Evan Fournier, pressed into duty with RJ Barrett scratched due to illness just before the opening tip, scored a season-high 17 points and drained three key 3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the New York Knicks completed a comeback from a 21-point first quarter deficit and beat the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 108-97.
Julius Randle (24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) flirted with a triple-double for the Knicks, who recorded their biggest comeback win of the season and won for the first time when trailing after three quarters. Jalen Brunson had 21 points and seven assists while Quentin Grimes added 13 points. Miles McBride came off the bench to score 14 points while fellow reserve Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 rebounds.
Joel Embiid (31 points, 14 rebounds), Tobias Harris (14 points, 10 rebounds) and James Harden (12 points, 12 assists) recorded double-doubles for the 76ers, who had their eight-game road winning streak snapped. De’Anthony Melton scored 14 points while Tyrese Maxey had 12 points and P.J. Tucker added 10.
Magic 119, Hornets 113
Double-doubles by Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. carried Orlando to a victory against host Charlotte.
Banchero had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Carter added 20 points and 12 boards. Markelle Fultz (16 points) and Franz Wagner (14) also scored in double figures for the Magic, whose 18 offensive boards contributed to a decisive 52-39 rebounding advantage.
LaMelo Ball racked up 33 points and Terry Rozier had 24 points — but only three in the second half — for Charlotte, which shot 54.2 percent from the floor. Ball ended a three-minute scoring drought late in the fourth with a pair of baskets to make it 112-107. Carter’s free throw and Wagner’s layup pretty much put the game out of reach, particularly after Washington failed to complete a three-point play at the 33-second mark.
Cavaliers 122, Pacers 103
Darius Garland scored 24 points to lead all five starters in double figures as Cleveland used a dominant second quarter to beat Indiana in Indianapolis.
Isaac Okoro had a season-high 20 points and Donovan Mitchell added 19 for Cleveland, which has won two straight for the first time since early January. Indiana lost for the 12th time in its last 14 games despite a strong outing from Myles Turner, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers closed the first half on a 26-9 run and held a 16-point advantage at the break. Mitchell scored nine points during the pivotal stretch. Indiana outscored Cleveland 38-36 in the third quarter but still trailed by 14 entering the final period.
Raptors 106, Grizzlies 103
Toronto outscored Memphis 28-17 in the fourth quarter to rally for a thrilling road victory.
Pascal Siakam finished with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Scottie Barnes added 16 points and seven rebounds. Chris Boucher had 13 points off the bench in the first half and finished with a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds). Seven of eight players who saw the floor scored in double figures for Toronto.
Desmond Bane led Memphis with 26 points. Jaren Jackson got in early foul trouble but finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Santi Aldama added 15 points, all in the first half.
Timberwolves 128, Nuggets 98
Anthony Edwards scored 20 points, D’Angelo Russell added 18 points and 10 assists and Minnesota led short-handed Denver wire-to-wire in a rout in Minneapolis.
Four of Minnesota’s five starters scored in double figures, with Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert joining Edwards and Russell with 14 and 16 points, respectively. The Timberwolves shot 48 of 87 from the floor (55.2 percent) compared to just 34 of 71 (47.9 percent) for the Nuggets.
Michael Porter Jr. led all Nuggets scorers with 22 points, while Christian Braun added 19. Bruce Brown scored 16 and both Ish Smith and Zeke Nnaji scored 10 off the bench.
Pelicans 136, Kings 104
Trey Murphy III scored a season-high 30 points and host New Orleans defeated Sacramento in a battle of short-handed teams.
The Pelicans played without three starters — Zion Williamson (hamstring), Brandon Ingram (toe soreness) and Jonas Valanciunas (quad soreness) — and the team won its second game in two nights after a 10-game losing streak. CJ McCollum added 24 points, Willy Hernangomez had 22 points and 16 rebounds and Naji Marshall scored 17 in New Orleans’ highest-scoring game of the season.
Malik Monk scored 16, Domantas Sabonis had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Trey Lyles scored 12 points and Davion Mitchell, Kevin Huerter and Keon Ellis added 10 each to lead the Kings.
–Field Level Media
