Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks get the better of James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets; the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets cruise to blowout wins; another Russell Westbrook triple-double leads the Washington Wizards to victory; Cleveland Cavaliers edge Philadelphia 76ers in overtime
Luka Doncic pulled the strings as the Dallas Mavericks brought the Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets’ eight-game winning streak to an end on Saturday night.
The NBA-leading Utah Jazz followed up Friday night’s loss with a convincing victory over the Orlando Magic, the Cleveland Cavaliers ousted the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime, and triple-doubles from Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook inspired the Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards, respectively, to wins.
Saturday night’s NBA results
| Dallas Mavericks 115-98 Brooklyn Nets |
| Cleveland Cavaliers 112-109 Philadelphia 76ers (OT) |
| New Orleans Pelicans 114-117 San Antonio Spurs |
| Indiana Pacers 107-110 New York Knicks |
| Utah Jazz 124-109 Orlando Magic |
| Denver Nuggets 126-96 Oklahoma City Thunder |
| Minnesota Timberwolves 112-128 Washington Wizards |
Dallas Mavericks 115-98 Brooklyn Nets
Doncic scored 27 points as the Mavericks pulled away in the second half for a 115-98 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who saw their season-high winning streak snapped at eight games.
Dallas, who held Brooklyn to 34 points after halftime, won for the eighth time in 11 games and bounced back nicely from Thursday’s 111-97 loss in Philadelphia.
Doncic shot 11 of 21 from the floor, added seven assists and six rebounds and had plenty of help. Kristaps Porzingis returned from missing three games with a back injury and added 18 points.
Jalen Brunson contributed 14, Tim Hardaway Jr. chipped in 13 and Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 12 as the Mavericks shot 52.3 percent and hit 14 3-pointers.
The Nets, missing Kyrie Irving (right shoulder) and Kevin Durant (left hamstring), were led by James Harden who posted 29 points, 25 in the first half, and shot 9 of 21 overall and committed six turnovers. Jeff Green and Bruce Brown added 12 points apiece as Brooklyn shot 40.7 percent and was held under 100 points for just the third time this season.
Having trailed by 10 the Nets got within 68-64 by halftime on Harden’s floater, before Dallas pulled away in a six-minute spell in the third with a run to extend their lead to 91-76. After the Mavericks took a 94-82 lead into the fourth, they finished it off when Finney-Smith’s layup made it 106-84 with 7:37 to play.
Cleveland Cavaliers 112-109 Philadelphia 76ers (OT)
Collin Sexton scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 25 points and nine assists and the depleted Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the host Philadelphia 76ers 112-109 in overtime.
Isaac Okoro had 15 points and eight rebounds, Jarrett Allen contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Damyean Dotson had 10 points for the Cavaliers. Cleveland had only nine players available with the likes of Kevin Love, Taurean Prince and Cedi Osman all out, but still managed to win their third in a row.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers with 42 points and 13 rebounds, Ben Simmons added 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and Shake Milton had 11 points, while Tobias Harris was missing (right knee contusion).
The Cavaliers pulled out to a 47-34 lead with 6:10 left in the second quarter, before they managed 17 fast-break points to hold a surprising 56-47 lead at halftime thanks in large part to Sexton’s 16 points.
Embiid kept the Sixers relatively close with 21, but his team struggled as a group and made only three of 11 shots from beyond the arc. Philadelphia cut the deficit to just 72-70 heading into the fourth, during which Sexton’s three-pointer gave Cleveland a 92-90 advantage with 1:46 remaining.
On the Sixers’ next possession Embiid threw down a dunk to tie the game at 92 before missing a short jumper from the baseline at the buzzer as the game went to overtime. Garland’s floater extended Cleveland’s advantage to 101-96 with 1:17 to go in overtime as the visitors saw out the job despite late Embiid layup to cut the lead to three with 18.5 seconds left.
Utah Jazz 124-109 Orlando Magic
Donovan Mitchell led seven Utah players in double figures with 31 points as the visiting Jazz bounced back after a rare loss to beat the Orlando Magic 124-109.
Mitchell hit five three-pointers and dished out six assists for Utah, who turned a four-point halftime lead into a blowout victory. The Jazz hit 17 of 45 threes and shot 52.9 percent overall to win for the 12th time in 14 games. Utah has fallen to defeat at Miami on Friday night.
Jordan Clarkson continued his Sixth Man of the Year quest with 18 points off the bench, All-Star center Rudy Gobert contributed 12 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Joe Ingles added 17 points and seven assists, and Georges Niang fired in 13 points. The Jazz also got 10 points apiece from Bojan Bogdanovic and Derrick Favors.
All-Star Nikola Vucevic was a one-man wrecking crew for Orlando, scoring 34 points with eight rebounds and four assists, while Evan Fournier chipped in 16 points.
Utah took a 72-59 lead thanks to an 8-0 run, which included six points from Mitchell, and then stretched that to a 79-61 advantage after another Mitchell three and free throws from Bogdanovic.
Orlando worked the lead down to eight at 90-82 after Mo Bamba hit two threes early in the fourth quarter, but the Jazz responded with consecutive baskets by Miye Oni (3), Ingles and Clarkson, and soon the lead had blossomed to an insurmountable 19.
Denver Nuggets 126-96 Oklahoma City Thunder
Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists alongside Jamal Murray’s 26 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 126-96 blowout of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Denver poured it on from the start, scoring the game’s first 13 points and not looking back, as they swept the season series. The Nuggets led by as many as 23 points in the first quarter and were up 38-20 entering the second.
Michael Porter Jr. got Denver going early, scoring 14 in the first, as the Nuggets had 11 first-quarter assists on 14 made buckets. Denver finished the game shooting 55.1 percent from the field with 30 assists.
Oklahoma City got the lead down to 11 by midway through the second quarter, with a 16-7 run fuelled by their reserves. But then Denver finished the half with an 18-7 run to regain control for good and by halftime Jokic was already closing in on a triple-double, with 10 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Midway through the third quarter, Jokic finished off his eighth triple-double of the season, second in the league behind Washington’s Russell Westbrook.
Porter finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Will Barton added 15 and Monte Morris 13.
Darius Bazley scored 22 points to lead Oklahoma City, shooting eight of 16, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 13 points as the only other Thunder starter to score in double figures.
New Orleans Pelicans 114-117 San Antonio Spurs
DeMar DeRozan had 32 points and 11 assists to lead a balanced San Antonio attack as the shorthanded Spurs held off the New Orleans Pelicans 117-114 in their first home game in 18 days.
The Spurs led by 10 heading into the final period, but New Orleans clawed back to within 114-111 on a layup by Zion Williamson with 57.8 seconds to play.
Dejounte Murray added a free throw and DeRozan’s dunk with 11.4 seconds left pushed San Antonio’s lead to six points, and the Spurs held on.
LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points off the bench for San Antonio, who have won three of their past four games and for the first time since they had four games postponed because of COVID. Murray scored 18, Lonnie Walker IV had 17, and Patty Mills added 13 for the Spurs.
San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson, Derrick White, Rudy Gay, Devin Vassell, and Quinndary Witherspoon were held out because of health and safety protocols.
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 29 points. Williamson added 23 points and 14 rebounds, Eric Bledsoe scored 19, Lonzo Ball hit for 16, and Willy Hernangomez added 12 points for New Orleans.
The Pelicans led throughout the first quarter before San Antonio surged ahead in the period’s final minute and took a 33-32 lead. The Spurs then dominated the second period, taking a nine-point lead on two free throws by Aldridge with 24.1 seconds left and entering the break up 67-61.
Williamson’s put-back layup pulled the Pelicans within 71-70 at two and a half minutes into the third quarter, but San Antonio reeled off a 9-2 run, and pushed its lead to as many as 12 points before taking a 93-83 advantage into the final 12 minutes.
Indiana Pacers 107-110 New York Knicks
Julius Randle collected 28 points and 10 rebounds to lift the New York Knicks to a 110-107 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Derrick Rose had 17 points and a season-high 11 assists for the Knicks, who overcame an early 16-point deficit to post their sixth win in eight games. The victory also snapped a four-game home losing skid to Indiana.
Doug McDermott scored 20 points and T.J. McConnell added 17 points and 12 assists for the Pacers, who have lost eight of their last 11 games. McConnell drew his second start of the season in place of Malcolm Brogdon, who missed his first game of the campaign due to a sore right knee.
Barrett made a three-pointer and converted a three-point play to give New York a 99-98 lead with 3:32 left in the fourth quarter. The teams traded short runs before Nerlens Noel and Randle each sank a pair of free throws to claim a 108-103 lead with 29.7 seconds left.
Domantas Sabonis banked home a three-pointer to pull within two with 25 seconds left and Barrett missed both free throws at the other end of the court. Indiana’s bid to forge a tie was thwarted as Frank Ntilikina stole the ball and converted both free throws to seal the win.
McDermott scored nine quick points to begin the third to stake Indiana to a 65-64 lead with 7:28 remaining in the quarter. Randle answered with a personal run of his own, making three straight baskets for New York as the club entered the fourth with an 81-78 advantage.
Minnesota Timberwolves 112-128 Washington Wizards
Backcourt mates Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook continued to terrorise opponents, combining for 53 points, 22 rebounds and 18 assists in the Washington Wizards’ 128-112 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Beal finished with a game-high 34 points while Westbrook recorded a second straight triple-double with 19 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and a game-high 12 assists as the Wizards won for the seventh time in their last eight games.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a team-high 23 points, with 11 rebounds and a team-high five assists to lead Minnesota, who lost their seventh straight.
After a tight battle into the early part of the third quarter, with the Timberwolves leading 67-63, Beal and Westbrook combined for a 9-0 surge that gave the Wizards the lead for good.
Minnesota were still within 74-71 after a Ricky Rubio three-pointer, before Davis Bertans exploded for four triples over the final 5:03 of the period to help Washington seize complete control at 98-81.
The Timberwolves got no closer than 10 in the fourth quarter. Beal topped 30 points for the 20th time in 29 games this season, and found time for eight rebounds and six assists for Washington, who won their fourth straight at home.
Westbrook’s triple-double was the fifth in his last seven games and gave him a league-best 10 for the season. Bertans finished with 19 points, Garrison Mathews 18, Moe Wagner 12 and Alex Len 10 for the Wizards, who completed a season-series sweep of the Timberwolves after recording a 130-109 win at Minnesota on Jan. 1.
Rookie Anthony Edwards backed Towns with 21 points for Minnesota, who completed a winless four-game trip that began in New York, Milwaukee and Chicago. Jarred Vanderbilt had a second Timberwolves double-double with 11 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, while Naz Reid added 17 points, Jaylen Nowell 15 and Josh Okogie 12.
