Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their seventh consecutive victory, a 127-103 rout over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
It was the first of back-to-back games in Oklahoma City for the teams that entered the day in the top two spots in the Western Conference. The loss dropped the Nuggets into third place, percentage points behind the Los Angeles Lakers.
The West-leading Thunder have won 16 of their last 18 games and snapped the Nuggets’ two-game winning streak. Gilgeous-Alexander his NBA-best 11th 40-point game of the season.
Nikola Jokic, coming off an historic performance (31 points, 21 rebounds and 22 assists) in Friday’s overtime win over Phoenix, came up just short of his 30th triple-double of the season. He finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, along with three blocks.
Clippers 111, Kings 110 (OT)
James Harden scored 29 points, and Kawhi Leonard added 17 with the game-winning basket at the overtime buzzer as Los Angeles helped its playoff prospects by rallying for a victory over visiting Sacramento at Inglewood, Calif.
Ivica Zubac scored 22 points with 14 rebounds and Derrick Jones Jr. also had 17 for the Clippers, who were without leading scorer Norman Powell (hamstring) for the ninth time in the past 10 games. Los Angeles also was without head coach Tyronn Lue because of back pain, while assistant coach Brian Shaw led the team.
DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points with 10 assists and Zach LaVine added 30 points for the Kings, who lost for the second time in their last seven games and fell to 8-6 since LaVine made his debut with the team on Feb. 5.
Suns 125, Mavericks 116
Devin Booker scored 24 points as visiting Phoenix beat severely underhanded Dallas.
Kevin Durant posted 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Bradley Beal contributed 19 points and Grayson Allen added 17 off the bench as 11th-placed Phoenix closed the gap on 10th-ranked Dallas in the West by moving within 1 1/2 games. Naji Marshall scored 34 points, moving past his previous career-best haul of 29 set two nights earlier against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Klay Thompson had 26 points for the Mavericks, who suffered their fifth successive loss and saw their injury crisis deepen with starter Brandon Williams (hamstring) and Dwight Powell (head) both sitting out the fourth quarter.
Grizzlies 107, Pelicans 104
Ja Morant scored 32 points, Desmond Bane had 30 to go with nine rebounds and eight assists, and Memphis held on to defeat host New Orleans.
Scotty Pippen Jr. added 12 points for the Grizzlies, who played without leading scorer Jaren Jackson Jr. (ankle) for the third consecutive game.
Trey Murphy III scored 27 points, Karlo Matkovic had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Jordan Hawkins and Kelly Olynyk scored 12 points each, and Jose Alvarado had 11 points and 11 assists for the Pelicans. New Orleans rested Zion Williamson and fourth-leading scorer CJ McCollum.
Timberwolves 141, Spurs 124
Anthony Edwards scored 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting, and Minnesota pulled away to defeat San Antonio in Minneapolis.
Naz Reid added 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting off the bench for Minnesota, which won its fifth game in a row. Julius Randle flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo scored 17 off the bench.
De’Aaron Fox scored 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, to lead San Antonio. Harrison Barnes contributed 15 points for the Spurs, who lost for the seventh time in their past nine games.
76ers 126, Jazz 122
Quentin Grimes scored 25 points and Philadelphia received a huge effort from its reserves in a victory over visiting Utah.
While Grimes scored more points than the other four starters combined, the Sixers’ bench poured in 78 points, led by Lonnie Walker IV (25), Jared Butler (15) and Adem Bona (14). Bona added 15 rebounds and Walker had 11.
Kyle Filipowski tied his career high with 25 points, but Utah still lost its 12th consecutive road game. Keyonte George also had 25 points for the Jazz, while Isaiah Collier chipped in 13 points and 10 assists.
Pistons 119, Trail Blazers 112
Cade Cunningham scored 28 points and Tobias Harris added 20 points and nine rebounds to help Detroit notch a victory over host Portland.
Jalen Duren registered 18 points and 12 rebounds and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 13 points and seven rebounds as Detroit snapped a two-game slide. Dennis Schroder added 12 points and Malik Beasley had 10 as the Pistons completed a two-game season sweep of the Trail Blazers.
Anfernee Simons scored 34 points for Portland and posted his third 30-point effort in the last four games. Jerami Grant had 25 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the fourth time in their past five games. Scoot Henderson scored 15 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 12 for Portland, which was outrebounded 54-41.
Cavaliers 112, Bucks 100
Max Strus had 17 points to lead eight Cavaliers who scored at least nine as Cleveland won at Milwaukee.
It was the Cavaliers’ 14th consecutive victory, one shy of their season-best streak they started the season with. Donovan Mitchell scored 15, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland added 13 apiece and Jarrett Allen tallied 11. Strus also led the team with nine rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks, who lost their second in a row, with 30 points and nine rebounds. Damian Lillard added 22 while Kyle Kuzma scored 14.
–Field Level Media
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