Luka Doncic scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and passed the 5,000-point plateau for his career as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 110-90 Friday night.
With his seventh point of the game, Doncic, who played only 23 minutes, became the fourth-youngest NBA player (22 years, 67 days) to reach 5,000 points. Only LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony were younger.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 20 points as the Mavericks won for the ninth time in their past 12 games. Josh Richardson contributed 18 points for Dallas.
The Cavaliers have lost nine straight games and will host the Mavericks on Sunday in the second of two games between the teams this season. Collin Sexton scored 27 points for the Cavaliers.
Bulls 121, Celtics 99
Nikola Vucevic scored 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished 10 assists to record his fourth career triple-double, and host Chicago cruised to a win over Boston. Chicago’s Coby White finished with 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 7-of-12 success from beyond the 3-point arc. Zach LaVine also scored 25 for the Bulls, who won for the second time in as many nights after dropping their previous four games in a row.
Kemba Walker scored a season-high 33 points to lead Boston. Evan Fournier contributed 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but Jayson Tatum made only 3 of 15 shots from the field and finished with nine points.
Heat 121, Timberwolves 112
Tyler Herro scored 27 points to spark host Miami during a victory over Minnesota.
Herro, who missed the previous six games due to an injury to his right foot, sparked the Heat with 14 first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. Jimmy Butler also returned after missing the Heat’s previous game and he finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals as Miami climbed up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Minnesota lost its third in a row despite Karl-Anthony Towns’ 27 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Suns 128, Knicks 105
Jae Crowder had a strong return after missing eight consecutive games with an ankle injury by making six 3-pointers and finishing with 18 points in Phoenix’s win over visiting New York.
Deandre Ayton led Phoenix with 26 points and 15 rebounds, and Chris Paul had 17 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Phoenix remains one game behind Utah in the Western Conference standings with only five games remaining.
Julius Randle led New York with 24 points and 11 rebounds, and RJ Barrett finished with 23 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Rose chipped in 17 points and six assists. New York sits fourth in the Eastern Conference, one-half game better than Atlanta.
Trail Blazers 106, Lakers 101
Damian Lillard recorded 38 points and seven assists to lead Portland to a crucial victory over visiting Los Angeles.
CJ McCollum scored 21 points for the Trail Blazers, who moved into sixth place in the Western Conference, while dropping the Lakers into seventh place. The top six finishers avoid the play-in round.
Anthony Davis registered 36 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Lakers, who lost for the eighth time in the past 10 games. Alex Caruso scored 18 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 for Los Angeles.
76ers 109, Pelicans 107
Joel Embiid had 37 points and 13 rebounds and host Philadelphia held on for a victory over short-handed New Orleans.
It was Embiid’s 16th game this season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. Tobias Harris scored 17 points, Seth Curry added 16 and George Hill had 11 for the Sixers, who won their seventh in a row.
Embiid made two free throws and Harris connected on a trey from the corner for a 109-107 Sixers advantage with 1:10 to go. The Pelicans turned the ball over in the final few seconds down by two. Jaxson Hayes led the Pelicans with 19 points, one of seven Pelicans players in double figures.
Bucks 141, Rockets 133
Red-hot shooting, balanced scoring and a dominant third quarter powered host Milwaukee past Houston for its fifth consecutive win.
Brook Lopez led seven Milwaukee players in double figures with 24 points and added seven rebounds, and Khris Middleton netted 23 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds. The Bucks shot 53.7 percent from the floor.
Kenyon Martin Jr. led the Rockets with 26 points and added seven rebounds. Kelly Olynyk was next with 23 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, and Armoni Brooks scored 19 points off the bench.
Jazz 127, Nuggets 120
Bojan Bogdanovic scored a career-high 48 points, Jordan Clarkson had 21 points and eight assists, and Utah beat Denver in Salt Lake City.
Rudy Gobert had 14 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz, who won their fourth consecutive game.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 31 points while Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who have dropped two of the past three.
Spurs 113, Kings 104
DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Lonnie Walker IV made key baskets in the decisive stretch as San Antonio defeated host Sacramento.
Dejounte Murray added 22 points and seven assists for San Antonio. The 10th-place Spurs snapped a five-game losing streak and moved their lead over the 11th-place New Orleans Pelicans to 2 1/2 games the final position in the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Terence Davis led the Kings with 24 points. Hield and Delon Wright scored 17 points each, with Wright contributing nine assists. Richaun Holmes hit for 15 points and Maurice Harkless added 12.
Hornets 122, Magic 112
Terry Rozier posted 28 points and LaMelo Ball pumped in 27 points as Charlotte topped visiting Orlando. P.J. Washington tacked on 23 points and nine rebounds for the Hornets, who had lost four of their previous six games.
Charlotte’s Jalen McDaniels scored 13 points and Bismack Biyombo added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Orlando lost for the ninth time in its past 12 games despite Dwayne Bacon’s 26 points and Cole Anthony’s 20 points. R.J. Hampton had 16 points off the bench.
—Field Level Media
