ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Brunson had 26 points and nine assists, Josh Hart added 23 points and 13 rebounds and the New York Knicks extended their winning streak to six games with a 108-85 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Knicks, who pulled away in the second half. Mikal Bridges, coming off a season-best 41-point game in a win over San Antonio on Christmas Day, added 17 points.
Jalen Suggs, limited to 26 minutes due to foul trouble, scored 27 points. Goga Bitadze had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Orlando, which dropped its second straight and lost for the fifth time in seven games.
CELTICS 142, PACERS 105
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 44 points, including six 3-pointers, and Boston snapped a two-game skid with a rout over Indiana.
Jayson Tatum added 22 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, which connected on 23 3s and never trailed. Brown also had four steals to join Larry Bird (five times) and Antoine Walker as the only Celtics with at least 44 points and four steals in a game.
Payton Pritchard finished with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
The Pacers have lost two straight since posting a season-best five-game win streak.
Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and nine assists, Bennedict Mathurin finished with 18 points and Pascal Siakam added 14 points and nine rebounds.
SPURS 96, NETS 87
NWE YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, Jeremy Sochan had 12 points and 14 rebounds and San Antonio beat Brooklyn.
Julian Champagnie scored 18 points, and Keldon Johnson had 15 points and six rebounds to help the Spurs end a two-game skid.
Keon Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and Shake Milton chipped in with 16 points and 12 assists for Brooklyn, which fell for the ninth time in its past 12 games.
TIMBERWOLVES 113, ROCKETS 112
HOUSTON (AP) — Anthony Edwards made a step-back 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to cap a furious rally and lift Minnesota to a win over Houston.
The Rockets were up by by 12 with about three minutes left before a 10-0 run by the Timberwolves, highlighted by a 3-point play by Edwards, cut the lead to 110-108 with 90 seconds to go.
Alperen Sengun made 1 of 2 free throws after that, but Julius Randle’s dunk on the other end got Minnesota within 1. Sengun was fouled a second time and again made just 1 of 2 free throws to leave Houston up 112-110.
Edwards then sunk the 3-pointer to give Minnesota its first lead since midway through the third quarter.
The Rockets had a chance for the win, but Fred VanVleet’s 3-point attempt was off.
Randle had 27 points and Edwards added 24 as the Timberwolves won their second straight after losing three in a row.
GRIZZLIES 132, PELICANS 124
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 33 points, Ja Morant scored 25 before leaving with what appeared to be a minor right shoulder injury, and Memphis beat slumping New Orleans.
Morant was knocked from the game when he was flattened by Pelicans center Daniel Theis’ hard but legal screen.
The Grizzlies never ruled Morant out of the game, classifying him as doubtful after he went to the locker room to be examined. He returned to the bench and cheered on his team from there.
Jackson held the Pelicans at bay, with help from Desmond Bane, who finished with 18 points, and Scottie Pippen Jr., who scored 13 points. Zach Edey added 14 points.
Trey Murphy III scored 35 points and CJ McCollum 32 for the Pelicans, who’ve lost nine straight and 18 of 19. Theis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
MAVERICKS 98, SUNS 89
PHOENIX (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 20 points, Daniel Gafford added 16 and Dallas won their first game since star Luka Doncic was injured, beating Phoenix.
Kevin Durant scored 35 points for the Suns, who have lost four of their past five games.
Doncic is expected to miss about a month with a calf injury suffered in the team’s Christmas Day loss to Minnesota. The Mavs were left further short-handed on Friday in the third quarter after forwards Naji Marshall and P.J. Washington — along with Phoenix’s Jusuf Nurkic — were ejected after a brief fight.
The Mavs persevered anyway thanks to a balanced effort on both ends of the floor. Dallas never trailed and led by as many as 18. Spencer Dinwiddie and Maxi Kleber each scored 15 points and Klay Thompson added 11.
Dallas took a 55-39 lead by halftime, led by Irving’s 15 points. The Suns shot just 33.3% over the first two quarters.
CAVALIERS 149, NUGGETS 135
DENVER (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Evan Mobley had 26 points and streaking Cleveland beat Denver for their sixth straight win.
Cleveland set a season high in points and improved to 10-1 since dropping two in a row to Atlanta last month.
Nikola Jokic had 27 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists for his league-leading 12th triple-double of the season, and Jamal Murray also had 27 with 10 assists for Denver, which has dropped two in a row.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of the Nuggets’ first 25 points to help keep pace with the Cavaliers but only scored five the rest of the way.
Cleveland led by as many as 19 to improve its NBA-best record to 27-4.
The Associated Press