Kyrie Irving scored 38 points in his return from a foot injury and Maxi Kleber made a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the visiting Dallas Mavericks pulled off a 111-110 victory on Friday to win consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Christian Wood each scored 12 points as the Mavericks won without Luka Doncic, who has missed the last four games with a thigh injury but could be back Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Mavericks moved two games ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings while winning the season series between the teams 3-1.
Anthony Davis scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for the Lakers after missing Wednesday’s defeat to the Houston Rockets because of load management. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Dennis Schroder added 15 as Los Angeles played its 10th consecutive game without LeBron James (foot).
76ers 121, Hornets 82
Joel Embiid poured in 38 points and rested in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia won its seventh game in a row by blowing out the host Hornets.
Embiid shot 16-for-21 from the field and delivered five assists. He compiled all of his 38 points with more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Terry Rozier’s 14 points, P.J. Washington’s 12 points and Kelly Oubre Jr.’s 11 points led Charlotte. The Hornets — who lost their fourth game in a row and are in danger of going winless on a five-game homestand that wraps up Monday night — also got 10 points from reserve Kai Jones.
Hawks 127, Warriors 119
Trae Young scored 25 points and made a key defensive play in the final minute to help host Atlanta defeat Golden State.
The Hawks led by four points when Young stole the ball from Stephen Curry and scored with 45.1 seconds left. Young then iced the game with two free throws. Young finished with 12 assists to secure his 34th double-double, and added six rebounds and a steal.
Curry led Golden State with 31 points, and Kevon Looney racked up his 12th double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Warriors have lost 10 straight road games.
Celtics 126, Trail Blazers 112
Jayson Tatum recorded 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead Boston over host Portland.
Jaylen Brown added 27 points for the Celtics. Marcus Smart had 15 points, six assists and four steals, Derrick White added 13 points and Al Horford had 12 points and 10 assists as Boston won for the fourth time in five games.
Damian Lillard scored 25 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter but couldn’t prevent the Trail Blazers from dropping their fifth consecutive contest and 10th in the past 13 games.
Cavaliers 117, Wizards 94
Darius Garland had 24 points, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley added 20 apiece and host Cleveland led wire-to-wire in a win over Washington.
Caris LeVert scored 15 points and Mobley tallied eight rebounds and four blocks for Cleveland, which completed a three-game season sweep of the Wizards. Garland contributed nine assists while shooting 11 of 19 from the field.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and nine rebounds.
Bulls 139, Timberwolves 131 (2OT)
DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 49 points to go with 14 rebounds and Zach LaVine added 39 points as host Chicago outlasted Minnesota.
DeRozan and LaVine combined for 63 of their points after halftime, helping the Bulls win for the third time in four games. The duo finished 30-for-50 from the field.
Mike Conley sank eight 3-pointers while leading Minnesota with 28 points. Jaden McDaniels followed with a career-high 25 points. Minnesota, which lost Anthony Edwards to injury early in the game, produced six double-figure scorers, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the team’s fourth loss in five games.
Rockets 114, Pelicans 112
Jabari Smith Jr. drilled a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining and Houston rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to beat visiting New Orleans for its third win in a row.
With the Rockets trailing by one point following a wild back and forth, Smith walked into a pull-up 3 after Houston secured possession with four seconds remaining. The Pelicans were unable to get off a shot on their ensuing possession, falling to 3-8 since the All-Star break.
Jalen Green paced Houston with 25 points while Kevin Porter Jr. added 20. Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 31 points and six assists, while Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 17 rebounds.
Grizzlies 126, Spurs 120 (OT)
Dillon Brooks had the game-tying 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and added a key basket from beyond the arc late in the extra period as Memphis defeated host San Antonio.
The Spurs led 84-55 after Malaki Branham’s 3-pointer with 7:50 to play in the third period. The Grizzlies then scored 26 of the quarter’s final 35 points to pull within 93-81 heading into the fourth quarter.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 28 points, Desmond Bane had 21, and Tyus Jones added a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 25 points and Zach Collins had 24.
–Field Level Media