-back foul on what would have been his 10th rebound with four seconds remaining. Warriors forward Draymond Green made one of two free throws to secure the victory.
Green ended with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
San Antonio had a 7-0 run to reduce Golden State’s lead to 113-111 with 59 seconds left. Klay Thompson responded with a 3-pointer.
Thompson ended with 13 points.
76ERS 135, RAPTORS 120
TORONTO — Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a season-high 32 points, Kyle Lowry had 11 points and 10 assists against his former team and Philadelphia ended a three-game losing streak, defeating Toronto.
Cam Payne scored 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Tobias Harris had 21 and Nicolas Batum 19 to help Philadelphia send Toronto to its 13th straight loss and seventh in a row against the 76ers.
Oubre shot 10 for 22, equalling a season high by making 6 of 11 3-point attempts. Philadelphia made a season-high 24 3-pointers on 43 tries.
Guard Tyrese Maxey sat for the 76ers because of tightness in his left hip.
Before the game, Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said injured center Joel Embiid participated in a light practice in Toronto on Saturday. The current NBA MVP has been out since Feb. 6 after left knee surgery.
Gary Trent Jr. scored 23 points for Toronto. Jordan Nwora added 19, and Kelly Olynyk had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
CLIPPERS 130, HORNETS 118
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Paul George made eight 3-pointers and ended with a season-high 41 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated Charlotte for their fifth straight road win.
George made 14 of 21 field goals and 8 of 12 shots from beyond the arc to defeat the Hornets for the 12th consecutive time.
Ivica Zubac scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Kawhi Leonard contributed 23 points for the Clippers (47-27).
Miles Bridges scored 33 points with seven 3-pointers, and Brandon Miller had 22 points for Charlotte (18-56), which has lost eight of nine games and continues to struggle towards the end of the season.
The Clippers were in fourth place in the Western Conference and wanted to improve their ranking. They had a 12-point lead at halftime with George leading the way with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including five 3-pointers, and easily scoring while defended by the rookie Miller.
HEAT 119, WIZARDS 107
WASHINGTON — Terry Rozier III scored 27 points, Bam Adebayo had 22, and the Miami Heat worked hard for a win over Washington.
Jimmy Butler added 17 points for the Heat, who won their second consecutive game. Miami, seventh in the Eastern Conference, made 25 of 29 free throws to move close to Indiana in the race to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Jordan Poole scored 22 points and Marvin Bagley III had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Washington on a night Wizards leading scorer Kyle Kuzma sat out with a bruised right heel. Anthony Gill matched his career high with 18 points for the Wizards, who have lost three in a row after a season-high three-game win streak.
Miami made seven 3-pointers, half of their total makes all game, during a 24-7 run that stretched across halftime. Rozier hit the final two before the interval, giving the Heat a 66-59 lead at halftime, their largest lead so far.
BULLS 109, TIMBERWOLVES 101
MINNEAPOLIS — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and had eight assists, and Alex Caruso added 21 points with a season-high seven 3-pointers as hot-shooting Chicago defeated Minnesota.
Nikola Vucevic scored 19 points with eight rebounds, Coby White had 17 points, and Ayo Dosunmu added 13 for the Bulls, who shot 52.5% from the floor, including 58.6% from 3-point range.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 22 points and 11 rebounds, but he also committed six of Minnesota’s 14 turnovers. Rudy Gobert scored 19 points and grabbed 10 boards, Mike Conley finished with 19 points and seven assists, and Naz Reid had 14 points for the Timberwolves, who were trying to secure a Western Conference playoff spot.
Minnesota was behind by as much as 16 in the third quarter. But the Wolves fought back, finally taking the lead 98-96 on Gobert’s 3-point play with 5:21 remaining. This was part of a 9-0 run that excited the packed Target Center crowd.
But DeRozan responded with a steal and a transition layup, and then made a 3-pointer to put the Bulls back in the lead.
Caruso then made his seventh 3-pointer and White scored on a fast break as the Bulls took a 106-99 lead with 2:03 to play.
KINGS 127, JAZZ 106
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and led a strong third-quarter surge for Sacramento, which led them to a victory over Utah.
Keegan Murray scored 25 points to lead the Kings. De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 12 assists, and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 57th consecutive double-double. This helped the Kings complete a three-game series sweep against Utah for their first season sweep against the Jazz since the 2001-02 season.
Sacramento is now tied for seventh place in the Western Conference with Phoenix, but they are still two games behind sixth-place Dallas in the competition to avoid the play-in tournament.
Brice Sensabaugh and Collin Sexton both scored 22 points for the Jazz, who have lost nine consecutive games overall. Utah has also lost 11 games in a row on the road and hasn’t won away from home since Jan. 27 at Charlotte.
