Khris Middleton’s 25 points led six Dallas scorers in double figures, and the Mavericks snapped a 10-game skid with their 134-130 defeat of the Indiana Pacers on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Pascal Siakam scored a game-high 30 points for the Pacers, who lost their third straight game.
Dallas, winless since Jan. 22, led the Pacers nearly wire-to-wire – but never by more than 11 points. The Mavericks built their largest lead early in the fourth quarter before Indiana whittled the deficit down to 117-114 with 5:37 remaining.
Middleton led the Dallas response, scoring seven of the Mavericks’ points over a 9-5 spurt that gave them some breathing room down the stretch.
Klay Thompson added three triples on seven attempts off the bench, scoring all nine of his points from beyond the arc. Thompson just missed joining the balanced contingent of double-figure point-scoring Mavericks, which included P.J. Washington with 23 points.
Thunder 121, Cavaliers 113
Isaiah Joe had 22 points and a career-high five steals and Cason Wallace had 20 points and a career-high 10 assists to lift Oklahoma City to a win over visiting Cleveland.
Joe and Wallace were in the starting lineup with the Thunder down their two star guards in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams. Oklahoma City hit 21 3-pointers in the game, including 8 of 12 in the first quarter, and shot 51.2% from outside the arc.
The loss snapped the Cavaliers’ seven-game winning streak, while Oklahoma City has won four of its last five. James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill each scored 20 for the Cavaliers.
Knicks 105, Bulls 99
Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and 11 rebounds and Jalen Brunson added 19 points and nine assists to lift visiting New York to a win against slumping Chicago.
Chicago has lost nine games in a row, its longest losing streak since a 10-game skid in the 2018-19 season. Sunday marked the narrowest defeat during the slide. Matas Buzelis paced the Bulls with 15 points while Guerschon Yabusele posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Landry Shamet (16 points), Josh Hart (11), and Bridges (11) also scored in double figures in the game for the Knicks.
Hawks 115, Nets 104
Jalen Johnson scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to help Atlanta overcome an 11-point deficit and defeat visiting Brooklyn.
The Hawks trailed 102-91 with eight minutes remaining and outscored the Nets 24-2 from there. Atlanta took the lead 105-104 with 2:28 remaining on a 3-pointer by C.J. McCollum and Johnson extended the lead with a three-point play and another basket. Johnson finished 11-for-22 from the field with 12 rebounds for his 38th double-double. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jock Landale each scored 17 and McCollum had 16 points and eight rebounds.
Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Nic Claxton scored 15 with eight rebounds and five assists. The Nets did not score in the final 5:19.
Raptors 122, Bucks 94
Immanuel Quickly scored 32 points and dished nine assists to lead Toronto to a victory over host Milwaukee.
Brandon Ingram added 22 with six assists for Toronto, which won its fourth contest in its last five. Sandro Mamukelashvili also scored 15 and Jamal Shead contributed 12 points, six rebounds and six assists off the bench. The Raptors shot 46.8% from the field and limited themselves to just eight turnovers.
Milwaukee’s three-game win streak came to an end. With Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) still not on the floor, Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins each had 21 points to lead the way while Cam Thomas added 15 and Myles Turned scored 14. Porter added 10 assists.
Warriors 128, Nuggets 117
Brandin Podziemski sparked a late 15-0 flurry, Moses Moody led a balanced attack with 23 points and short-handed Golden State used 21 3-pointers to overcome a triple-double by Nikola Jokic and shock Denver in San Francisco.
Podziemski scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 18 for the game. He also found time for team highs of 15 rebounds and nine assists. Al Horford scored a season-high 22 points, De’Anthony Melton 20, Gui Santos 17, Payton 15 and Will Richard 11 for the Warriors, who outscored the Nuggets 63-24 from beyond the arc.
Jokic had game highs of 35 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists for Denver, which lost for the second time in three games since the All-Star break. The triple-double was Jokic’s 21st of the season. Jamal Murray chipped in with 21 points, Christian Braun 18 and Bruce Brown 12 for the Nuggets, who lost despite a 25-11 advantage in made free throws.
Hornets 129, Wizards 112
LaMelo Ball made a career-high 10 3-pointers in a 37-point performance as visiting Charlotte snapped a two-game skid with a win over Washington.
Ball shot 12 of 20 from the field and 10 of 15 from behind the arc for Charlotte, which led by as many as 29 and made a season-high 25 3-pointers, one shy of its franchise record. Kon Knueppel made five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points, and Brandon Miller scored 22 while shooting 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Bilal Coulibaly led Washington with 17 points. Jaden Hardy scored 16 points, Kyshawn George and Jamir Watkins added 13 apiece, and Tre Johnson and Will Riley each finished with 11. The Hornets completed a four-game season sweep of the Wizards while shooting 49.4% from the field and 54.3% (25 of 46) from 3-point range.
Celtics 111, Lakers 89
Jaylen Brown scored 32 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, Payton Pritchard added 30 points with eight assists and Boston continued its February surge by beating host Los Angeles.
Derrick White scored 12 points with eight assists as the Celtics’ defense held the Lakers to 39.1% from the floor, while improving to 8-1 since Jan. 30. Boston shot 48.2% while opening 2-0 on a four-game road trip against Western Conference teams. Neemias Queta had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics.
Luka Doncic scored 25 points and LeBron James added 20 for Los Angeles. Austin Reaves had 15 points as the Los Angeles star trio fell to 8-4 when all three were on the court this season. James, the NBA’s all-time points leader, moved past the 43,000-point mark in his record 23rd season.
76ers 135, Timberwolves 108
Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points and Philadelphia snapped a four-game skid with a win over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
VJ Edgecombe added 24 points, Quentin Grimes had 19 and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 18. The Sixers shot 21 of 37 from 3-point range, led by that quartet of Edgecombe (6 of 7), Grimes (5 of 8), Maxey (4 of 7) and Oubre (3 of 7).
Anthony Edwards posted 28 points for the Timberwolves, whose three-game winning streak came to an end. Jaden McDaniels chipped in with 19 points, and Julius Randle scored 18 for the hosts, who were outscored in every quarter.
Trail Blazers 92, Suns 77
Donovan Clingan scored 23 points and added 13 rebounds, Jerami Grant scored 23 points, and visiting Portland overcame the early departure of leading scorer Deni Avdija to beat short-handed Phoenix.
Toumani Camara had 12 points and Clingan added four blocked shots for the Trail Blazers. Avdija appeared to suffer a recurrence of a low back injury that kept the All-Star forward out for five of the previous eight games. He grabbed his back on a play under the Portland basket and was removed 59 seconds into the game.
Collin Gillespie scored 18 points with four 3-pointers and Jalen Green had 13 for the Suns, who had played without injured Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks and Grayson Allen, their top three scorers. They have lost three of five. Both teams had a season low in points.
Magic 111, Clippers 109
Desmond Bane scored 36 points on 13-of-19 shooting to lead Orlando past Los Angeles at Inglewood, Calif.
Paolo Banchero had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Wendell Carter Jr. added 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Magic. Tristan da Silva had 13 points and Anthony Black added 11 for Orlando.
Bennedict Mathurin missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard had 37 points on 14-of-25 shooting and collected eight rebounds for Los Angeles while topping 20 points in his 36th consecutive appearance. Mathurin had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists off the bench for the Clippers.
