Gary Payton II is heading back to the Golden State Warriors less than a year after departing the reigning NBA champions, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

The guard signed with the Portland Trail Blazers as a free agent during the offseason after helping the Warriors win their fourth championship in the space of eight years.

However, Payton was sidelined for several months after undergoing core muscle surgery and did not make his Blazers debut until their 135-106 win over the Detroit Pistons last month.

But the 30-year-old was reportedly traded back to the Warriors on a hectic trade deadline day, with the Blazers receiving five future second-round picks.

Kevin Knox was also traded to the Warriors as part of a three-team trade with the Pistons, who received James Wiseman in the opposite direction while also trading Saddiq Bey to the Atlanta Hawks.

Wiseman, the second overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft, had bounced between the Warriors' active roster and their G League affiliate, but he could not justify the luxury tax expenses that would have been associated with retaining him on the roster. According to The Athletic's John Hollinger, the Warriors will save a combined $51million in salary and luxury tax this season, and $85m next season by cutting their losses.

Elsewhere, the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics bolstered their three-point shooting and depth after agreeing a trade with Oklahoma City Thunder for 10-year NBA veteran Mike Muscala.

According to The Athletic, the Thunder will receive Justin Jackson and two future second-round picks as part of the deal.

There has also been activity involving Western Conference leaders, the Denver Nuggets, who have traded youngster Bones Hyland to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for two future second-round picks.

Earlier in the day, Kevin Durant completed a stunning trade to the Phoenix Suns from the Brooklyn Nets, who have lost two All-Star starters in as many days after also trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks this week.

According to ESPN, the Suns gave the Nets three players in Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, plus four unprotected first-round picks and a 2028 pick swap.

Reportedly part of the Durant trade, Jae Crowder is heading to the Milwaukee Bucks with the Nets receiving five second-round picks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Josh Hart is heading to the New York Knicks in a deadline-beating trade from the Portland Trail Blazers, and Damian Lillard is going to miss him.

Hart was pulled from Portland's team on Wednesday, despite warming up with colleagues ahead of the clash with the Golden State Warriors.

Portland won without him, Lillard managing 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 125-122 victory.

The Knicks will give Portland Cam Reddish and a 2023 first-round pick in exchange for 27-year-old Hart, who has previously played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans.

Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk are also going to Portland before Thursday's deadline, according to reports.

Lillard posted a message on Instagram after his triple-double feat, captioning a picture of himself and Hart: "All love and respect … no extras bra!"

Hart responded: "It's always love my brother ... no one I respect more."

Lillard told reporters it was a blow to see Hart leave, but a part of the game you have to accept.

"It's tough. I think for everybody who's been here, the entire time that I've been here, one of the hardest parts is when you form a friendship or form a bond with somebody," Lillard said.

"Everybody's looking at, what are they doing on the court? What can they do to get better? Everybody else is looking at it from a business standpoint and how to improve and all these things.

"But we get up and spend time with each other every day. We're on the plane together. We're in the practice facility. We're in a training room. We're in the locker room. We're in the cold tub. We're in the steam room."

Quoted by Oregon Live, Lillard said of such relationships: "We spend more time with each other than we do with our family.

"That makes it hard and especially with Josh, because we actually formed a friendship and you just get used to people being around. Anytime that happens, it's tough.

"He wanted to be in Portland. When you get people to come here and know that they want to be here, but the business takes over, it's just unfortunate.

"So, like I said, it's part of the business. It's the thing that I struggle with the most about it, but it's part of it. That's what we sign up for."

Hart is averaging a career-high 8.2 rebounds this season, although his points-per-game tally is down at 9.5, having been 14.9 in the last campaign.

Kyrie Irving got off to a winning start as the Dallas Mavericks fought out a 110-104 win at the home of the Los Angeles Clippers.

Fresh from his trade from the Brooklyn Nets, Irving shot a team-high 24 points on debut for Dallas.

The Mavs were without Luka Doncic, but the addition of Irving to their ranks meant they had sufficient firepower to overcome the Clippers and rise to fourth in the Western Conference.

Tim Hardaway Jr. weighed in with 19 points, six assists and five rebounds, and his three-pointer with 26.8 seconds remaining effectively slammed the door shut on the prospect of a late Clippers fightback.

It meant Norman Powell's 24-point game off the bench for the Clippers came in vain.

Celtics sink Sixers but suffer Brown blow

Behind 19-of-35 shooting from three-point range, the injury-hit Boston Celtics had too much for the Philadelphia 76ers, with the Eastern Conference leaders scoring a 106-99 win.

Despite Joel Embiid scoring a game-high 28 points and James Harden weighing in with a 26-point game and 11 assists, the 76ers were sunk by a Boston side who had six players in double figures, led by Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon who both hit 19 points.

Worryingly, Jaylen Brown suffered what the Celtics described as a "facial contusion" when banging into team-mate Jayson Tatum as both went after a rebound in the closing stages of the second quarter.

It forced Brown out of the game and could see him sidelined for an extended spell, with reports claiming he suffered a fracture. That came as a fresh blow to a Celtics side who came into the game without starters Marcus Smart, Al Horford, and Robert Williams.

Brown's injury meant he and Tatum combined for only 16 points. Tatum managed just 12 points but added nine assists and eight rebounds.

It ended the double act's streak of 55 straight regular-season games combining for 40 or more points in games played together. That was the longest streak by a pair of team-mates in the NBA since a 60-game run from the 76ers' Wilt Chamberlain and Hal Greer from 1965 to 1966.

Lillard heroics see Blazers blunt Warriors

Damian Lillard's triple-double helped the Portland Trail Blazers see off the Golden State Warriors, who were again without the injured Stephen Curry.

In Curry's continuing absence, Jordan Poole weighed in with 38 points and Klay Thompson collected a 31-point haul, but reigning NBA champions Golden State went down 125-122 at Moda Center.

Lillard finished with 33 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a game that was locked at 95-95 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups says his side perform "when our backs are against the wall" after a late comeback against the Washington Wizards.

Washington looked set to extend their winning streak to seven games on Friday, only for Portland to stage a third-quarter fightback in a 124-116 victory over the Wizards.

Anfernee Simons scored 20 of his 33 points in the third quarter, making six of Portland's nine three-pointers in the third, as he went on to finish 9-of-12 beyond the arc.

"Our team is just so much better when our backs are against the wall," Billups said. "I've been on teams like that before, so I understand it, but it's a dangerous place to live."

A fine comeback saw the Trail Blazers fire nine field goals from long distance after going in at the second quarter 69-51 down.

Simons hit the first five of those shots before hitting another three-pointer to reduce the deficit to seven points after scores for Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant.

The Trail Blazers eventually snatched the lead at 102-101, but Portland could not have fought back without Simons.

"We ran plays for him. We started off the third quarter kind of running his play," Billups said. "He came off and got a couple of looks.

"Then I thought Dame and Josh and those guys, they all just did a really good job of continuing to keep the ball in his hands."

The Western Conference All-Star reserves included three first-time selections, headlined by Most Improved Player candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lauri Markkanen.

The reserves announcement on Thursday followed the starter reveal a week earlier, where Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James was named captain of the West team.

He will be joined by Dallas Mavericks MVP candidate Luka Doncic, New Orleans Pelicans powerhouse Zion Williamson, reigning back-to-back MVP of the Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic, and Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry.

The Memphis Grizzlies are the only top-two team in either conference to not have a starter, but they will still send two players to All-Star Weekend with Ja Morant heading back for his second and Defensive Player of the Year favourite Jaren Jackson Jr earning his first appearance.

Jackson is leading the NBA with 3.3 blocks per game, while his 4.3 combined blocks and steals is well clear of the second-placed Nic Claxton (2.6 blocks, 0.7 steals) and Anthony Davis (2.0 blocks, 1.3 steals).

He is joined by fellow first-time selections Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Utah Jazz's key offseason trade acquisition Lauri Markkanen.

At 30.8 points per game, Gilgeous-Alexander sits fifth in the league, while boasting elite efficiency splits of 50.5 per cent from the field, 35.9 per cent from three and 91 per cent from the free throw line. He is also the only guard averaging at least one block per game (1.1), and is the only player in the league averaging at least 1.5 steals (1.7) and a block.

While Gilgeous-Alexander's trajectory had been pointing up, Markkanen's rise has been more of a surprise. 

Having never previously scored more than 18.7 points per game or shot better than 48 per cent from the field, the star of Finland's international team is now up to 24.9 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 52.1 per cent from the field and a blistering 43.4 per cent from deep.

Also earning a spot in the West reserves was Los Angeles Clippers wing Paul George –  who leads all reserves this year with his eighth selection – as well as Portland Trail Blazers' all-time leading scorer Damian Lillard with his seventh.

The Sacramento Kings were campaigning for two All-Stars due to their impressive position third in the West, but they had to settle for just center Domantas Sabonis after point guard De'Aaron Fox was arguably the conference's biggest snub.

Fox is leading the team in scoring at 24.3 points per game and is also enjoying his first season shooting above 50 per cent from the field, while Sabonis is leading the league in rebounding at 12.4 per game to go with his 18.8 points (61.5 per cent shooting) and 7.1 assists.

Other than Jokic (10.0 assists per game), Sabonis is the only other interior player in the league averaging at least seven assists.

The Brooklyn Nets fell to their worst loss in nine years after a hugely one-sided first quarter teed the Boston Celtics up for a 139-96 win.

The Nets had lost their previous two games against the Celtics this year, but this was by some margin the worst of the lot.

A 43-point loss was the Nets' heaviest since losing by 44 against the Portland Trail Blazers in February 2014.

Brooklyn never gave themselves a chance after being outscored by 30 in the first quarter, shooting one of 12 from the field to start as shot after shot went in at the other end.

The Nets' 23.1 per cent three-point shooting over the game stood in stark contrast to the Celtics' 48.1 per cent as Jayson Tatum (31 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) made seven threes apiece.

The pair were the first Boston team-mates to each make seven threes in the same game in franchise history, and the huge lead even allowed them to sit the fourth quarter.

Former Celtic Kyrie Irving was one of seven from beyond the arc on his way to 20 points and a plus/minus of minus-31.

No let-up from Lillard

Another big performance from Damian Lillard saw Portland rally to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-112.

Lillard scored 42 points, including a stunning seven-point play early in the third quarter, along with his 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The point guard has now topped 30 points in five straight games as the Blazers have gone 4-1 and 11 of 13 games going back to early January.

Swift revenge for Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers had suffered a shock loss in their previous game at home to the Orlando Magic two days earlier, but a rematch went according to plan.

Joel Embiid, the bright spot in that loss, was again influential with 28 points and 11 rebounds in a 105-94 win.

Markelle Fultz, Embiid's former Sixers team-mate, had celebrated victory on his first return to Philadelphia and again tried to lift the Magic in this loss, finishing with a team-high 18 points on seven-of-11 shooting.

Damian Lillard's red-hot scoring form continued on Monday as he posted his eighth 40-point game of the season.

Lillard was the star of the show in the Portland Trail Blazers' 129-125 home win against the Atlanta Hawks, scoring 42 points on 10-of-21 shooting after finishing a perfect 17-of-17 from the free throw line. Only Joel Embiid (nine), Giannis Antetokounmpo (10) and Luka Doncic (11) have scored 40 more often this season.

He outdueled Dejounte Murray of the Hawks, who was terrific in his own right, collecting a career-high 40 points (13-of-26 shooting), eight rebounds and seven assists.

Having already claimed the record as the Trail Blazers' all-time leading scorer earlier this season, Lillard is showing no signs of slowing down, and is on pace for arguably the best statistical season of his career.

He is averaging a career-high 30.4 points per game, while also tying his career-best field goal percentage of 46.3. Lillard has never averaged more than the 4.1 three-pointers he is making each game, while he is also on track for his fourth season with at least seven assists per game, and his fourth season shooting at least 90 per cent from the line.

He started the season in fine fashion as he posted back-to-back 41 point games in the opening week, but after his scoring average dipped to 22.3 in November, Lillard has hit a rich vein of form since the beginning of the new year.

The six-time All-NBA selection is averaging 34.5 points per game in January – trailing only Philadelphia 76ers powerhouse Embiid with 34.9 – and nobody in the league is averaging better than Lillard's 38.8 points across their past 10 contests.

Portland are 19-19 in the 38 games their star point guard has suited up for this season, and are 5-7 without him, but that does not accurately portray how valuable Lillard is for his franchise.

Lillard's overall plus/minus this season of plus 129 is the best figure on the team, while Josh Hart (plus 110) is the only other player with a mark better than Jusuf Nurkic's plus 52.

His impact on the Trail Blazers' offense is massive, as the team boasts an offensive rating of 118.7 while he is on the floor, but it drops to 112.4 when he is on the bench or not available. For reference, that 118.7 mark is higher than the league-leading Denver Nuggets (117.4), while 112.4 would tie them with the 23rd-ranked Los Angeles Clippers.

Lillard will likely not receive any MVP consideration unless the Blazers make a late push into the Western Conference's top-six, but since the calendar flipped over to 2023 there has arguably not been a better player in the sport.

Stephen Curry was ejected for throwing his mouthpiece before Jordan Poole scored a last-second layup as the Golden State Warriors narrowly beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120 on Wednesday.

Curry was ejected with 1:14 remaining in the fourth quarter  with the Warriors up by two for unsportsmanlike conduct, having thrown his mouthpiece in frustration after Poole opted not to pass to him, before missing a three-point attempt.

But Golden State kept their composure without their NBA Finals MVP, with Klay Thompson draining a clutch three-pointer with 14.1 seconds left, before Ja Morant dished off for a Brandon Clarke dunk to square it up with 6.3 seconds remaining.

Poole got redemption for his role in Curry's ejection, when he got free to land a left-handed layup from Donte DiVincenzo's inbound to decide the game at Chase Center.

Curry finished with 34 points with four-of-eight three-point shooting, while Klay Thompson hit five-of-10 triples in his 24 points.

Draymond Green had 13 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, while Poole added 21 points with seven assists.

Morant posted 29 points for the Grizzlies, making two-of-seven from beyond the arc with 12 assists and two steals. Desmond Bane managed 20 points but went four-of-six from the stripe.

The result lifts the Warriors up to ninth in the Western Conference with a 24-24 record, while the Grizzlies are 31-17 and second in the west.

Simmons booed as 76ers down Nets

Ben Simmons was booed throughout on his return to Wells Fargo Center as the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Brooklyn Nets 137-133 to clinch their sixth straight win.

James Harden starred against his former side with 23 points, three rebounds and seven assists, making two three-pointers and a driving layup in the final four minutes. Tyrese Maxey added 27 points off the bench and Joel Embiid had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Seth Curry had a season-high 32 points including seven triples, Kyrie Irving added 30 points with 10 assists, while Ben Simmons was scoreless in the first half from only one shot but finished with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Lillard shoots 60 in Blazers win

Damian Lillard scored 60 points, the second-most by a single player in a game this season, as the Portland Trail Blazers won 134-124 over the Utah Jazz.

Lillard shot nine-of-15 from three-point range including six of those in the first half, recording his fourth career 60-point game, matching Michael Jordan and James Harden for the third most overall.

The Blazers guard scored five triples in the second quarter, which he has done 16 times in any quarter in his career, which is the second most by any player in the last 25 seasons. Jazz power forward Lauri Markkanen scored 24 points with four rebounds.

Damian Lillard recorded the equal second-highest individual score this season with 60 points in the Portland Trail Blazers' 134-124 win over the Utah Jazz, but says it means so much more in a win.

Lillard matched Luka Doncic's 60-point game against the New York Knicks on December 27 with his haul on Wednesday, that included 21-of-29 shooting, making nine-of-15 three-pointers and nine-of-10 free-throws.

Only Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers has exceeded Lillard's 60 points this season, scoring 71 against the Chicago Bulls on January 2.

Lillard's 60-point game was the fourth of his career, tying Michael Jordan and James Harden for the third most in NBA history.

"It feels great," Lillard told ESPN after the game. "I've had these types of performances and we've come out on the losing end. To know this type of effort came in a winning effort, it means that much more especially with what our team has been going through.

"The most important thing was to come out on the winning side."

The win improves the Blazers' record to 23-25 with back-to-back wins, having lost eight of their previous 10 games.

Portland had trailed 31-19 at quarter-time before finding their feet with a 47-point second quarter.

Lillard scored 50 of his points in three quarters, while he managed six three-pointers in the first half.

"It just feels like you can always control the outcome of the game," Lillard said.

"Even when they closed in on the lead and we had some bad turnovers, when you're in that type of groove, you feel like you can always get it going back in the right direction for the team. That's how I felt."

Lillard passed Zach Randolph on the NBA all-time scoring list during the game, sitting 69th overall with 18,787 points.

It was a game of two halves at Moda Center as the Los Angeles Lakers overturned a 25-point deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

When the Lakers went in trailing by 25 at the half, they had just experienced the wrong side of the joint second-biggest scoring margin in one quarter since the NBA added the three-point arc in 1979.

Portland outscored the visitors 45-13 in the second quarter, but LeBron James and his team-mates would not lie down.

The Lakers came back to register 75 points in the second half, while only allowing 41, turning around the 25-point deficit to win by nine.

"I guess it's only one or two ways, you can either go out and you can lay down and get ready for the next game or you can see what happens in the third quarter, make a game of it," James said after the victory.

"And for us as competitors, and our team and our makeup this year, we're not a lay-down team. That's just not the makeup of our club."

James scored 37 with 11 rebounds as he closed in further on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record, while Thomas Bryant added 31 with 14 rebounds as the Lakers produced their second-biggest half-time deficit comeback win in franchise history.

"They jumped on us and knocked us down,” James added. "Thank God for the standing eight count."

The Golden State Warriors blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead at home as the Brooklyn Nets prevailed 120-116 after 38 points from Kyrie Irving on Sunday.

The Nets outscored the Warriors 22-6 after the reigning NBA champions had led by 12 with 5:42 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Irving scored a game-high 38 points, making five-of-seven three-point attempts, with seven rebounds and nine assists. Irving's performance was his third 30-point game in his past four.

Nic Claxton added a career-high 24 points with 15 rebounds and three blocks, while Ben Simmons contributed a game-high 11 assists. Royce O'Neale, who had 16 points, scored a go-ahead three-pointer with 27.1 seconds remaining.

Stephen Curry top scored for Golden State with 26 points, making four-of-eight from beyond the arc, along with six rebounds and seven assists.

Jonathan Kuminga added 20 points off the bench, while center Draymond Green had 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The Warriors' home loss means their record at the Chase Center falls to 17-6, having managed 3-2 on their recent road trip where they have struggled throughout this season.

Lakers complete stunning second-half turnaround

LeBron James scored 37 points with 11 rebounds while Thomas Bryant added 31 points as the Los Angeles Lakers stormed home for a 121-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Lakers had trailed 71-46 at halftime after the Blazers put up 45 second-quarter points, but rallied in a remarkable second-half turnaround to improve to 22-25.

Bryant had 14 rebounds to go with his 31 points, while Dennis Schroder contributed 24 points. Anfernee Simons scored 31 points for Portland, with Damian Lillard adding 24.

OKC snap Nuggets' win streak

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit an eight-footer with 9.2 seconds remaining to end the Denver Nuggets' nine-game win streak as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 101-99. 

The Nuggets were without back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic for the second straight game with tightness in his left hamstring, with Jamal Murray top scoring in his absence with 26 points and nine assists. Murray missed an attempt on the buzzer to force overtime.

Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game with 34 points on 13-of-21 shooting with five rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while Josh Giddey added 18 points and nine rebounds. The result also ended Denver's 17th game win streak at home.

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers did not hide his frustration with certain elements of his team's play despite beating the Portland Trail Blazers 105-95 on Thursday.

The Sixers made it four wins on the bounce, all of which have been on the road, with Joel Embiid and James Harden playing key roles.

Embiid's 32 points made it the seventh game in a row he has reached at least 30, while Harden posted a triple-double of 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.

The Sixers looked to be coasting at one stage, finding themselves 26 points to the good, but the Trail Blazers made life a little trickier towards the end.

Rivers' team got the job done as they improved to 29-16 in the East, behind only the Boston Celtic and Milwaukee Bucks, though he was certainly not completely satisfied.

He was particularly irritated by the Sixers' poor handling of the Trail Blazers' trapping, and he was not impressed by how spread out his players were.

Asked how they coped with respect to trapping, Rivers said: "Poorly, but we also took advantage of some of it as well.

"I didn't think trapping was that hard, our spacing was horrendous, and we're great at spacing most nights, but tonight we kept leaving two guys on the other end.

"I'm hoarse from yelling, just getting one to cut through and we basically didn't do it. We got away with three or four more than I thought they could've had. But that's easy to fix."

In letting Portland back into the contest somewhat in the second half, Rivers felt there was a hint of complacency in the Sixers' performance.

As such, he surmised they are still not at a stage where they can consider themselves anything more than a "good" team.

He added: "There's no lesson, the lesson is execute. I just thought we didn't.

"You get leads sometimes and they're hard, NBA leads shrink quickly and then you get complacent, and I think we did a little bit of that.

"But in that, one thing I like is we kept playing defense, and that's a good sign.

"I think we're good, and I think we can be really, really good. But we have work to do.

"We can't expect to come in and just show up and win, we have to go out and do something about it."

Nevertheless, with the likes of Embiid and Harden in their arsenal, the Sixers have the kind of star quality that can drag them through the mud even when they are not at their optimal level as a unit.

That is not lost on Embiid.

"I think from the beginning it was easy," he said of linking up with Harden, who joined from the Brooklyn Nets last February.

"When you've got two guys with high basketball IQs, you can figure it out everything easy.

"So, it's all about just playing off of each other. We've been doing a wonderful job of doing that."

Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic took another step towards a third consecutive MVP after dominating the Portland Trail Blazers in a 122-113 victory on Tuesday.

Jokic was unstoppable offensively, finishing with 36 points on 13-of-14 shooting while adding 12 rebounds and 10 assists. 

In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to record multiple 35-point triple-doubles while shooting at least 90 per cent from the field. Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with even one such game.

Jokic was supported well by Michael Porter Jr, who scored 23 points on nine-of-13 shooting, while Jamal Murray chipped in 17 points (six-of-15), seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

For the Blazers, it was another spectacular showing from the franchise's all-time scoring leader as Damian Lillard had a game-high 44 points on 12-of-20 shooting with eight assists.

It continued a blistering run of form for Lillard, who is averaging a league-leading 39 points per game across his past six outings, although Portland have only been able to convert his stellar play into two wins from six.

With the victory, the Nuggets are now alone atop the Western Conference with a record of 31-13, which the Memphis Grizzlies can tie if they can secure their 11th consecutive win when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Holiday delivers for the Giannis-less Bucks

Jrue Holiday has set a new season-high points total in back-to-back games after putting up 37 in the Milwaukee Bucks' 130-122 triumph at home against the Toronto Raptors.

Holiday scored a season-high 35 on Monday against the Indiana Pacers in the first leg of the Bucks' back-to-back, and he followed it up with 37 against the Raptors.

He shot 16-of-26 from the field while adding seven assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block, and Fred VanVleet was just as good for Toronto.

VanVleet tied his season-high by scoring 39 points on 15-of-28 shooting, with nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Bucks are now 29-16 and occupy the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

Embiid bullies the Clippers

Joel Embiid was too big and too strong on his way to a game-high 41 points in the Philadelphia 76ers' 120-110 road win against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Embiid shot 12-of-22 from the field and 15-of-18 from the free throw line while adding nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a comprehensive performance.

Tobias Harris was sharp in a supporting role, snatching five steals in the first half while scoring 20 points on efficient eight-of-12 shooting.

For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard made it five consecutive games with at least 24 points and a steal as he begins to recapture his All-NBA form following a string of injuries.

LeBron James became the second player to 38,000 career NBA points before Russell Westbrook's failed final play as the Los Angeles Lakers lost 113-112 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

With the Sixers leading by one point, Westbrook rebounded after Joel Embiid missed a two-point shot with 16 seconds remaining, opting to advance the ball, rather than take a timeout, before failing to get a clean shot or pass away as the clock expired under defense from Embiid and Georges Niang.

The finish took some gloss off James' significant achievement, reaching the 38,000 career points mark in the first quarter, before finishing the game with 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Only one player in NBA history has more career points than James and that is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387. James is on track to surpass Abdul-Jabbar next month.

The game was tight throughout, with Embiid top scoring for the Sixers with 35 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field with two three-pointers. Embiid also had 11 rebounds and four assists. James Harden contributed 24 points, seven rebounds and 13 assists.

Westbrook played 34 minutes of the bench with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists but four turnovers. That marked Westbrook's 198th career triple-double.

Jokic sinks late three to clinch Nugs win

Back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic landed a step-back three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left to secure the Denver Nuggets a 119-116 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Jokic finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists for his 12th triple-double of the season, with the Nugs clinching their 13th straight home win to remain top of the Western Conference.

Aaron Gordon added 25 points with eight rebounds and five assists, while Jamal Murray delivered 18 points with three three-pointers and seven assists.

Lillard leads Blazers past Mavs missing Doncic

Damian Lillard backed up with 40 points for the Portland Trail Blazers to complete a two-game back-to-back sweep of the Dallas Mavericks, 140-123.

Lillard shot 10-of-17 from the field and four-of-nine from three-point range with six assists for the Blazers, who had lost five in a row prior to the two games against Dallas.

The Mavs rested Luka Doncic after his season-low 15 points in Saturday's game, having starred in Thursday's double overtime win over the Lakers.

Ja Morant scored 23 points including an incredible one-handed dunk of the year candidate to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to their ninth straight win, 130-112 over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

Morant drove forward, reached back with his right arm and launched a massive dunk with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter over Jalen Smith to open up a 20-point lead.

The Grizzlies guard finished the game with 23 points on seven-of-17 shooting from the field, with 10 assists and three rebounds.

Morant is averaging 28.7 points per game during the Grizzlies' nine-game win streak.

Desmond Bane was solid as always, going five-of-11 from three-point range in his team-high 25 points.

The victory means Memphis are tied with the Denver Nuggets at 29-13 for the best record in the Western Conference. The win was the Grizzlies' fourth straight on the road.

The Pacers, missing Tyrese Haliburton, were led by Chris Duarte with 25 points despite a hand concern.

Embiid seals Sixers victory over Jazz

Joel Embiid's jumper with 5.7 seconds remaining clinched a 118-117 victory for the Philadelphia 76ers over the Utah Jazz.

Embiid finished the game with 31 points on nine-of-18 shooting from the field with two three-pointers, seven rebounds and two blocks, while James Harden added 30 points and 11 assists.

Utah trailed for most of the game but hit the lead at 115-114 with 33 seconds left, with Jordan Clarkson scoring 38 points with nine rebounds.

Doncic kept to season low as Blazers fire

Luka Doncic was kept to a season-low 15 points as Damian Lillard led the Portland Trail Blazers to a 136-119 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Doncic was benched with seven minutes to go by Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, in a game where the Blazers snapped a five-game losing run, having led 71-56 at half-time.

Lillard was exceptional with 36 points on 11-of-20 shooting with four three-pointers and 10 assists, while center Jusuf Nurkic added 22 points and 11 rebounds.