Jalen Williams scored a season-high 26 points, Ajay Mitchell added 23 and Kenrich Williams also posted a season high with 21 off the bench as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied from 21 points down in the second half to stun the host Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Friday night.
The Thunder outscored the Grizzlies 71-51 in the second half and extended their winning streak over Memphis to 16 consecutive games (including playoffs). The Grizzlies haven’t defeated the Thunder since Dec. 7, 2022. Memphis lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Oklahoma City trailed by 11 (114-103) with 3:32 to go when it began a furious comeback. The Thunder went on a 14-0 run and grabbed their first lead since the opening quarter on a 3-pointer by Kenrich Williams with 1:07 to go. Lu Dort capped the run with two free throws with 58.9 seconds left for a 117-114 advantage. Memphis got a putback basket from Jock Landale with 37.3 seconds left but a frantic 15-foot jumper by Cedric Coward in the closing seconds was blocked by the Thunder’s Alex Caruso.
Oklahoma City, the reigning NBA champion, played without starters Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (ankle), Chet Holmgren (shin) and Isaiah Hartenstein (calf). Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 23 points and GG Jackson tied a season high with 18 off the bench. Santi Aldama contributed 15 points and Landale had 13 points and 10 boards for Memphis, which was without Ja Morant (calf) for the fourth straight game.
Trail Blazers 111, Rockets 105
Toumani Camara scored a career-high 25 points and Portland spoiled Kevin Durant’s milestone night with a home victory over Houston.
Durant recorded 30 points and 12 rebounds and swished a 3-pointer with 7:57 left in the third quarter to move into seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Durant passed legendary Wilt Chamberlain (31,419). His career point total sits at 31,435 after Houston’s second consecutive loss in Portland.
Shaedon Sharpe had 20 points and eight rebounds while Deni Avdija also scored 20 points for the Trail Blazers, who have won five straight and seven of their past eight. Amen Thompson recorded 24 points and nine rebounds and Reed Sheppard added 20 points off the bench for Houston.
Warriors 137, Kings 103
De’Anthony Melton ignited a 15-0 burst bridging the third and fourth quarters with six straight points, Stephen Curry went for a game-high 27 and Golden State won a second in a row to start a lengthy homestand, thumping Sacramento in San Francisco.
Melton finished with 19 points off the bench and Curry completed his second double-double of the season with a game-high 10 assists for the Warriors, who ran up a season-best 39 assists on their 52 baskets.
DeMar DeRozan had a team-high 24 points for the Kings, who played Golden State evenly for the first 33 minutes, gaining an 84-all tie on a Dennis Schroder 17-footer with 3:13 left in the third quarter.
Celtics 125, Raptors 117
Payton Pritchard had a game-high 27 points to go with five rebounds and eight assists to help host Boston end Toronto’s three-game winning streak.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics as Boston won for the fifth time in six games. Sam Hauser hit five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points in the win.
The Raptors played without two of their top players as forwards Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes both missed the game with injuries. Jakob Poeltl missed his ninth straight game with a back injury. The short-handed Raptors received 19 points from both Ja’Kobe Walter and RJ Barrett.
76ers 103, Magic 91
Tyrese Maxey scored 14 of his 29 points in the third quarter, fueling visiting Philadelphia to a victory over Orlando.
Maxey has totaled 92 points to help the 76ers win two of the three meetings in the season series. Joel Embiid collected 22 points and nine rebounds and Paul George added 18 and nine, respectively, as the 76ers sealed their fifth win in six games by outscoring the Magic 20-12 in the fourth quarter.
Desmond Bane scored 23 points and Anthony Black added 21 as Orlando has traded wins and losses over its last 13 games. Paolo Banchero recorded 14 points and 11 rebounds and Wendell Carter Jr. added 13 and eight, respectively.
Bucks 105, Lakers 101
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 21 points and made two key defensive plays in the closing seconds as visiting Milwaukee finished off a victory over Los Angeles.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points, Kyle Kuzma had 13 against his former team and Bobby Portis had 11 points with 12 rebounds as the Bucks improved to 2-1 on a four-game road trip. Milwaukee is 5-2 since Dec. 27.
LeBron James scored 26 points with nine rebounds and 10 assists, while Luka Doncic scored 24 points with nine rebounds and nine assists as the Lakers dropped to 4-6 since Dec. 20. Doncic was 4 of 6 from 3-point range and 4 of 19 on two-point shots.
Suns 112, Knicks 107
Devin Booker scored 31 points, Dillon Brooks added 27 and the pair combined for nine 3-pointers as host Phoenix held off New York.
Grayson Allen made four free throws and Brooks hit two in the final 13.5 seconds after the Knicks overcame a 12-point deficit to tie the game at 101 with three minutes remaining. Jalen Brunson scored 27 points and made five 3-pointers and Karl-Anthony Towns had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost five of six.
The Suns have won five straight at home and broke a three-game losing streak to the Knicks. Phoenix is 22-11 since starting 1-4 in coach Jordan Ott’s first season.
Clippers 121, Nets 105
James Harden scored 31 points and Los Angeles started quickly in a wire-to-wire victory over Brooklyn in New York.
Harden scored 22 in Los Angeles’ dominant first half and finished with his ninth 30-point game this season. He made 10 of 13 shots and handed out six assists as the Clippers finished with 28 assists and won for the eighth time in 10 games. Kawhi Leonard added 26 on 9-of-15 shooting for his 19th straight game with at least 20 points.
Rookie Egor Demin led the Nets with 19 points and hit five 3-pointers, but Michael Porter Jr. struggled with 18 points on 7-of-20 shooting (0-of-9 from 3-point range). Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas added 13 apiece as Brooklyn was unable to capitalize on getting 19 offensive rebounds.
Hawks 110, Nuggets 87
Jalen Johnson scored 29 points, Dyson Daniels finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Atlanta outscored host Denver 36-12 in the fourth quarter to pull out a win.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 22 points for Atlanta, which was playing its first game since four-time All-Star Trae Young was dealt to Washington. CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert, acquired in the Young deal, have yet to join the team.
Peyton Watson scored 25 points, Aaron Gordon added 14, Zeke Nnaji finished with 12, and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Hunter Tyson scored 10 each for Denver, which was 4-for-17 shooting in the fourth quarter. The Nuggets played without Jamal Murray and Spencer Jones, both nursing left ankle injuries, in addition to the absences of Nikola Jokic (left knee), Jonas Valanciunas (calf) and Cameron Johnson (right knee).
Pelicans 128, Wizards 107
Trey Murphy III scored 15 of his game-high 35 points in the third quarter and Zion Williamson dominated at times in both halves en route to 31 points as New Orleans decisively ended its nine-game losing streak with a win at Washington.
Murphy III, who also had eight rebounds, missed Wednesday’s loss at the Atlanta Hawks due to lower-back spasms. He demonstrated his readiness right away with two 3-pointers in the opening minutes and finished with seven treys overall.
This was the second time this season the Pelicans stopped a nine-game losing streak. Williamson shot 85.7% (12-for-14) from the field while Derik Queen, who returned home after starring as a freshman at Maryland last year, registered his second career triple-double. He had 14 points to go with a team-high 16 rebounds and 12 assists.
–Field Level Media
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