Lauri Markkanen’s 3-pointer with 28.3 seconds left in overtime was the decisive basket in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 119-116 come-from-behind victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Markkanen had a season-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Evan Mobley had 27 points and 11 rebounds and Darius Garland put up 25 points and 14 assists.
The Cavs closed the overtime period on a 10-2 run, capped by Mobley’s contested layup with 11.5 seconds remaining.
MVP candidate Nikola Jokic had a game-high 32 points, plus 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, who had their franchise-record seven-game road winning streak snapped. Aaron Gordon added 20 points and eight rebounds and guard Bones Hyland had 17 points for Denver.
Celtics 126, Kings 97
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 62 points and Boston made it two straight wins to start its Western trip by pounding Sacramento.
Payton Pritchard made all five of his shots, including four 3-pointers, on a 14-point night off the bench as the Celtics overpowered the Kings with 56.1 percent shooting overall and 55 percent accuracy from beyond the 3-point line.
Domantas Sabonis compiled a 30-point, 20-rebound double-double for Sacramento, which lost for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Pelicans 124, Spurs 91
CJ McCollum scored 20 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points and 12 rebounds as visiting New Orleans rode a torrid first quarter to an easy win over San Antonio.
The win increased the 10th-place Pelicans’ lead over San Antonio to 2 1/2 games in the race for the final spot in the Western Conference play-in tournament. Naji Marshall scored 18 points off the bench for the Pelicans, with Jaxson Hayes contributing 16, Herbert Jones 13 and Willy Hernangomez 11.
Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 18 points, while Dejounte Murray had 17.
Heat 120, Thunder 108
Tyler Herro scored 26 points as host Miami dealt Oklahoma City its eighth straight loss, matching its season worst.
Miami, which led by 29 points in the third quarter before resting its starters, also got 19 points each from Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson. Adebayo added nine rebounds. The Eastern Conference-leading Heat improved to 26-9 at home this season.
The Thunder got 26 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 25 points from Tre Mann. Gilgeous-Alexander, who is playing with a sore right ankle, made 9 of 17 shots. Mann, a Florida native, scored 20 points in a brilliant second quarter.
Jazz 121, Clippers 92
Rookie Jared Butler scored a career-high 21 points, Jordan Clarkson had 20 and Rudy Gobert amassed 19 points and 16 rebounds as Utah blew out Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.
The game was all but over by halftime after the Jazz roared into the break on a 30-4 run, having scored the final 20 points of the second quarter. The 41-point period put Utah ahead 71-34 at halftime.
Robert Covington scored 18 points, but the Clippers didn’t have any starters reach double figures while taking their third consecutive loss.
Knicks 100, Wizards 97
Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson each had double-doubles as host New York moved into 11th place in the Eastern Conference by staving off a furious late rally from Washington.
Randle had 18 points — tying him with RJ Barrett for the team high — and 17 rebounds. Robinson finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds as he became the only player in the NBA this season with 10 offensive rebounds in two games.
Kyle Kuzma finished with 18 points for the Wizards after hitting three 3-pointers in the final two minutes. Kristaps Porzingis also had 18 points, and he grabbed 11 rebounds.
Lakers 128, Raptors 123 (OT)
Avery Bradley hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 32.5 seconds to play in overtime, then added two free throws as Los Angeles ended host Toronto’s five-game winning streak.
Russell Westbrook had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, including the tying 3-pointer to force overtime, as the Lakers ended their three-game skid. LeBron James led the Lakers with 36 points.
Scottie Barnes had 31 points and 17 rebounds for the Raptors. Gary Trent Jr. added 23 points and Fred VanVleet chipped in 20.
76ers 111, Mavericks 101
Joel Embiid had 32 points, eight rebounds and five steals to lift host Philadelphia past Dallas.
James Harden added 24 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds and Tobias Harris scored 14 points for the Sixers. Georges Niang contributed 12 points and Matisse Thybulle had 10.
Jalen Brunson led the Mavericks with 24 points while Luka Doncic had 17 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds but shot 5-for-20 from the field. The Sixers snapped Dallas’ three-game winning streak.
Nets 128, Trail Blazers 123
Kevin Durant scored 38 points as Brooklyn rallied in the second half to beat visiting Portland.
Seth Curry returned from a sore left ankle to score 27 points and Bruce Brown chipped in 15 of his 17 points in the second half as the Nets erased an 82-64 third-quarter deficit to win for the fifth time in six games.
Josh Hart scored 25 points for the Blazers, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Brandon Williams added 24 and Drew Eubanks had 18.
Hawks 120, Grizzlies 105
Bogdan Bogdanovic broke out of a shooting slump to score a season-high 30 points as short-handed host Atlanta ended Memphis’ four-game winning streak.
Clint Capela and Delon Wright scored 18 points apiece for Atlanta, which played without star Trae Young (left quad contusion) and John Collins (plantar fascia tear). Wright started in place of Young and recorded six assists and a season-high five steals. Atlanta won for the fourth time in five games.
Ja Morant returned to the Memphis lineup after missing one game with back soreness and scored 29 points. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 15 points apiece, and Steven Adams grabbed 11 rebounds.
Pacers 121, Rockets 118
Malcolm Brogdon scored 25 points and Goga Bitadze added 23 on perfect 9-of-9 shooting as Indiana rallied to knock off host Houston.
Christian Wood posted 32 points and 13 rebounds while recording a career-high seven assists for the Rockets. Jalen Green added 20 points and six assists, while Kevin Porter Jr. chipped in 19 points.
The Rockets seized a 106-97 lead on a Jalen Green alley-oop dunk with 5:56 to play. Brogdon subsequently drilled a 3-pointer that keyed the comeback. When Bitadze scored through a foul at the 1:06 mark, the Pacers pulled even at 115-115. Bitadze gave Indiana the lead for good with 19.2 seconds left when he converted an offensive rebound.
Suns 129, Bulls 102
Devin Booker scored 28 points to help Phoenix cruise to a victory over visiting Chicago.
Deandre Ayton recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds as the NBA-best Suns won for the eighth time in the past 10 games. Phoenix has averaged 132.3 points while winning their past four games by an average of 22.3 points.
DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points and Nikola Vucevic added 16 as Chicago lost for the eighth time in the past 10 games. Coby White tallied 14 points and Zach LaVine had 12 points and nine assists but was just 1-of-7 shooting.
-Field Level Media