(The Sports Xchange) – Point guard Mike Conley had 24 points and five assists and the Memphis Grizzlies held off the Houston Rockets for a 115-109 victory.
The Grizzlies led 103-92 with 3:22 left in the game, but the Rockets pulled within three points with 12 seconds left when forward Ryan Anderson, who scored a season-high 31 points, hit his eighth three-pointer.
A free throw from Conley and a basket from Memphis center Marc Gasol (16 points, five rebounds, four assist, two blocks) completed the scoring.
The Grizzlies led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter.
Hornets 103, Bulls 91
Nicolas Batum scored his first triple-double of the season as the Charlotte Hornets beat the Chicago Bulls 103-91.
Batum finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his seventh career triple-double and his third in two seasons with the Hornets.
The Hornets (17-13) led by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter and never let the Bulls closer than six in the final four minutes.
Kemba Walker also scored 20 points for the Hornets.
Chicago lost their cool at the end, with Robin Lopez and Taj Gibson both being ejected with 38.1 seconds remaining. Lopez was called for a flagrant foul against Charlotte’s Marvin Williams, and Gibson picked up a technical.
Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 26 points.
Magic 109, Lakers 90
Point guard Elfrid Payton scored 25 points and added nine assists in
leading the Orlando Magic to a 109-90 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers (11-22) lost their 12th game in the last 13, closing a rocky, seven-game road trip with six losses.
Magic forward Serge Ibaka recorded his second consecutive double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Guard Jordan Clarkson led the Lakers with 18 points.
Cavaliers 119, Nets 99
Kyrie Irving scored 13 points, passed for 10 assists and tied his career high with six steals in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 119-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
LeBron James scored 19 points and Kevin Love returned with 14 points and 15 rebounds after missing the last two games with a sore knee.
Thunder 117, Celtics 112
Russell Westbrook posted his 14th triple-double of the season and scored 12 of his 43 points in the final 1:36 to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 117-112 victory over Boston, ending the Celtics’ four-game winning streak.
Westbrook also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 11 assists in his third straight 40-point game — surviving a battle with Isaiah Thomas, who had 34 points, 24 in the second half, and 10 assists.
Rookie Domantas Sabonis scored 17 of his career-high 20 points in the first half and Enes Kanter had 20 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Thunder.
Bucks 123, Wizards 96
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Malcom Brogdon set career highs in scoring 39 and 17 points respectively to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 123-96 rout of the Washington Wizards.
Antetokounmpo made 12 of 19 shots and 15 of 17 free throw attempts while pulling down eight rebounds with six assists in 33 minutes of work.
Jabari Parker added 21 points with eight boards while Greg Monroe finished with 12 and Tony Snell scored 11.
Washington got 18 each from John Wall and Otto Porter while Markieff Morris kicked in 14 and Bradley Beal 10.
Pelicans 91, Heat 87
Anthony Davis scored 28 points and grabbed a season-high 22 rebounds while the New Orleans Pelicans erased a 14-point deficit in the final 15 minutes to defeat the Miami Heat.
Jrue Holiday’s driving layup put the Pelicans up 90-85 with a minute left and he made a foul shot with 9.2 seconds left to give New Orleans a 91-87 lead. Holiday finished with 22 points and six assists.
Goran Dragic scored a team-high 23 points for the Heat, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Hassan Whiteside had 10 points and 18 rebounds.
Kings 109, Timberwolves 105
DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 32 points as the Sacramento Kings won for the fourth time in the past five games, rallying in the final quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Anthony Tolliver added 17 for Sacramento, who trailed by six with 10 minutes to play, but kept hitting from long range to overtake the Wolves.
Minnesota, who were seeking their first three-game winning streak of the season, was plagued by a fourth-quarter fade yet again.
The loss came despite a career-best 40 points from Zach LaVine. He tied a career mark with seven three-pointers.
Spurs 110, Trail Blazers 90
Kawhi Leonard scored 33 points to lead the short-handed San Antonio Spurs to a 110-90 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Patty Mills came off the bench to add 23 points and LaMarcus Aldridge collected 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Spurs (24-6), who won for the sixth time in seven games.
CJ McCollum, Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard each scored 16 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost their fifth straight game.
San Antonio was without veterans Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who were given the night off.
Hawks 109, Nuggets 108
Paul Millsap hit two free throws with six seconds left and grabbed a key rebound in the last second as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Denver Nuggets.
Millsap finished with 20 points and eight rebounds for the Hawks.
Danilo Gallinari had 21 points and a season-high 11 rebounds and Wilson Chandler had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.
Suns 123, 76ers 116
The Phoenix Suns erased a 14-point deficit, pulling away late for a 123-116 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Guard Eric Bledsoe had 24 points and 11 assists while guard Devin Booker had 23 points for the Suns, with his three-pointer with 3:05 left giving the Suns a decisive 112-100 lead.
Forward Joel Embiid had 27 points and seven rebounds for the Sixers. Guard Sergio Rodriguez added 21 points.
Raptors 104, Jazz 98
Kyle Lowry scored 24 of his season-high 36 points in the second half to lift the Toronto Raptors to a 104-98 victory over the Utah Jazz.
DeMar DeRozan added 24 points and Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors.
Gordon Hayward scored 23 points to lead Utah while Trey Lyles chipped in 19 points off the bench.
Mavericks 90, Clippers 88
Harrison Barnes hit a floater in the lane with 3.7 seconds remaining as Dallas defeated the Clippers.
Barnes finished with 24 points to lead the Mavericks, who welcomed back Dirk Nowitzki (right Achilles strain) for the first time in almost a month. Nowitzki finished with 17 points and four rebounds in 15 minutes, all in the first half.
Wesley Matthews added 16 points and Deron Williams collected 12 points and nine assists for Dallas.