Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 124-104 win over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Julius Randle and Bones Hyland added 19 apiece and Naz Reid contributed 17 for Minnesota (47-32), which sits in sixth place in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves finished the night clinching a playoff spot and avoiding the play-in after the Phoenix Suns fell to the Houston Rockets 119-105 later Tuesday.
Rookie Ethan Thompson posted 17 points for the Pacers (18-61), who took their third straight defeat. Obi Toppin and Jalen Slawson both had 14 points.
Indiana’s season-long injury crisis continued when forward Kobe Brown, who was in the starting five, was unable to play after halftime with lower back soreness.
Thunder 123, Lakers 87
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 25 points in 28 minutes as Oklahoma City demolished the Lakers for the second time in five days, prevailing in Los Angeles.
The Thunder, by earning their sixth consecutive win and their 18th in 19 games, moved within one win or one San Antonio Spurs loss of clinching the top spot in the Western Conference for the third consecutive season. Chet Holmgren had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Joe and Jared McCain added 18 and 15 points off the bench, respectively.
The Lakers fell a game behind the Denver Nuggets for the No. 3 spot in the West with their third consecutive loss. They are now tied with Houston after the Rockets beat the Suns. Rui Hachimura led Los Angeles with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting. No other Los Angeles player scored more than 11.
Rockets 119, Suns 105
Kevin Durant had 24 points and five 3-pointers in his return to Phoenix and Houston overcame a 21-point deficit for its largest comeback of the season, producing a victory over the host Suns.
Amen Thompson logged 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and Jabari Smith Jr. had 20 points and five 3-pointers for the Rockets, who have won seven in a row and nine of 11. The Rockets are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for fourth place in the West and are one game behind the Denver Nuggets with three to play.
Devin Booker had 31 points and eight assists and Mark Williams contributed 19 points and eight rebounds for the Suns, who had a 24-0 run in the first quarter to build a 26-5 lead before fading.
Pelicans 156, Jazz 137
Jeremiah Fears scored a career-high and franchise-rookie-record 40 points and as New Orleans set a club record for points in a blowout of visiting Utah.
Jordan Poole added 34 points, Jordan Hawkins put up a season-high 25 and rookie Micah Peavy scored a career-high 20 as the Pelicans ended an eight-game losing streak.
Kennedy Chandler scored a career-high 31 points and rookie Bez Mbeng added a career-best 26 for the Jazz, who lost their 10th consecutive game.
Celtics 113, Hornets 102
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds to propel Boston past visiting Charlotte.
The Celtics received 23 points from Jayson Tatum and 12 apiece from Neemias Queta, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. Boston has won four straight and 11 of its past 13 games.
LaMelo Ball tossed in a game-high 36 points for the Hornets, but he failed to score in the fourth quarter. Charlotte was held to 15 points in the final period as its four-game winning streak ended.
Bulls 129, Wizards 98
Rob Dillingham’s career-high 26 points off the bench highlighted a balanced scoring effort as Chicago rolled past host Washington.
Chicago left little doubt on the way to snapping a seven-game losing streak, pouncing on Washington with a 9-0 run midway the first quarter. Tre Jones put up 20 points, his third effort of 19-plus points in his past five games, and he wound up one assist shy of his first double-double since January. Patrick Williams added 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Bilal Coulibaly led the Wizards with 19 points. First-year forward Julian Reese posted his fourth double-double in his 10 NBA games, going for 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Nets 96, Bucks 90
E.J. Liddell scored 21 points to lead Brooklyn to a victory over visiting Milwaukee.
It was the second win in a row for Brooklyn and third in its last five contests. Ben Saraf added 19 points while Malachi Smith and Drake Powell each scored 11.
AJ Green led the Bucks with 20 points on six 3-pointers (6-for-12). Taurean Prince scored 16 points with 11 rebounds while Cormac Ryan added 14. Jericho Sims tallied 12 points, eight boards and six assists, and Ousmane Dieng had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Clippers 116, Mavericks 103
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and Darius Garland added 22 as Los Angeles improved its play-in tournament seeding possibilities with a victory over Dallas in Inglewood, Calif.
John Collins scored 12 points and Derrick Jones Jr. added 11 points with 10 rebounds as the eighth-place Clippers moved a full game ahead of the ninth-place Portland Trail Blazers. The Clippers and Blazers will meet Friday at Portland.
Cooper Flagg scored 25 points and Marvin Bagley III added 21 as the Mavericks fell to 2-9 since March 16. Flagg, 19, coming off consecutive games of 51 and 45 points.
Raptors 121, Heat 95
Scottie Barnes scored 25 points and Brandon Ingram added 23, leading Toronto to a victory over visiting Miami.
Jakob Poeltl had 17 points while RJ Barrett chipped in 16 for the Raptors, who pulled within a game of the fifth-place Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference. Toronto had dropped three of its previous four games.
The Heat got 24 points from Andrew Wiggins and 14 points apiece from Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. Miami shot just 27.3% (12 of 44) on 3-point attempts while dropping its ninth game in 12 tries.
Warriors 110, Kings 105
Stephen Curry capped his 17-point performance with a game-tying 3-pointer, then turned his own miss into an offensive rebound and assist on Brandin Podziemski’s go-ahead trey as Golden State outlasted Sacramento in San Francisco.
De’Anthony Melton had a game-high 21 points and Podziemski finished with 20 for the Warriors, who ended a four-game losing streak while resting Kristaps Porzingis on the first night of a four-games-in-six-days sequence.
Killian Hayes led a balanced attack with 18 points off the bench for the Kings, who dropped their second in a row.
–Field Level Media
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