Stephen Curry won his individual duel with Luka Doncic but the host Dallas Mavericks captured the team competition over the Golden State Warriors in a wild 134-132 victory Saturday night.
Curry bombed in 11 3-pointers en route to 57 points, but they weren’t enough in Golden State’s effort to complete a two-game sweep in Dallas. The Warriors won 147-116 on Thursday night.
Doncic countered with a season-best 42-point performance, including a clutch 3-pointer with 44.5 seconds remaining that opened a seven-point lead.
Curry responded with a 3-pointer with 39.3 seconds left and a three-point play 10.7 seconds later to get Golden State within 131-130, but Maxi Kleber clinched Dallas’ second win in its last nine games with a 3-pointer for a four-point advantage with 6.3 seconds to go. Damion Lee’s tip-in with seven-tenths of a second completed the scoring.
Sacramento Kings 119 – Denver Nuggets 114
Harrison Barnes scored 28 points as host Sacramento defeated short-handed Denver despite Nikola Jokic’s career-high 50 points.
The Kings have won all three meetings this season against the Nuggets and continued their recent hot stretch, winning for the sixth time in their past seven games. Denver has lost three of its past four.
Jokic shot 20 of 33 from the field and carried the load for Denver, which was without Jamal Murray (averaging 19 points and 4.5 assists per game), who sat out with left-knee soreness. Murray has averaged 19 points and 5.4 assists per game.
Los Angeles Lakers 135 – Detroit Pistons 129 (2OT)
LeBron James had 33 points, 11 assists and four steals, and Los Angeles held off visiting Detroit in double overtime.
Anthony Davis scored 30 points, Dennis Schroder contributed 22 points and eight assists and Kyle Kuzma chipped in 14 points for the Lakers, who won their fourth straight.
Jerami Grant had 32 points and reserve guard Josh Jackson scored 25 of his 28 points in the second half but the Pistons lost their fourth in a row. Jackson finished with five 3-pointers. Delon Wright had 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, making all four of his 3-pointers, and 10 assists.
Chicago Bulls 118 – Orlando Magic 92
Zach LaVine scored 39 points and Denzel Valentine added a season-high 20 to boost visiting Chicago to a victory over Orlando and a split of the back-to-back at Amway Center.
The Bulls led by as many as 33 points in the third quarter, their largest advantage of the season, while holding an opponent under 100 points for the first time. Bulls rookie Patrick Williams added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 17 points and eight rebounds. Starting in place of late scratch Evan Fournier (back spasms), Dwayne Bacon added 16 points, while Mo Bamba (14), Terrence Ross (13), Cole Anthony (11) and Frank Mason (10) followed in double figures.
New York Knicks 110 – Portland Trail Blazers 99
Elfrid Payton scored 22 points and RJ Barrett added 18 to lead host New York to a victory over visiting Portland.
Julius Randle (22 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double, while Reggie Bullock scored 10 points and Alec Burks (16 points) and Immanuel Quickley (12 points) each got into double digits off the bench.
Damian Lillard had 29 points and nine assists for the Trail Blazers, while Robert Covington (13 points, 10 rebounds) and former Knicks player Enes Kanter (13 points, 11 rebounds) each had double-doubles. Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 points and Anfernee Simons added 12 points in the losing effort.
Philadelphia 76ers 124 – Brooklyn Nets 108
Joel Embiid had 33 points and nine rebounds to carry host Philadelphia past Brooklyn.
Tobias Harris added 21 points and 12 rebounds while Ben Simmons had 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. The Sixers improved to 13-0 this season with their starting five of Embiid, Simmons, Tobias Harris, Danny Green and Seth Curry.
The Nets were quite short-handed without Kevin Durant due to health and safety protocols and Kyrie Irving because of a sprained right index finger. James Harden led the Nets with 26 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds while Landry Shamet added 22 points and Joe Harris had 14.
San Antonio Spurs 111 – Houston Rockets 106
DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 30 points and repeatedly delivered down the stretch of San Antonio’s win over hot Houston.
DeRozan added eight rebounds and seven assists to his ledger. Five other Spurs scored in double figures.
Wall led the Rockets with 27 points and seven assists while DeMarcus Cousins posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Gordon (26 points) was one of three Houston reserves to score in double figures, with David Nwaba scoring 14 and Danuel House Jr. 12.
Atlanta Hawks 132 – Toronto Raptors 121
Trae Young returned to the Atlanta lineup to score 28 points and help the Hawks defeat Toronto to end their three-game losing streak.
The victory also halted Toronto’s three game winning streak and stopped Atlanta’s 10-game losing streak against the Raptors. The Hawks beat Toronto for the first time since March 10, 2017.
Young was back in the lineup after missing Thursday’s game with a right thigh bruise. He was 14-for-14 at the line and had 13 assists. The Hawks scored only 91 points against Utah without Young.
Milwaukee Bucks 124 – Cleveland Cavaliers 99
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds to propel visiting Milwaukee to a victory over Cleveland.
Antetokounmpo added five assists on Saturday, one day after collecting 33 points and 12 rebounds in the Bucks’ 123-105 victory over Cleveland.
Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton each had 20 points and Bryn Forbes made six 3-pointers to highlight his 18-point performance. The Bucks outscored the Cavaliers by a 65-45 margin in the second half to post their season high-tying fourth win in a row overall.
Oklahoma City Thunder 120 – Minnesota Timberwolves 118
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to help Oklahoma City to a win over visiting Minnesota.
The Thunder led by as many as 23 points in the first half but the Timberwolves led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter before Oklahoma City hit seven consecutive field goals — four of those by Gilgeous-Alexander — to take a 120-118 lead with 1:16 to go, capped by Darius Bazley’s reverse layup.
Minnesota had a chance to tie or take the lead twice more, including on Naz Reid’s drive in the closing seconds, but the Timberwolves couldn’t finish it off and Oklahoma City picked up a split in the back-to-back series.
New Orleans Pelicans 118 – Memphis Grizzlies 109
Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Eric Bledsoe each scored more than 20 points as host New Orleans defeated Memphis Grizzlies.
Williamson scored 29, Ingram had 27 points and 12 rebounds and Bledsoe added 21 points and led a fourth-quarter surge as the Pelicans won their third straight, a first this season, and claimed their fifth victory in the last seven games. Lonzo Ball added 16 points.
The Pelicans, playing on a back-to-back after a 114-113 victory at Indiana on Friday, won the first meeting this season against the Grizzlies, who they swept in three meetings last season.
Jonas Valanciunas returned from a five-game absence after a bout with COVID-19 to score 23, Kyle Anderson added 21 and Ja Morant had 16 to lead the Grizzlies, who lost their third straight.
–Field Level Media
