Kevin Durant scored 23 of his 32 points in the second half as the visiting Brooklyn Nets rallied for a 110-98 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
The Knicks, who led by 21 points in the third quarter, held a 96-94 edge on a free throw by RJ Barrett with 5:11 remaining but were outscored 16-2 the rest of the way.
Durant shot 11 of 22 and completed a triple-double by collecting 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Nets moved within one game of the seventh-place Cleveland Cavaliers, whom they host on Friday.
Kyrie Irving added 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help Brooklyn earn its seventh straight win over New York. Alec Burks scored 24 points for the Knicks, who managed just 31 points after halftime.
Mavericks 131, Pistons 113
Luka Doncic had 26 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds and Dallas reached the 50-win mark by pulling away from host Detroit.
Doncic failed to reach the 30-point mark for the first time in six games, but the Mavericks won for the fifth time in their past six games. Jalen Brunson supplied 24 points, six rebounds and three assists for Dallas.
Cade Cunningham had 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Pistons, whose three-game winning streak ended.
Hawks 118, Wizards 103
Atlanta kept pace with Brooklyn in its duel for the No. 8 playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, riding Trae Young’s 30-point performance to a victory over visiting Washington.
Young used 11-for-12 accuracy at the free-throw line as the foundation for his 34th 30-point game of the season. He also found time for a game-high 11 assists, completing his 41st double-double of the year, his 20th with at least 30 points.
The Wizards, who were coming off a win at Minnesota on Tuesday but have been eliminated from playoff contention, fell despite a 26-point, 18-rebound night from Kristaps Porzingis.
Jazz 137, Thunder 101
Bojan Bogdanovic topped all scorers with 27 points as Utah cruised to a win over Oklahoma City in Salt Lake City.
Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson and Hassan Whiteside each contributed double-doubles for the Jazz, who clinched a Western Conference playoff spot on Tuesday. Gobert finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, while Whiteside, his backup, added 15 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Clarkson chipped in 18 points and 10 assists.
Jaylen Hoard, on a 10-day contract, led Oklahoma City with 23 points. Isaiah Roby and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl each scored 18 as the Thunder saw their two-game winning streak end.
Celtics 117, Bulls 94
Jaylen Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum added 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lift visiting Boston past Chicago.
Al Horford made all seven of his shots — including three from 3-point range — and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won three in a row and 14 of their past 17 games.
DeMar DeRozan scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half for the Bulls, who have lost three in a row and 14 of their past 20.
Clippers 113, Suns 109
Norman Powell scored 24 points in his return and Paul George had 19 as Los Angeles held off visiting Phoenix, which sat four starters.
Powell, who missed 22 games with a broken foot, came back to open 6 of 6 from the field. He wound up 6 of 10 while playing 23 minutes. George topped the 15,000-point mark for his career as the Clippers held on after leading by 39 points.
Ish Wainright scored 20 points and Aaron Holiday added 16 for the Suns, who played without Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder. The absences were characterized as a maintenance day after the Suns wrapped up a franchise-record 63rd victory Tuesday.
–Field Level Media