(Reuters) Anthony Davis had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans won their season-high fourth game in a row by holding off the Houston Rockets, 115-113, on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans .
The Pelicans, who won for the seventh time in their last eight games, had won three consecutive games on four previous occasions, but each time lost as they tried to win their fourth in a row.
With less than 10 seconds remaining, Pelicans All-Star DeMarcus Cousins was helped off the court after suffering a non-contact left leg injury. ESPN, citing league sources, reports that the Pelicans believe he has a torn ACL and will be out for the season.
Cousins had his second triple-double in three games, finishing with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
Bucks 116, Nets 91
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to action after sitting out two games with a sore right knee and scored 41 points in Milwaukee’s rout of Brooklyn.
Antetokounmpo hit 14 of 20 shots and made 10 of 11 from the free throw line. He flirted with a triple-double, as well, grabbing 13 rebonds to go with seven assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots as the Bucks, playing without point guard Malcolm Brogdon (strained left calf), improved to 2-0 since firing head coach Jason Kidd Monday afternoon.
Cavaliers 115, Pacers 108
LeBron James scored 26 points as part of a triple-double and J.R. Smith had 23 points as Cleveland rolled past Indiana.
James added 11 assists and 10 rebounds and Smith hit a season-high seven 3-pointers as the Cavaliers beat Indiana for the first time in four meetings this season.
Center Tristan Thompson had 10 points and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, while replacing Jae Crowder in the starting lineup. Coach Tyronn Lue had promised a shake-up after the Cavs lost 10 of their previous 13 games.
Trail Blazers 107, Mavericks 93
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 49 points and Portland broke things open in the fourth quarter en route to a win over Dallas.
Lillard scored 29 points and McCollum added 20 for the Trail Blazers (27-22), who won their fourth straight game and gave coach Terry Stotts his 250th career coaching victory. Ed Davis had a big game off the bench, scoring 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting, grabbing 13 rebounds and blocking three shots.
Clippers 109, Grizzlies 100
Lou Williams registered 40 points, 10 assists and four steals to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Memphis.
Milos Teodosic scored a career-best 18 points for the Clippers, who halted a three-game slide. DeAndre Jordan contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, Blake Griffin had 14 points and eight boards and Wesley Johnson matched his career best of six steals.
Mario Chalmers had 17 points and 10 assists, Jarrell Martin also scored 17 points and Dillon Brooks had 15 for the Grizzlies, who lost for the third time in the past four games.
76ers 97, Spurs 78
Joel Embiid had 18 points and 14 rebounds as Philadelphia stunned San Antonio. It was Embiid’s fifth double-double in the last seven games.
Ben Simmons scored 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting, Dario Saric added 15 and Justin Anderson had 12 for the Sixers, who moved three games above .500 and won for just the second time in San Antonio since 1986. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot also had 10.
The Sixers had dropped 13 in a row in San Antonio and hadn’t posted a victory since January of 2004. Randy Ayers was the Sixers’ coach that season when he took over for Larry Brown.
Lakers 108, Bulls 103
Los Angeles used a series of late runs to down Chicago for its fourth straight victory without star rookie Lonzo Ball.
Brandon Ingram scored 25 points for Los Angeles, which has been without Ball for its last six games since he sprained his left knee on Jan. 13.
Despite Ball’s absence, the Lakers were able to overcome a hot 3-point shooting Bulls squad that rallied from two double-digit deficits. Chicago used the hot hand from outside to go on a 16-1 run in the fourth quarter as Nikola Mirotic and Denzel Valentine each hit a pair of triples to put their team ahead 92-90. Mirotic, who scored 18 points, and Valentine, who had 16, each made four 3-pointers. The Bulls made 17 of 36 from behind the arc.
Knicks 107, Suns 85
Center Enes Kanter had 20 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double of the season and Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points as New York ended a seven-game road trip with a win over Phoenix.
Reserve Trey Burke tied a season high in his second straight 18-point game, Tim Hardaway Jr. had 15 points and Courtney Lee had 11 for the Knicks (22-28), who never trailed while breaking a three-game losing streak.
Jazz 97, Raptors 93
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points while Rudy Gobert chipped in 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead Utah to a win over Toronto.
Ricky Rubio added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists. Rubio’s final basket turned out to be a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left. DeMar DeRozan had a look from mid-range on the other end, but it missed.
Jonas Valanciunas scored 28 points and DeRozan added 19 to lead Toronto. Utah rallied late in the fourth quarter after shooting 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range.
Hornets 121, Hawks 110
Kemba Walker scored eight points in a 64-second span late in the game as Charlotte overcame Atlanta.
Walker finished with 29 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the field, including five 3-pointers.
Walker had 10 consecutive of his team’s points before Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s lay-in stretched the lead to 116-110 with 1:24 left. Marvin Williams’ 3-point basket added to the rally.