Jayson Tatum had 27 points and eight rebounds before he was ejected and the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten at home with a 145-113 victory over former coach Ime Udoka and the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Payton Pritchard added 19 to help the Celtics improve to 19-0 at home this season with their 26th straight regular-season home win.

Cam Whitmore scored 22 points and Alperen Sengun had 19 with 10 rebounds for Houston, which dropped to .500 with their third loss in four games.

Udoka was coaching in Boston for the first time since he was suspended, and then fired, on the eve of the 2022-23 season for inappropriate workplace behaviour.

Surging Jazz defeat Lakers

Lauri Markkanen tallied 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help the Utah Jazz stay hot with a 132-123 win over the slumping Los Angeles Lakers.

Collin Sexton scored 27 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 as the Jazz won their fifth straight overall and eighth in a row art home.

With LeBron James out with a left ankle injury, D’Angelo Russell picked up the slack with a season-high 39 points and eight assists. Anthony Davis had a triple-double with 15 points, 15 boards and 10 assists but shot 5 of 21 from the field as the Lakers dropped their sixth in eight games.

Win gives Thunder share of West lead

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 37 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Orlando Magic, 112-100 for tie for the Western Conference lead.

Jalen Williams scored 16 points and Chet Holmgren had 15 to help the Thunder win their fourth straight and match Minnesota with a 27-11 record.

Paolo Banchero had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, but the Magic dropped their third in a row. They played without Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris and Joe Ingles.

Michael Malone revelled in another brilliant display from Nikola Jokic after the Denver Nuggets talisman starred against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jokic finished with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to record his 10th career triple-double against the Pelicans in a 125-113 home victory for Denver on Friday.

The highlight of the two-time MVP's performance was a blind, behind-the-back, over-the-head pass towards the end of the first half, which Aaron Gordon latched onto at the rim.

And coach Malone saw echoes of NBA great Magic Johnson in Jokic's moment of brilliance.

He said: "I didn't imagine the behind-the-back, over-the-head pass.

"When you’re a young kid watching NBA basketball, that's Magic Johnson, that's 'Pistol' Pete Maravich, the guys that just had this pizazz to their game.

"Nikola can beat you a lot of ways and that was definitely one of the best passes I've seen him make."

Jokic explained: "I just saw him for a blink of an eye, and I just wanted to pass to him as soon as I can.

"Because he's open in that moment, not a moment after that. So, that was the quickest way to pass him the ball."

Reflecting on the Nuggets' performance as they bounced back from a defeat to the Utah Jazz, Jokic, who has now had 12 triple-doubles this season and is shooting 79.3 percent over his last eight games, added: "We played a little bit faster, I think.

"We were the ones who were aggressive. We pushed the pace. I think that was the difference."

Zion Williamson scored 30 points for the Pelicans, but New Orleans was left to lament a poor start in which the Nuggets scored 37 points.

Pelicans coach Willie Green said: "They got off to an early start in this building.

"They had a 37-point first quarter to 25, now it's an uphill battle the rest of the game. That's something they do well.

"They get off to early starts and then they played with a lead. We've got to be better starting a game."

The Nuggets (27-13) are third in the Western Conference, four spots ahead of the Pelicans (23-16). Denver has a 16-4 record at home going into their next game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.

Klay Thompson felt the Golden State Warriors "had to win" as they produced an impressive second-half comeback to defeat the Chicago Bulls.

The Warriors rallied for a 140-131 win at United Center, erasing a 13-point halftime deficit with a strong turnaround.

Thompson scored 30 points and there were 27 from Stephen Curry, although 15 of those points came in the fourth quarter as he overcame a slow start.

Golden State improved to 18-20 after Thompson drained seven 3-pointers, with Curry hitting six from deep.

The Warriors dominated the third quarter 48-20 and led by 15 entering the fourth after Chicago had raced ahead in the first half, when they scored a season-high 72 points.

It was a key win with further road games against the Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz up next for the Warriors.

"This was a game we felt we had to win, especially with the upcoming road trip," Thompson said, per NBC Sports Bay Area.

"When our spirit is right, things tend to go our way. Those last two games, we just felt like they were anomalies of the season.

"We have been fighting so hard, with so many close battles lost. We were not discouraged. We know that it is a long season with ebbs and flows.

"Even though we got beat probably a combined 100 [points], we responded."

Curry finished just 8 of 24 from the field, but did have nine assists, while Jonathan Kuminga added 24 points from the bench as Golden State won despite being without Moses Moody, Chris Paul, Gary Payton II and Draymond Green.

Green is working on his conditioning after his recent suspension.

"I can't wait until Draymond is back," added Thompson. "We are not the Warriors without him.

"Hopefully within these next couple of games, maybe Memphis or Utah would be great. I think he makes the biggest impact defensively."

The Bulls fell to 18-22 despite a game-high 39 points from DeMar DeRozan, while Zach LaVine and Coby White scored 25 points each.

"They did a great job adjusting, coming out and changing up the game plan," DeRozan said about Warriors' turnaround. 

"You can never count them out no matter how big of a lead we have."

The Warriors are 12th in the Western Conference as they fight to reach the playoff positions in the standings.

"It is nice to win a game like that where I know individually I can shoot the ball better but we won a game collectively," Curry said. 

"We have a standard that we want to live up to for ourselves. 

"We are not going to win every game, but you just want to play better and I think we did that."

Coach Steve Kerr was impressed with the response after the Warriors were booed in the big home losses against the Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans this week.

He said: "The whole group, the whole team, was just committed to 'Let's go out and win'.

"I'm very proud of them. They have taken a lot of heat; we have all taken a lot of heat this past week. Deservedly so. But this is what you do as a pro. A lot of these guys are champions. You have got to respond, and they did.

"We got off track emotionally and spiritually the last couple of games. Our fans could feel it. We got booed for the first time since I've been here, 10 years. 

"And, as I said, both nights we deserved it because our energy and our competitive spirit were not there. We found that again."

Klay Thompson scored 30 points in one of his best performances of the season, Jonathan Kuminga scored 24 off the bench and the Golden State Warriors beat the Chicago Bulls 140-131 on Friday, bouncing back from a pair of troubling losses.

The Warriors trailed 75-62 at half-time but outscored the Bulls 48-20 in the third quarter to seize the lead.

Golden State flew to Chicago after a 2-5 home-stand that ended with a 141-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Thompson shot 9 of 19 from the field, including 7 for 15 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds and six assists.

Kuminga was 9 for 12 from the floor and made all four of his 3-point attempts. Stephen Curry scored 27 despite 8-of-24 shooting.

DeMar DeRozan 39 for the Bulls, whose three-game winning streak came to an end.

Wembanyama, Spurs spoil LaMelo Ball’s return

Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs routed the Charlotte Hornets 135-99, souring LaMelo Ball’s return from a right ankle injury.

Ball, who last played on Nov. 26, scored 28 points, dished out five assists and had five steals in 27 minutes of action.

Wembanyama needed just 20 minutes on the court to get his numbers as the Spurs won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 2.

Friday’s game was billed as the first matchup between Wembanyama, the first pick in last year’s draft, and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller, but Miller exited after just nine minutes with a lower back contusion.

Jokic has another triple-double as Nuggets beat Pelicans

Nikola Jokic recorded his 12th triple-double of the season and continued his red-hot shooting streak as the Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 125-113.

Jokic finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists and shot 11 for 17 from the field. The reigning Finals MVP is shooting 79.3 percent over his last eight games.

Zion Williamson scored 30 in the loss for the Pelicans.

Chauncey Billups lamented a "perfect storm" as the Portland Trail Blazers fell to a 139-77 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

The 62-point margin of defeat was the joint-fifth largest in NBA history and marked a record victory for the Thunder in franchise history.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander registered 31 points at Paycom Center and Jalen Williams 21, while Josh Giddey had a triple-double.

"It was almost like a perfect storm, to be honest with you," Billups told reporters after the game. "Nothing really worked for us.

"I mean, this was, sheesh – not much really good to say about this one for us. 

"I thought that we generated some pretty good looks in the first half. The fact that we couldn't make pretty much anything deflated us."

Only once before have the Trail Blazers been on the end of a worse defeat – a 65-point loss to Indiana Pacers in 1998.

The victory for Oklahoma City was their third in a row, having also defeated the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards this week.

Coach Mark Daigneault was particularly pleased with how his side adapted after returning home in the early hours of the same day.

"I thought we cleared a couple hurdles tonight," Daigneault said. 

"The first one was the start of the game, how ready we were to play and the energy we were able to generate with a tough schedule.

"It's mind over matter. And then the other hurdle was playing with a lead. I thought we played pretty well with a lead, both ends of the floor."

Oklahoma City's previous record margin of victory was 45 points, which they registered twice in the 2012-13 season.

The 26-11 Thunder are level with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference. Portland are 10-27 and are in 14th.

Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to see more urgency from the Milwaukee Bucks after suggesting "fear factor" inspired his team to a big victory over the Boston Celtics.

Antetokounmpo scored 24 points, including a brilliant dunk, and finished with 12 rebounds as the Bucks snapped out of their January slump with a dominant 135-102 win over Boston on Thursday.

The Bucks had lost four of their previous five games, though some well-timed days off and a good practice session helped them reset.

And while acknowledging the Bucks will not always be able to turn it on as they did against the Celtics, Antetokounmpo wants to see the same level of urgency and motivation in every game.

"There was a respect-slash-fear factor also that's very important for this team, that we have to go out there and play at our best today," Antetokounmpo said.

"There was more urgency. Losing four out of five games. We had to be better, to play better.

"We had a great practice, talked about what we could do better, and guys were more urgent. We were very assertive, defensively we were helping one another.

"The team has to be more urgent, we have to respect the other team. We have to do this every single night.

"There'll be nights we play bad, where the other team makes the shots, but having a good practice and a couple of days off, that helped."

Bobby Portis added 28 points to the Bucks' total, combining with Antetokounmpo to devastating effect in a 25-0 burst midway through the first half.

"I love the way we responded," said Bucks coach Adrian Griffin. "We responded like champions today."

The Celtics have lost two of their last three games, though still remain three wins ahead of the Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings.

"We just didn't have it," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. "That can happen from time to time."

Bobby Portis and Giannis Antetokounmpo combined to score 20 straight points during a 25-0 run midway through the first half and the Milwaukee Bucks coasted to a 135-102 rout of the NBA-leading Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Portis finished with 28 points and Antetokounmpo added 24 while both players had 12 rebounds. Damian Lillard had 21 points in his return to the Bucks’ lineup after missing a 132-116 loss to Utah on Monday for personal reasons.

Milwaukee led by as many as 43 points and its 75-38 lead at the break was the fourth-biggest halftime advantage in franchise history.

Payton Pritchard scored 21 points for the Celtics, who missed 16 of their first 17 3-point attempts and finished 9 of 34 from deep. Boston was back in action after beating Minnesota in overtime on Wednesday and looked fatigued.

The Celtics allowed their highest point total of the season and dropped their second straight road game.

Giddey leads Thunder to historic rout

Josh Giddey had a triple-double and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder matched the fifth-largest rout in NBA history, 139-77 over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jalen Williams scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting and Giddey finished with 13 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, which was on the wrong end of the NBA’s biggest blowout, a 73-point loss to Memphis on Dec. 2, 2021.

The Thunder’s 62-point win shattered their previous record for victory margin of 45 points, set twice during the 2012-13 season.

Portland shot a dismal 27.7 percent from the field and suffered its second-worst loss, having fallen by 65 to Indiana on Feb. 27, 1998.

Irving’s big game lifts Mavericks

Kyrie Irving poured in a season-high 44 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 32 to lead the short-handed Dallas Mavericks to a 128-124 win over the New York Knicks.

Josh Green scored 18 points, the last coming on a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left to give Dallas a 124-120 lead. Irving and Hardaway combined to make four free throws in the final 11.1 seconds to seal the win.

Dallas superstar Luka Doncic sat out with an ankle injury and Dereck Lively II and Dante Exum also missed the game.

Julius Randle scored 32 points and Jalen Brunson had 30 for the Knicks, who had a five-game winning streak snapped and lost for the first time since acquiring OG Anunoby from Toronto on Dec. 30.

Victor Wembanyama was delighted to make a "statement" with his first NBA triple-double on Wednesday, having helped the San Antonio Spurs past the Detroit Pistons with a dominant display.

Last year's number one draft pick finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists at Little Caesars Arena as the Spurs ended a five-game losing streak with a 130-108 win over their struggling opponents.

In doing so, Wembanyama – at the age of 20 years and six days – became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double with no turnovers since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78, surpassing Andre Iguodala, who did so aged 21 years and 54 days in 2005.

Wembanyama's achievement was made all the more impressive by the fact he played just 21 minutes and two seconds overall, the second-fewest minutes needed for a triple-double in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55).

The Frenchman was under a minute away from the outright record, with Russell Westbrook having recorded a triple-double in 20 minutes and 17 seconds for the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2014, against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Speaking after the win, Wembanyama said of his landmark performance: "Doing it in a win is everything, of course. I didn't know it was the second-fastest in NBA history. 

"It matters to me. I'm not the type to talk for nothing. This is the kind of statement we want to make as a team, and this is the type of statement I want to make as a player."

The Pistons were one of the teams who had hoped to recruit Wembanyama, with Detroit having failed to secure the first overall draft pick despite finishing with the league's worst record last year.

Asked about Detroit's previous interest in him, Wembanyama said: "It's weird to imagine a different future and what could have been."

Detroit also have the worst record in the NBA this season, sitting at 3-35 after losing six straight games. Their current losing run started after a win over the Toronto Raptors in late December, which itself halted a joint-record 28-game losing streak.

Pistons coach Monty Williams was unimpressed after a poor first quarter set the tone for another disappointing outing, saying: "The focus and discipline wasn't there.

"There's nobody to look at other than me, not having guys ready to play."

Stephen Curry acknowledged something needs to change for the Golden State Warriors after they suffered their second blowout loss in the space of three days, saying: "It all sucks."

The Warriors were booed off at Chase Center following Sunday's 133-118 defeat to the Toronto Raptors, and a similar reception awaited them on Wednesday as the New Orleans Pelicans ran out 141-105 victors. 

Steve Kerr's team did not lead at any point in those back-to-back defeats and are now 17-20 for the season, having gone 2-5 throughout a vital seven-game home stretch since Christmas.

Curry was limited to 15 points by the Pelicans after only managing a paltry nine against Toronto, both well below his season average of 26.7.

The two-time NBA MVP was at a loss to explain the Warriors' struggles after their latest home defeat, saying: "It's pretty evident that if things stay the same, that's the definition of insanity, right? Keep doing the same thing but expecting different results.

"You get to a point where you're trying to explain it, trying to figure out what can change specifically that can help us.

"Those conversations are happening between games, in film sessions, in the locker room. But it's headed in the opposite direction. 

"I don't know what to say about it. We're not used to this vibe around our team. It all sucks."

While the Warriors have suffered several gut-wrenching reverses this season, blowing big leads to lose to the Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, head coach Kerr says their back-to-back blowout defeats exposed a lack of belief.

"We are lacking confidence," Kerr said. "You get to a stage where you lose your belief.

"One of the coaches said we are the quietest team ever. We need guys who can rally the troops right. 

"When you're going through it like this, there is only one way out. That's to fight together, to compete together."

Kawhi Leonard is hopeful that his new deal will help the Los Angeles Clippers keep hold of their other star players.

Leonard, who is enjoying a fine season, has signed a three-year contract extension with the Clippers, reportedly worth $153million.

However, that is less than Leonard was eligible for. The 32-year-old, along with his teammate Paul George, went into the season eligible for a maximum extension of four years, worth $223m, via ESPN.

But Leonard believes taking a hit on this contract will aid the Clippers as they look to keep both George and James Harden, who has impressed since joining Los Angeles in a trade from the Philadelphia Eagles in October. 

After scoring 29 points in a 126-120 win over his old team the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, Leonard told reporters: "With the conversation that I have with them about it, I think for the most part everybody is coming back.

"So with me signing an extension, I think it gives us a chance to sign both of those players."

"It just made sense from both sides," Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said of Leonard's new deal.

"We both wanted the same thing. We wanted Kawhi to be a Clipper for a very long time, and Kawhi wants to be a Clipper for a very long time, and we wanted to put the focus on the team and at the same time it just came together where it just made sense where it was a very fair deal for both sides.

"Kawhi was a great partner. There's harsh penalties for high-spending teams, and Kawhi understood it."

Asked if Leonard's contract extension was an encouraging sign for his own future with the Clippers, George said: "Absolutely. You secure and lock in Kawhi. Definitely leaves the door open for myself, but very, very optimistic something will get done on my behalf, as well."

The Clippers have lost just three of their last 20 games, rising up to fourth in the Western Conference in the process, and coach Tyronn Lue has his sights set firmly on the playoffs.

“I think half of it is great talent, and I think half of it is execution, and we got to be 100 per cent execution with our talent, and that makes for a dangerous team," Lue said.

"When you get to the playoffs it's a whole different animal, and so we've got to start building those habits.

"We're doing it a little bit at a time, but we've got to start progressing a little bit more as far as being better with our execution and what we're trying to do."

Jayson Tatum scored 26 of his season high-tying 45 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten at home with a 127-120 victory Wednesday over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jaylen Brown added 35 points and 11 rebounds to help the Celtics improve to 18-0 at home for the first time in franchise history. They have won 25 consecutive regular-season home games, dating back to last March.

Anthony Edwards scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 with 13 rebounds for the Western Conference-leading Timberwolves, who trail only Boston overall.

Tatum scored the game’s final nine points after Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 3-pointer with 2:44 left in overtime gave Minnesota a 120-118 lead.

Tatum made a pair of free throws, a driving layup and sank a 3-pointer to make it 125-120 with 51 seconds to play. His two free throws with 13 seconds remaining capped the scoring.

Wembanyama has triple-double in Spurs’ win

Victor Wembanyama notched his first NBA triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 130-108 win over the Detroit Pistons in a matchup of two of the league’s worst teams.

Wembanyama achieved the milestone in just 21 minutes, going 6 of 16 from the field while missing all four of his 3-point attempts.

In NBA history, only Russell Westbrook had a triple-double in fewer minutes (20) for Oklahoma City in 2014.

San Antonio had eight players score in double figures, including Keldon Johnson (17) and Devin Vassell (16), to snap a five-game slide.

Jalen Duren had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, who dropped their sixth in a row since breaking their NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak.

Pelicans start fast in win over Warriors

Jonas Valanciunas had 21 points and nine rebounds and Zion Williamson added 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 141-105 win over the Golden State Warriors.

The Pelicans had eight players score in double digits in their sixth win in seven games. They scored 46 points in the first quarter and led by 25 midway through the second.

Moses Moody scored 21 points off the bench for the Warriors, who have lost six of eight.

Golden State's 36-point loss was its largest at home since a 37-point defeat to San Antonio on March 26, 2007. 

The Los Angeles Clippers signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the deal is worth $153million for three years.

Without announcing terms of the contract, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank issued a statement saying "we're thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi.

"He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority.

“He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago, and excited to keep building with him."

The 32-year-old Leonard declined his $48.8million player option for 2024-25 as part of the extension and is slated to earn $52million next season and roughly $50million in both 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Leonard signed with Los Angeles in July 2019 after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title.

He was named MVP of the 2019 NBA Finals, the second such honour of his career after guiding the San Antonio Spurs to the championship in 2013-14.

A five-time All-Star and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard leads the Clippers (23-13) this season with 23.8 points and 1.75 steals per game.

He is also tied for second on the team in rebounding (6.1) and ranks fourth with 3.4 assists per game.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James felt the Los Angeles Lakers had impressively executed their gameplan to beat the Toronto Raptors, whose coach Darko Rajakovic hit out at the officials.

The Lakers have won back-to-back games for the first time in a month after edging to a 132-131 home win on Tuesday.

Davis scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter and was was 13 of 17 from the field and 13 of 14 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds and six assists.

He made all eight free throw attempts in the final minute as the Lakers held on despite late 3-pointers by Toronto's Dennis Schroder and Gary Trent Jr.

LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight after a four-game skid.

Scottie Barnes scored 26 points and RJ Barrett added 23 with 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won three of four.

The 14 free throw attempts for Davis were a season high and ultimately proved decisive.

"He was able to get a lot of touches and guys were finding him," Lakers coach Darvin Ham said about Davis.

"And it was his ability to get to the free throw line and knock down free throws. It is just a matter of reading the game and seeing how it's going."

Davis added: "It was all of us, it was not just me.

"We had big-time stops. We got rebounds, and they wanted me to get the ball as far as free throws, but the team was just making the right reads and trying to finish."

It was a welcome win for the Lakers after they had also narrowly defeated cross-town rival the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

They are now back to .500 at 19-19 for the season and 13-6 at home, as they look to put their miserable 3-10 run after winning the NBA Cup behind them.

"We knew we had an advantage on the interior and we just tried to get it to [Davis] early and often and late," said James.

Los Angeles hosts the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, while the Raptors are on the road against the Clippers a day earlier.

The Lakers shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter and 36 overall, while Toronto shot only 13 in total, with Davis going 11-for-11 at the line in the final period.

"It's outrageous. What happened tonight, this is completely B.S.," Rajakovic said, per ESPN. 

"This is shame. Shame for the referees. Shame for the league to allow this. Twenty-three free throws for them, and we get two free throws in the fourth quarter? 

"Like, how to play the game? I understand respect for All-Stars and all that, but we have star players on our team as well.

"How [is it] possible that Scottie Barnes, who is All-Star-caliber player in this league, he goes every single time to the rim with force and trying to get to the rim without flopping and not trying to get foul calls, he gets two free throws for a whole game?

"They had to win tonight? If that's the case, just let us know, so we don't show up for the game. Just give them a win. But that was not fair and this is not happening first time for us."

LeBron was asked about the Raptors complaints and simply replied: "I feel like they fouled and we didn't."

Domantas Sabonis notched his ninth triple-double of the season with 37 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 131-110 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Sabonis shot 16 of 21 from the field, made his only 3-point attempt and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line. He moves within two triple-doubles of Denver’s Nikola Jokic for the league lead.

Keegan Murray scored 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting and De’Aaron Fox added 26 for the Kings, winners of five of seven.

Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 26 points as the Pistons dropped their fifth in a row since ending their NBA-record 28-game losing streak.

Sacramento trailed by 20 points in the first quarter, led by 15 in the third, were tied in the fourth and then pulled away with a 9-0 run in the fourth.

Anunoby helps Knicks stay hot

OG Anunoby scored 23 points and Julius Randle added 20 with eight assists and seven rebounds as the New York Knicks won their fifth in a row, 112-84 over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Anunoby scored 16 points in the first quarter to help the Knicks open a 19-point lead. He shot 6 of 7 from the floor – 4 of 5 from 3-point range – and might have approached his season high of 29 points but the starters played sparingly in the second half.

New York is unbeaten since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto on Dec. 30.

Quentin Grimes had 17 points and Miles McBride had 16 as the Knicks moved a half-game ahead of Miami, Orlando, Indiana and Cleveland for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Davis shines in Lakers’ win

Anthony Davis scored 20 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Toronto Raptors, 132-131.

Davis was 13 of 17 from the field and 13 of 14 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds and six assists. He made all eight free throw attempts in the final minute as the Lakers held on despite late 3-pointers by Toronto’s Dennis Schröder and Gary Trent Jr.

LeBron James had 22 points and 12 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight after a four-game skid.

Scottie Barnes scored 26 points and RJ Barrett added 23 with 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who had won three of four.

Giannis Antetokounmpo insisted the Milwaukee Bucks must take criticism from fans on the chin after they lost for a fourth time in the space of five games.

The Bucks went down 132-116 to the Utah Jazz on Monday, as their January slump continued.

Milwaukee fans were far from happy with their team's display, as boos and jeers rang out following the defeat.

Despite finishing with a triple-double of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, Antetokounmpo was unimpressed with his performance.

"I think we have great fans, but around the league, if you don't play hard and don't give everything for the team, there are times where you might get booed," he said.

"S***, I'd boo myself tonight too."

The only way forward for the Bucks now is to be unified, Antetokounmpo added.

He said: "You've got to stay together, that's it.

"If you try to go your way or do it yourself, it's not going to work.

"We've been in this position before. It's OK to be in this position, but then again, at the end of the day, we have to get better.

"We have to realise that we have to keep on doing the little things."

The Jazz ran away at the start of the fourth quarter, opening up a 15-point lead that the Bucks were unable to overturn despite a late rally.

"We flipped it a little bit as far as our energy and effort, and we made it a ballgame, but in the NBA you just can't dig yourself in a hole like that," Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said.

"And then you've got to play extremely hard and exert a lot of energy just to try to get back into the game."