Karl-Anthony Towns scored 11 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter, Mike Conley buried a lead-extending 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Golden State Warriors 104-101 on Tuesday night in San Francisco in a game marred by three ejections.
Warriors stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green and Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels were all kicked out of the contest. The trio of ejections occurred just 1:43 into the game, when Thompson and McDaniels grabbed a hold of each other’s jersey on their way down the court after Anthony Edwards missed a 3-pointer.
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was one of the first to separate the two, but in doing so, prompted Green to retaliate by placing the Minnesota big man in a headlock. Shortly thereafter, the referees — after conferring with the NBA review officials in New Jersey — decided to eject Thompson, McDaniels and Green.
Edwards finished with 20 points for Minnesota. Brandin Podziemski led Golden State with 23 points, and Dario Saric scored 21. Stephen Curry sat out due to a sore right knee.
Nuggets 111, Clippers 108
Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, Aaron Gordon scored 20 points and host Denver stretched Los Angeles’ losing streak to six.
Paul George led the Clippers with 35 points, James Harden scored 21 and Kawhi Leonard contributed 15 for Los Angeles, which is 0-2 in the in-season tournament. The Nuggets are 2-0 in West Group B.
The Clippers are 0-5 in games Harden has played since he was acquired from Philadelphia late last month.
Lakers 134, Grizzlies 107
D’Angelo Russell scored 24 points, Rui Hachimura added 23 and host Los Angeles increased its winning streak to three games while improving to 2-0 in the NBA in-season tournament by routing Memphis.
Anthony Davis had 19 points with 11 rebounds, while Austin Reaves and LeBron James each added 16 points for Los Angeles, which is 5-0 at home this season.
Santi Aldama scored 24 points for the Grizzlies, who split their trip to Los Angeles after defeating the Clippers on Sunday. Already without Steven Adams (knee), Brandon Clarke (Achilles), Derrick Rose (ankle) and Ja Morant (suspension), the Grizzlies lost Marcus Smart to an ankle injury and Luke Kennard to knee soreness.
Hawks 126, Pistons 120
Dejounte Murray scored 32 points and dished out 10 assists as visiting Atlanta handed Detroit its ninth straight loss.
Saddiq Bey supplied 19 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic tossed in 17 for the Hawks in their NBA in-season tournament opener. Atlanta, which finished the game with a 10-3 run, played without Trae Young, who missed the contest for personal reasons.
Marvin Bagley III led Detroit with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Ausar Thompson had 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Pistons, who are 0-2 in the tournament.
Heat 111, Hornets 105
Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Miami won its sixth straight game by holding off host Charlotte in the final game of the Heat’s four-game road trip.
Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 11 rebounds and Duncan Robinson made four 3-pointers on the way to 18 points for Miami. Butler made 10 of 14 shots from the field and 11 of 14 free throws.
P.J. Washington drained six treys and netted 32 points to pace the Hornets. Teammate LaMelo Ball went for 28 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.
Pacers 132, 76ers 126
Tyrese Haliburton had 33 points and 15 assists, Obi Toppin added 27 points and Indiana defeated host Philadelphia in the NBA in-season tournament, snapping the 76ers’ eight-game winning streak.
Myles Turner scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Pacers. Turner hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired for a 122-116 lead with 3:03 remaining. Haliburton then sealed the victory with his seventh trey for a 127-118 advantage with 1:03 left.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 39 points and 12 rebounds while hitting all 17 of his free throws. De’Anthony Melton added 30 points and Tyrese Maxey had 27.
Thunder 123, Spurs 87
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead host Oklahoma City over San Antonio.
It was the first regular-season showdown between two of the league’s most prominent rookies — San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, and Chet Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft who missed all of last season with a foot injury.
Holmgren scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting and compiled seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. Wembanyama had a season-low eight points on 4-of-15 shooting, but he added 14 rebounds and two blocks.
Pelicans 131, Mavericks 110
Brandon Ingram and rookie Jordan Hawkins scored 25 points each to lead six New Orleans scorers in double figures and the host Pelicans ended a five-game losing streak by routing Dallas in an NBA in-season tournament game.
Zion Williamson and Herbert Jones scored 19 each, Naji Marshall had 16 and Dyson Daniels 10 as the Pelicans had a season-high point total and turned the tables on the Mavericks, who beat them 136-124 on Sunday night in New Orleans.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kyrie Irving scored 17 each while Luka Doncic had 16 for the Mavericks.
Jazz 115, Trail Blazers 99
Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting to lead Utah past Portland in Salt Lake City.
Lauri Markkanen added 21 points and nine rebounds as Utah won its second straight game. The Jazz also improved to 2-0 in Group West A play of the NBA’s in-season tournament. Portland fell to 1-1.
Jerami Grant scored 26 points and Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fourth straight contest. Utah limited Portland to 13 points in the final quarter.
Nets 124, Magic 104
Spencer Dinwiddie scored a season-high 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, as Brooklyn pulled away down the stretch for a victory over Orlando in an NBA in-season tournament game in New York.
The Nets improved to 2-1 in East Group C and won their second straight game thanks to Dinwiddie, who helped Brooklyn turn a two-point, fourth-quarter lead into a double-digit victory. Mikal Bridges added 21 points for Brooklyn.
Franz Wagner led Orlando with 21 points, but the Magic scored 18 points in the final quarter of their first tournament game. Paolo Banchero added 19 points.
–Field Level Media