Ja Morant notched franchise records with 52 points and 22 field goals to lift the host Memphis Grizzlies to a 118-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
The impressive display came two days after Morant scored a franchise regular-season-record 46 points in a victory over the Chicago Bulls. His previous career high for any contest was 47 in a playoff loss to the Utah Jazz last season.
Morant provided a number of signature moments on Monday, including an emphatic dunk over Jakob Poeltl late in the second quarter and a buzzer-beating jumper to give the Grizzlies a 68-58 lead at halftime. De’Anthony Melton scored 15 points for Memphis, which recorded its 11th win in 14 outings overall and prevented San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich from tying Hall of Famer Don Nelson’s NBA record for regular-season coaching victories (1,335). Lonnie Walker IV led the Spurs with 22 points.
Raptors 133, Nets 97
Rookie Scottie Barnes tied a career high with 28 points and collected a career-best 16 rebounds as Toronto routed Brooklyn in New York.
The Raptors, still without Fred VanVleet (knee), bounced back from losing by a combined 59 points in a weekend back-to-back at Charlotte and Atlanta — Toronto prevailed even though Pascal Siakam was held to eight points on 2-of-14 shooting from the floor.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Nets with 15 points while Bruce Brown and rookie Cam Thomas added 14 apiece for Brooklyn, which allowed 31 points off 23 turnovers. The Nets also were coached by lead assistant Jacque Vaughn after announcing Steve Nash was placed in health and safety protocol shortly before the opening tip.
Bucks 130, Hornets 106
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his fifth consecutive double-double as Milwaukee defeated visiting Charlotte to snap a two-game losing streak.
The two-time MVP amassed 26 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four blocks plus a 14-of-14 performance from the free-throw line. Jrue Holiday contributed 21 points and Bobby Portis finished with 20 to go along with 10 rebounds.
LaMelo Ball paced the Hornets with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Terry Rozier scored 17 while handing out eight assists, and Kelly Oubre Jr. notched 17 points off the bench.
Heat 112, Bulls 99
Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent scored 20 points each as host Miami beat Chicago in a matchup between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, who scored 18 points, had his streak of consecutive 30-point games snapped at 10. DeRozan finished one game short of Michael Jordan’s franchise record for consecutive 30-point contests. Chicago’s Ayo Dosunmu also had 18 points.
Gabe Vincent and Tyler Herro scored 20 points apiece for the Heat, while Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo each had 15.
Timberwolves 127, Cavaliers 122
D’Angelo Russell fired in a team-high 25 points as Minnesota ended Cleveland’s eight-game home winning streak.
Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 12.4 seconds left that snapped a 122-122 tie. Towns won the league’s 3-point contest during All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.
Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels each added 17 points and Patrick Beverley had 11 for the Timberwolves, who shot a sizzing 54.7 percent from the field. Kevin Love led all scorers with 26 points for the Cavaliers, who hadn’t dropped a home game since Jan. 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Magic 119, Pacers 103
Wendell Carter Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his fifth consecutive double-double, and Markelle Fultz made a successful season debut, leading host Orlando past Indiana.
Fultz, the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, finished with 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting, six assists and two rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. He had not played in almost 14 months due to a left ACL injury.
Tyrese Haliburton had 23 points and seven assists for Indiana, which lost its fifth straight on the road. The Pacers’ Buddy Hield added 18 points.
Kings 131, Thunder 110
De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and added 10 assists to lead Sacramento to a victory at Oklahoma City. The Kings snapped a four-game losing streak, while the Thunder lost for the eighth time in 10 games and the fifth consecutive time at home.
Sacramento interim coach Alvin Gentry inserted Trey Lyles into the starting five for the first time since Lyles was acquired Feb. 10 from Detroit. Lyles had 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting after he put up just 12 total points in his first four games with the Kings.
Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a game-high 37 points, making 12 of 16 from the floor and adding 10 assists. He has scored 30 or more points in each of his three games back since missing the final 10 games before the All-Star break with a sprained ankle.
—Field Level Media