Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists for his 29th triple-double of the season, leading the host Denver Nuggets to a 116-111 victory over the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Jamal Murray added 19 points, Bruce Brown scored 18, Michael Porter Jr. supplied 15 and Aaron Gordon 12 for Denver. The Nuggets have won four straight.
Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points, Paul Reed and Tobias Harris had 16 points apiece and Jalen McDaniels finished with 14 for Philadelphia. Joel Embiid (calf) and James Harden (Achilles) didn’t play for the Sixers, who have lost three straight but nearly rallied to win it late in the game.
Denver led by 20 in the fourth quarter before the 76ers’ bench led a 16-2 run that sliced the deficit to 112-107 with 1:23 left. Philadelphia’s Montrezl Harrell dunked to make it 114-111 with 28.9 seconds left, but Jeff Green hit two free throws with 13.3 seconds left to seal it.
Knicks 137, Rockets 115
Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 40 points and New York snapped a three-game skid with a victory over visiting Houston.
Quickley finished 14 of 18 from the field and drilled five 3-pointers to lead the Knicks. Julius Randle added 26 points while RJ Barrett scored 19 to co-author the runaway win over the Rockets, who fell to 0-4 on their current five-game road trip. Kevin Porter Jr. led Houston with 26 points while Jalen Green added 19 points and Kenyon Martin Jr. 18. Rookie Jabari Smith Jr. had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds plus six assists.
Bucks 126, Pistons 117
Khris Middleton poured in 34 points and Milwaukee continued its dominance over host Detroit.
Milwaukee has won 17 of the last 18 meetings against its Central Division rival and swept the four-game season series. Detroit has lost its last six games and 17 of its last 18 outings. Brook Lopez had 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Jevon Carter supplied 22 points for the Bucks.
Jaden Ivey led the Pistons with 32 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the game with right knee soreness, and Jrue Holiday took the night off due to personal reasons.
Mavericks 127, Pacers 104
Luka Doncic scored 25 points and Jaden Hardy added 20 off the bench as Dallas snapped a four-game losing streak with a rout of short-handed Indiana in Indianapolis.
Kyrie Irving had 16 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 13 for Dallas, which shot 56.6 percent from the field and 18 of 37 (48.6 percent) from 3-point range. Indiana trailed by as many as 31 and lost its third straight despite rookie Bennedict Mathurin’s 26 points.
Indiana played without guards Buddy Hield (non-COVID illness) and Chris Duarte (sore left ankle), as well as All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and center Myles Turner (injury management). Dallas outscored the Pacers 40-27 in the third quarter and carried a commanding 25-point lead into the final period.
Suns 117, Jazz 103
Devin Booker scored 24 points and Phoenix dominated the fourth quarter to finish off a victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.
Deandre Ayton added 14 points with eight rebounds, Chris Paul dished out 10 assists with nine points, and three reserves scored in double figures — Terrence Ross (13 points), Cameron Payne (12) and Bismack Biyombo (11) — to help the Suns keep momentum from a win over Philadelphia on Saturday.
The Jazz, paced by Lauri Markkanen’s 25 points and nine rebounds, erased a double-digit deficit and even took a lead late in the third quarter before falling apart in the fourth en route to their fourth loss in a row. Utah was outscored 33-22 in the final 12 minutes at home after playing well in the middle quarters to turn the game competitive.
Pelicans 124, Trail Blazers 90
Brandon Ingram scored 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting and New Orleans stretched its winning streak to five games with a romp over host Portland.
CJ McCollum added 17 points and eight assists and Trey Murphy III had 16 points as the Pelicans sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, but are within two games of fourth. Keon Johnson matched his career high of 20 points for the Trail Blazers, who lost for the third straight game.
Jonas Valanciunas capped a 9-0 run with a tip-in as New Orleans pushed the lead to 30 at 71-41 with 7:16 left in the third quarter. The Pelicans led 89-55 entering the final stanza. Murphy converted a three-point play to make it a 35-point margin with 7:38 left in the game as New Orleans cruised to the finish.
Timberwolves 119, Kings 115
Jaden McDaniels helped make up for the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns with a team-high 20 points, and Minnesota won by holding host Sacramento to a season-low five 3-pointers.
Even with Towns given the game off to rest on the second night of a back-to-back, all five Minnesota starters scored in double figures, propelling the Timberwolves to a fourth consecutive win.
De’Aaron Fox had a game-high 29 points, Domantas Sabonis scored 24 and Harrison Barnes added 19 for the Kings, who lost for the third time in their past five outings.
Clippers 124, Bulls 112
Nicolas Batum scored 24 points and Kawhi Leonard added 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Los Angeles moved closer to securing a top-six spot in the Western Conference with a victory over visiting Chicago.
Eric Gordon added 22 points as the Clippers won for the third time in their past five games. The win came without Paul George (knee), Marcus Morris Sr. (illness) and Norman Powell (shoulder).
Zach LaVine scored 23 points and DeMar DeRozan added 21 for the Bulls, who entered with five victories in their past six games. Chicago went 2-1 on a West Coast trip.
—Field Level Media
