Powered by 24 points by CJ McCollum and 22 from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the visiting Atlanta Hawks soared to their 11th straight win, taking down the Dallas Mavericks 135-120 on Wednesday night.
Atlanta’s win streak is now tied for the third-longest by any NBA team this season. The loss was Dallas’ 10th in a row at home.
Dyson Daniels added 19 points for Atlanta and Jalen Johnson finished an assist shy of a triple-double, contributing 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to move the Hawks into a tie with the Miami Heat a half-game back of the Orlando Magic for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
The Mavericks were led by Daniel Gafford, who had 24 points off the bench on 9-of-10 shooting. P.J. Washington had 23 points and Cooper Flagg had 17 but committed a game-high six turnovers.
Lakers 124, Rockets 116
Luka Doncic came a rebound shy of a 40-point triple-double, LeBron James added 30 points while missing only one shot and visiting Los Angeles claimed its second victory in three days over Houston to clinch the three-game season series.
Deandre Ayton (16 points) and Austin Reaves (14 points, eight assists) rounded out a balanced attack that resulted in the Lakers shooting 60.5% to secure their seventh straight win. Los Angeles outscored the Rockets 35-24 in the fourth quarter behind 10 points from Doncic and nine from James.
Alperen Sengun paced the Rockets with 27 points and 10 assists, and Amen Thompson added 26 points and 11 rebounds. With the loss, Houston fell a game behind Minnesota for fourth place in the Western Conference.
Celtics 120, Warriors 99
Behind a 32-point performance, Jaylen Brown moved into 10th place on Boston’s all-time scoring list in a comfortable win over visiting Golden State.
Jayson Tatum added 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who extended their winning streak to three games. Boston also received a 19-point performance from Payton Pritchard.
Pat Spencer and Gary Payton II each came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points for the Warriors, who have lost six of their last seven and eight of 10. Golden State fell to 6-13 during Steph Curry’s current absence.
Thunder 121, Nets 92
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 points in three quarters as Oklahoma City raced out to a big lead and easily extended its winning streak to 10 games with a rout of host Brooklyn.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 20 for the 130th straight game to extend his NBA record, reaching the mark on a drive to the hoop early in the third after Oklahoma City took a 60-24 lead by halftime. Jared McCain surpassed Gilgeous-Alexander by scoring a season-high 26 off the bench on 9-of-16 shooting. Aaron Wiggins added 17, Isaiah Joe chipped in 13, Chet Holmgren contributed 11 and Ajay Mitchell finished with 10.
The Nets sat Michael Porter Jr. (sprained left ankle/hamstring) for a fourth straight game and lost Noah Clowney to a sprained right wrist in the opening quarter. Brooklyn lost its fifth straight and for the 15th time in 17 games in its second consecutive lopsided loss.
Timberwolves 147, Jazz 111
Ayo Dosunmu scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished six assists as Minnesota cruised to a 147-111 win over Utah in Minneapolis.
Rudy Gobert registered a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who won for the second time in as many nights and for the third time in four games thanks to a 75-point second half.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 41 points on 17-for-31 shooting from the field to lead the Jazz. Ace Bailey returned from the league’s concussion protocol to score 17 points and make five 3-pointers.
Trail Blazers 127, Pacers 119
Deni Avdija had 32 points and 11 rebounds to help Portland stave off Indiana in Indianapolis.
Donovan Clingan added 28 points and 13 rebounds, Toumani Camara scored 17 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in 15 points and eight assists. Robert Williams III had 10 rebounds off the bench for Portland, which has won consecutive games for the first time since before the All-Star break (Feb. 6-9).
Ivica Zubac had 18 points for the Pacers followed by Jalen Slawson’s 17 and Aaron Nesmith’s 15. Quenton Jackson added 13 points, while Jay Huff had 11 and Jarace Walker posted 10 points and seven rebounds as Indiana extended its franchise-record losing streak to 15 games.
Raptors 139, Bulls 109
RJ Barrett scored 23 points while Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Ja’Kobe Walter chipped in 18 apiece as visiting Toronto routed Chicago.
The Raptors shot 57.1% from the floor to cruise in the opener of a five-game road trip. Seven players scored in double figures for Toronto, which led by as many as 38 points on the way to its third straight win.
Matas Buzelis put up 19 points and seven rebounds as the Bulls lost for the third time in four games.
Pelicans 124, Clippers 109
Saddiq Bey scored 25 points and Trey Murphy III added 23 as New Orleans beat visiting Los Angeles in the opener of a back-to-back set between the teams.
Dejounte Murray scored 17 points and dished a season-high 11 assists to help the Pelicans continue their recent surge with their sixth consecutive home victory and their fourth victory in five games overall after rallying from an 18-point first-quarter deficit.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds while John Collins logged 18 points as the Clippers lost their third consecutive game but remain in eighth place in the Western Conference standings by a half-game.
Grizzlies 125, Nuggets 118
Ty Jerome hit five 3-pointers on his way to 21 points, and Taylor Hendricks’ play off the bench helped key the defense as host Memphis stunned Denver.
Jerome also flirted with a triple-double, grabbing a team-high nine rebounds and dishing a team-leading nine assists. Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 19 points and GG Jackson II scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Nikola Jokic came just one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with game-highs of 29 points and 14 rebounds, but an aggressive Memphis defensive strategy forced the three-time Most Valuable Player into 10 turnovers — nearly half of Denver’s 19 giveaways. Christian Braun and Cam Johnson scored 26 and 20 points, respectively.
