In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blowout against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

It was shaping up as a shootout as both teams started red-hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.

Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.

Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.

The win improves the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).

Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.

Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory

Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.

After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.

The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.

Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double

Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.

The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.

Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.

The Sacramento Kings can be "dangerous" after ensuring their first winning season since 2005-06 with a 101-96 triumph over the Brooklyn Nets, believes coach Mike Brown.

Domantas Sabonis starred with 24 points, 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks as the Kings took control of the Western Conference's second seed with Thursday's win.

No team in the NBA has a better record over their last 10 games than the Kings' 8-2 mark, and their 42nd win of the campaign ensures they will snap a 17-year run without a winning season – an NBA record.

"It means a lot for the fans and the organisation," Brown said after the game. "Sacramento, it's a proud fan base and they don't get a lot of love around the nation or even in the state of California. 

"So to be able to pound their chest and be able to walk with their heads high and talk with their friends to have a little bit of bragging rights, it's great."

With the 42-27 Kings now 4.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets and 5.5 clear of the play-in tournament placings, Brown believes they should be aiming high.

"It's been pretty easy. The guys understand what my messaging has been all along, and they understand how passionate I am about it," Brown said. 

"I do feel that this group believes in themselves. Not just because I'm telling them they're good, but because they've gone out and proven it time after time after time, whether it's individually in certain situations, or collectively as a team.

"When you have a team that believes, they can be dangerous. When you've got a collected team that believes, that can be a very dangerous team. That's what our group is right now."

The Kings continue their road stretch against the Washington Wizards on Saturday and the Utah Jazz on Monday, before returning home to face the Boston Celtics.

Reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic prioritised his scoring to help the Denver Nuggets snap their four-game losing streak on Thursday.

Jokic posted a game-high 30 points to go with 10 rebounds and nine assists as his Nuggets came back from an early deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 119-100 on the road.

Denver trailed by six at half-time, but went on to outscore the Pistons 61-36 the rest of the way, and Jokic was leaving nothing to chance.

Between December 30 and March 10, Jokic had only one game where he made at least 14 field goals. He has now reached that figure in three of his past four outings, and over that span he has put up averages of 32.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.5 assists to try and shake the Nuggets out of their mini-slump.

A big reason for their recent dip in form has been the play of second-star Jamal Murray, who came into the contest after shooting 19-of-58 (32.8 per cent) over his past three. He was not at his scoring best against the Pistons, but he was a worthy contributor, chipping in 19 points (seven-of-15 shooting) with 10 assists and six rebounds.

On the other side, it was an eye-opening performance off the bench from rookie Jalen Duren, piling up 15 points (seven-of-10 shooting), 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals in his 27 minutes.

The victory improves Denver's Western Conference-leading record to 47-23, while the 16-55 Pistons own the league's worst record and the best odds at landing the number one draft pick.

Sabonis shines as Kings remain one of the league's hottest teams

Domantas Sabonis was the star of the show as his Sacramento Kings fought off the gritty Brooklyn Nets for a 101-96 road win.

No team in the NBA has a better record over their past 10 games than the Kings' 8-2 mark, and they were propelled Thursday by Sabonis' 24 points (eight-of-14 shooting), 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. In doing so, Sabonis broke Otis Thorpe's franchise record (1987-88 season) for the most rebounds in a single regular season (837).

Sacramento will be anxiously awaiting further news on starting wing Kevin Huerter after he left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, but they have plenty of wiggle room after taking sole possession of the West's second seed.

At 42-27, the Kings are 4.5 games behind the Nuggets, and 5.5 games clear of the play-in tournament placings.

Bucks defense goes missing in Pacers upset

One of the best defenses in the league had no answers for the Indiana Pacers as the Milwaukee Bucks fell in a surprising 139-123 upset.

The Bucks looked on course to add to their league-best 50 wins after piling on 40 points in the first quarter, but they undid all their good work by allowing the Pacers to score 84 in the second half.

Eight Pacers scored double-figures, led by Andrew Nembhard's 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while the highlight of the game came from Myles Turner's posterising dunk over Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Milwaukee (50-20) sit two games clear atop the East, with the Boston Celtics (48-22) their closest competitor in the race for the league's best record.

Stephen Curry's 50 points were not enough for the Golden State Warriors to avoid a ninth straight road loss going down 134-126 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

The Warriors' dreadful road record worsened to 7-27 across the season, with Kawhi Leonard top scoring for the Clippers with 30 points at Crypto.com Arena.

Curry piled on 21 points in the third quarter, shooting 20-of-28 from the field and eight-of-14 from three-point range, matching his season-high 50 points from the November 16 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

The reigning Finals MVP is the only player in the NBA to score 50-plus points in a loss multiple times this season. All other players are 18-2 in 50-point games this season.

Curry, who turned 35 earlier this week, also tied Wilt Chamberlain on seven for the most 50-point games after turning 30-years-old, moving past Michael Jordan (six).

Golden State's latest defeat comes in the first game of a five-game road trip which may define their playoffs aspirations, with the Warriors in sixth in the Western Conference at 36-34, while the Clippers are fifth on 37-33.

The Clippers claimed their fourth straight win after an 0-5 start after the All-Star break.

Leonard led the way on 10-of-19 field shooting, while Paul George added 24 points including four triples and seven assists.

Jordan Poole provided the Warriors' next best output with 19 points off the bench, while Draymond Green received his 16th technical foul of the season, meaning he will cop a one-game suspension.

Sixers clinch sixth win in a row

Joel Embiid scored 36 points with 18 rebounds as the Philadelphia 76ers continued their momentum with their sixth straight win in a 118-109 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Embiid had a charging call against him overturned with 4:12 remaining, which would have been his sixth foul, allowing him to play out the game and guide the 76ers home after the Cavs had led 96-95 in the last quarter.

James Harden added 28 points with 12 assists for Philadelphia, while Donovan Mitchell was kept to 21 points on nine-of-19 shooting, making only one-of-seven from beyond the arc.

In the Eastern Conference standings, the third-placed 76ers move to 46-22, just behind the second-placed Boston Celtics (48-22) who edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-102. The Cavs are fourth at 44-28.

Clutch Fox sinks Bulls on buzzer

De'Aaron Fox landed a go-ahead pull-up three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to earn the Sacramento Kings' 117-114 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Fox finished with 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting, making four-of-six three pointers including the game-winner under pressure from Ayo Dosunmu, after DeMar DeRozan tied the game at 114-all with a four-point play.

Domantas Sabonis managed a triple-double with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists for the Kings, who improved to 41-27 with the win in the race for second seed in the West.

Mike Budenholzer hailed a "really special" game from Khris Middleton and described a scuffle that marred the closing moments as "unfortunate" as the Milwaukee Bucks won 133-124 against the Sacramento Kings.

Three-time All-Star Middleton's 31 points were a season-high, shooting nine-of-15 from the field and adding nine assists. He was the perfect sidekick for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ended up scoring 46 points on 19-of-28 shooting, with 12 rebounds and four assists.

It was Antetokounmpo's sixth game this season with at least 45 points, while no other player has more than Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid's four.

Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists, completing his 10th triple-double of the season.

The game's final stages saw tensions boil over as Sacramento's Trey Lyles and Milwaukee's Brook Lopez were ejected after an ugly melee.

That set-to broke out with 15.4 seconds remaining, sparked by a shove on Antetokounmpo by Lyles, with Lopez stepping in and squaring up to the Kings man, leading to a mass grappling match at courtside.

Budenholzer said that moment was "just unfortunate" as he preferred to look at the positives from a fine road win.

"I think it was a great game, a lot of good things happened," Budenholzer said. "I was so impressed by Sacramento and the way they played, and it was good for our guys to fight back in the second half. I'm really not going to say anything about what did or didn't happen. To me, it was unfortunate."

At one point in the game, Lopez needed patching up as blood flowed from a wound on his face. He and the Bucks came back strongly after trailing 49-33 to get the win, improving their NBA-leading record to 49-19 for the season.

While Antetokounmpo was excellent on his return from a three-game hand injury lay-off, Budenholzer saved his highest praise for Middleton.

"Khris was really special," the Bucks coach said. "He had a stretch in the third quarter, he had a stretch in the fourth quarter. Down the stretch the ball was in his hands; the execution, the decision-making, the shot-making was high level, and it's good to see. We've just got to continue to grow, the execution down the stretch was good.

"I think the first half was not our best and down the stretch with the ball in his hands, we do that a lot, and it's like falling into a good old habit. And he and Jrue [Holiday] and Giannis were good. Everybody played together and executed and Khris sometimes is that guy that's at the point of it."

Lopez and Sabonis fought a running battle that Budenholzer likened to a prize fight.

"We were just talking in the locker room. It was like a 15-round heavyweight boxing match," the coach said in his post-game press conference.

"Sabonis was incredibly impressive and I feel the same way about Brook. They're just two great players going at each other. His best stuff against Brook's best stuff. The whole game was a match-up to watch, Brook and Sabonis going against each other, and I think everybody got their money's worth.

Giannis Antetokounmpo refused to let his Milwaukee Bucks lose to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, dragging them back from an early deficit and carrying them to a 133-124 road win.

After missing the past three games while nursing a hand injury, Antetokounmpo started like a house on fire, scoring 15 points in the first quarter.

Despite his early heroics, the Kings led by five at quarter-time, and they jumped out to a 49-33 advantage after a 17-6 start to the second period.

From that point on, the Bucks responded with a 50-29 run, taking the lead as Antetokounmpo racked up a gaudy stat-line of 40 points, 10 rebounds and three assists by the end of the third quarter.

A wildly entertaining fourth period saw the teams combine for 80 points, with Khris Middleton scoring 14 of his 31 in what was his best game of the season.

The three-time All-Star's 31 points were a season-high, shooting nine-of-15 from the field and adding nine assists.

He was the perfect sidekick for Antetokounmpo, who ended up scoring 46 points on 19-of-28 shooting, with 12 rebounds and four assists. It was his sixth game this season with at least 45 points, while no other player has more than Luka Doncic and Joel Embiid's four.

The win is the Bucks' 20th from their past 22 outings, improving their league-leading record to 49-19, while the 40-27 Kings fell to third in the West, overtaken by the 41-26 Memphis Grizzlies.

Warriors ride Klay's 30-point half

Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson delivered another memorable performance as he shot his side to a 123-112 home victory against the Phoenix Suns.

Thompson had 18 points in the first quarter, and reached half-time with 33 on 12-of-18 shooting, hitting eight of his 12 three-point attempts.

He would score only five more points in the second half, as Jordan Poole picked up the slack down the stretch with 20 points (eight-of-16) and six assists off the bench.

Devin Booker was strong for the Suns with 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, while Deandre Ayton piled up 27 points (13-of-19) and 12 rebounds in the losing effort.

The result pulls the Warriors (36-33) to within 1.5 games of the fourth-seeded Suns (37-31).

Edwards and 'Slow-Mo' put on a show

Anthony Edwards looked every bit of a franchise superstar as his Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a 41-point performance from Trae Young to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 136-115.

The former top overall draft pick shot 12-of-25 from the field for a team-high 32 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a steal. He was supported in spectacular fashion by Kyle 'Slow-Mo' Anderson, with 14 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for his second triple-double of the season.

Young was terrific for the Hawks, shooting 15-of-25 from the field and adding seven assists, but supporting pieces De'Andre Hunter and Dejounte Murray shot a combined 11-of-32.

Minnesota (35-34) are now just one game behind the sixth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers (36-33).

Domantas Sabonis recorded a second straight triple-double as the Sacramento Kings held off the New York Knicks 122-117 to move another step closer to ending their 16-year playoffs wait.

The Knicks erased a 21-point deficit to tie the game at 96-96 in the fourth quarter but the Kings held their nerve, claiming the win at Golden 1 Center on Thursday to restore second seed in the Western Conference.

Sabonis scored a team-high 24 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while De'Aaron Fox came alive in the fourth quarter to finish with 23 points and seven assists.

Fox scored 15 of his 23 points in the fourth. The Kings guard has scored 10 or more points in the fourth quarter 23 times this season, which is tied for the most in the NBA with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Knicks were not helped by losing Jalen Brunson in the third quarter to injury, with a repeat of the foot injury that had kept him out of the previous two games.

Brunson scored 19 points with three-of-five three-point shooting from 19 minutes with the Knicks missing him down the stretch, giving up three turnovers in the final two-and-a-half minutes.

Julius Randle was guilty of one of those turnovers, mishandling the ball at 119-115 with 13.1 seconds to go. Randle finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while R.J. Barrett had 25 points.

The defeat means the Knicks have lost two in a row after going on a nine-game winning streak, leaving them fifth in the East at 39-29.

Ja-less Grizzlies down Warriors

The Golden State Warriors' road woes worsened as the Memphis Grizzlies downed the reigning champions 131-110 in the continued absence of Ja Morant.

Grizzlies point guard Tyus Jones scored a team-high 22 points with 11 assists, while Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr both added 21 points.

Stephen Curry finished with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, but the Warriors shot 15-of-45 from beyond the arc as a team.

Memphis put up a massive 48 points in the first quarter, but held only a six-point three-quarter time lead before racing away with a comprehensive victory, improving to 39-26.

Lopez sets blocks record in Bucks win

Brook Lopez recorded an NBA season-high nine blocks as the league-best Milwaukee Bucks got past the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 118-113.

Lopez scored 24 points with 10 rebounds and a career-high nine blocks for the Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a sore right hand. Bobby Portis scored a game-high 28 points with 13 rebounds.

The Nets were without a host of players due to injuries, including Nic Claxton, Royce O'Neale, Spencer Dinwiddie and Ben Simmons, with Patty Mills top scoring off the bench with 23 points, making five-of-nine triples.

Two of the NBA's biggest upstart and in-form teams do battle on Thursday when the Sacramento Kings host the New York Knicks with both pursuing high seedings in their respective conferences.

Both sides actually dropped their most recent games, but Mike Brown's Kings have won six of their past seven and nine of their past 12, with Memphis' recent wobbles – in the absence of Ja Morant after his highly publicised nightclub incident – seeing them move up to second seed in the Western Conference with a 38-26 record.

It's been a similar story with Tom Thibodeau's Knicks, who had won nine straight games until falling to a shock 112-105 loss to the 21-46 Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday. Before that defeat, the Knicks had the NBA's longest active winning streak.

Arguably, the Knicks felt the absence of Jalen Brunson, who missed his second straight game due to foot soreness against the Hornets.

Brunson had won February's Eastern Conference Player of the Month, helping ignite a winning run that has seen the Knicks surge up to fifth in the east with a 39-28 record, breathing down the necks of the fourth-placed Cleveland Cavaliers (42-26).

The Knicks guard averaged 27.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists during the eight games he played in his side's hot streak.

But Thibodeau downplayed the seriousness of Brunson's issue, suggesting he will likely be available to take on the Kings as both teams look to bank wins down the final stretch of the regular season ahead of the playoffs, with seedings up for grabs.

And the Knicks will not be fazed by taking on a high-ranked team from the West, having toppled the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets – both sitting inside the east's top five – twice each during their recent run of victories.

The Kings' threat is their offense, leading the NBA in points per game (121.1), including a league-high home return (124.3), led by Domantas Sabonis, Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter and De'Aaron Fox. Sacramento (50.0) are behind only the Denver Nuggets (50.9) – currently atop the West – for field-goal percentage.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Sacramento Kings - De'Aaron Fox

Across the past 10 games, Kings point guard Fox is second only to Portland Trail Blazers veteran Damian Lillard (39.9) in the NBA for points per game, averaging a staggering 33.5 on 57.2 per cent field-goal shooting.

Fox scored a season-high 42 points in last month's wild 176-175 double-overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers, which was the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.

New York Knicks - Julius Randle

Brunson's recent impact has grabbed the headlines, but Julius Randle's output should not be lost in that, averaging 28.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in their past 10 games, including a clutch game-winning three-pointer against the Miami Heat.

Randle has exceeded the form that saw him win the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2021 after dipping in offensive output in 2021-22.

KEY BATTLE - Can the Knicks control the key?

The Knicks will need to find a way to shut down the Kings' prolific offense, at least to some extent, but they will be buoyed by having the NBA's best record for fewest opposition points in the paint this season (45.3).

The paint is Kings power forward Sabonis' domain, sitting seventh in the league for points in the foul lane (8.5 per game), so his battle with Knicks center Mitchell Robinson will be important. On the flip side, the Kings are 28th for opposition points in the paint (54.6).

HEAD-TO-HEAD

These two sides have only met once this season, with the Knicks winning 112-99 in December with Randle and R.J. Barrett top scoring with 27 points each.

Sacramento's offense was kept below 100 points for the first time this season in that contest, which has only occurred twice in 2022-23. The Knicks have won three of their past four meetings.

Trey Lyles gave a damning judgement of the Sacramento Kings' issues as he pointed out the team "can't stop anybody" in the wake of Saturday's defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Sacramento lost 134-138 to see their winning streak snapped at five games.

They sit third in the Western Conference, though they are seven-and-a-half games back from the Denver Nuggets.

The Kings have the best points per game (121.1) in the NBA this season, yet when it comes to defense, they are one of the league's poorest performers.

Only the San Antonio Spurs (122.0) and the Detroit Pistons (119.1) have conceded more points per game on average than the Kings (118.5).

For Lyles, the issues are clear.

"At the end of the day, no matter how tired we were, we were terrible defensively," he said.

"We can outscore anybody, but we can't stop anybody."

Lyles grabbed 15 points and eight rebounds from the bench, as Kevin Huerter led Sacramento with 29 points while Domantas Sabonis had 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Anthony Edwards came to the fore for the Timberwolves with 27 points, four rebounds and eight assists.

However, the key to their victory – at least from Edwards' perspective – was keeping De'Aaron Fox, who had scored 30 or more points in nine of his last 11 games, below that threshold.

"De'Aaron Fox has been playing out of his mind," Edwards said, with Fox having managed 25 points.

"We were happy to hold him under 30 tonight. He still played great though in the fourth."

Minnesota coach Chris Finch reserved special praise for Edwards

He said: "I thought we played great all night long. Especially when they tightened it up at the end, we play a lot in flow.

"A lot of it was Anthony stepping up at the right time."

Russell Westbrook relished a "great debut" for the Los Angeles Clippers, despite their narrow 176-175 defeat by the Sacramento Kings in an NBA classic.

Westbrook, who signed earlier this week after his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 17 points on his first Clippers start in a thrilling encounter at United Center, while his 14 assists were the joint-highest in a team debut in franchise history.

The nine-time All-Star and former MVP also registered a team-high seven turnovers before fouling out in the second overtime of what was the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.

Only the Detroit Pistons' 186-184 victory over the Denver Nuggets in 1983 had seen more points in a game, and Westbrook reflected on a chaotic bow.

"It's crazy," he said. "I don't know if I've ever been a part of a game with that many points.

"Overall, it's a great debut, but just didn't get the win. And that's the sad part about it, but taking that out of it, just being able to go out and compete, the support system around this was at an all-time high. So, I'm very appreciative of that.

"[I'm] just trying to find ways to be effective while I'm on the floor, whatever is asked of me - screening, rolling, handling, cutting. [I] just try to do different things to impact the game and using my IQ to be able to make plays for others."

The Clippers were in search of a point guard after trading away Reggie Jackson and John Wall on the deadline earlier this month, with Paul George campaigning for the franchise to secure Westbrook's services.

And the small forward was full of praise for the impact of his former Oklahoma City Thunder team-mate, saying: "The reason why I was high on Russ being a part of this team was because of what he brings, and you saw the flashes of it tonight.

"We needed a point guard. We needed somebody that you saw tonight, somebody to get us in offense, somebody to get us easy baskets and a floor general. That was just a necessity that we needed."

De'Aaron Fox led the Sacramento Kings to victory in the second-highest scoring game of all time but had no interest in repeating the experience.

The Kings beat the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime on Friday, with the two teams combining for 351 points.

Only the Detroit Pistons' 186-184 victory over the Denver Nuggets in 1983 had seen more points in a game.

Indeed, only those Pistons and Nuggets teams had previously reached 175 points as both the Kings and the Clippers did in this encounter.

It was the first game in NBA history to go to overtime after both teams had scored 150 points, with the game then tied at 153-153.

Three players across the two teams had 40-point games, but Fox was the undoubted star.

He had 42 points, along with 12 rebounds and, vitally, five steals – with many of those coming down the stretch as the Kings recovered from 11 points down with three minutes left in regulation.

Fox acknowledged it was the best regular season game he had been a part of but also called it a "grind" before adding to some laughter: "Obviously, we don't want to play in a game like this again.

"I think we have to be more consistent defensively, and we've talked about this, we've talked about this all year. But that is what it is, right there."

Fox, described as "unbelievable" by coach Mike Brown, recognised the standard of the offense, too, though.

"It was very high-level offensive play today from just about everybody who is out there," Fox said before explaining what he thought was the key.

"We were able to win this game because we lasted a bit longer, we're younger, and we just tried to keep the tempo up, even in the fourth, even in both overtimes," he said.

"We wanted to keep the tempo up, keep it up. I felt like we were able to get some easy buckets out of that.

"Once we started causing turnovers and just creating chaos in the game, that's where we were successful."

Russell Westbrook was making his debut for the Clippers, but that was of no concern to Fox, who said: "Is it about Westbrook, or is it about us?

"Because I don't give a f*** who's over there. It doesn't matter.

"You see the talent in this league, there are a lot of talented teams. Obviously we added talent to this team, but we come in and we worry about us."

Clippers coach Ty Lue was at least enthused by what he saw from Westbrook, who finished with 17 points and 14 assists.

"I thought he was great," Lue said. "He's still learning the offense, still learning where guys like the basketball, running the plays and things like that. I thought he did a really good job."

The Sacramento Kings emerged victorious in the second-highest scoring game in NBA history as they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175 in double overtime on Friday.

With a grand total of 351 points, it eclipsed the previous second-highest score by 14 points, set back in 1982 as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Milwaukee Bucks 171-166. Only the Detroit Pistons' 186-184 victory over the Denver Nuggets in 1983 had more.

In a wild back-and-forth affair, both teams had hit 110 points by three-quarter time, and after the Kings trailed by 11 with three minutes left, the visitors rallied back with a 17-6 run to close regulation and tie it up at 153-153.

All-Star Domantas Sabonis fouled out in the first overtime period with 20 points (eight-of-14 shooting), 10 rebounds and four assists to his name, leaving Malik Monk and De'Aaron Fox to run the show.

A pair of clutch Monk free throws forced a second overtime, where Monk again rose to the occasion with a deep three to cut the Clippers' lead to one with a minute to play, setting up Fox for the go-ahead basket with 36 seconds on the clock.

Monk finished with a career-high 45 points on 15-of-24 shooting, while Fox finished two points shy of his career-high with 42 on 17-of-27 shooting with 12 assists.

Both the Kings and Clippers set new franchise-records for their most points in a single game.

Kawhi Leonard finished one point away from his career-high with 44 points (16-of-22 shooting), three steals and two blocks, and he also tied his career-high for minutes played with 46.

With the win, the Kings strengthened their position sitting third in the Western Conference at 34-25, while the Clippers (33-29) are 2.5 games back in fifth.

Randle ties career-high

New York Knicks All-Star Julius Randle tied his career-high with 46 points during Friday's 115-109 road win against the Washington Wizards.

Randle shot 16-of-29 from the field, including seven-of-14 from deep, making up for an off shooting night by running-mate Jalen Brunson (six-of-20).

In his first game since returning from an injury he suffered on January 18, Mitchell Robinson returned to the Knicks' starting line-up and put together a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double, while finishing with a game-high plus/minus of plus 13.

Klay catches fire

Future Hall of Fame marksman Klay Thompson put on a shooting display against the Houston Rockets as he drilled 12 three-pointers in the Golden State Warriors' 116-101 victory.

All 12 of Thompson's field goals came from long range, finishing 12-of-19 from the field and 12-of-17 from deep for his game-high 42 points.

There have only been eight instances in NBA history of a player hitting 12 threes in a single game. Thompson has three of them – two of which have been this month – and he is the only player to make 14.

The resurgent Phoenix Suns made it 11 wins from their past 14 games with a 120-109 home victory against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

Phoenix, who earlier this season endured a 2-12 run across a 14-game stretch, are now right back in the mix in the Western Conference, buoyed by the impending debut of trade deadline acquisition Kevin Durant.

Against the Kings, the Suns' main three players all performed at an exceptionally high level.

Point guard Chris Paul dished a season-high 19 assists – the second most by any player this season, trailing only James Harden's 21 against the Los Angeles Clippers in December – to go with 17 points on seven-of-15 shooting.

Offensive focal point Devin Booker led the Suns with 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting, and center Deandre Ayton dominated with 29 points (13-of-17 shooting), 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

Both Kings All-Stars delivered, as De'Aaron Fox led the visitors in scoring with a game-high 35 points on 12-of-22 shooting, while Domantas Sabonis had 24 points (seven-of-12), 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

With the win, the Suns improved their record to 32-27 and moved up to the fourth seed in the Western Conference, one game behind the third-placed Kings (32-25).

Bucks extend winning streak to 11 against undermanned Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks were pushed all the way by a Boston Celtics team missing four starters, ultimately coming away with a 131-125 overtime win at home.

With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford all out, Derrick White had 27 points (10-of-24), 12 assists and three steals, while Malcolm Brogdon added 26 points (eight-of-17) off the bench in a valiant effort.

But the heroics from the Bucks' All-Star duo pulled them across the line, with 40 points (13-of-21), seven assists and three steals for Jrue Holiday, while Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 36 points (12-of-26), 13 rebounds and nine assists.

The Bucks (40-17) are now just a half-game behind the Celtics (41-17) in the race for the league's best record.

Blazers waste another explosive Lillard performance

Nobody is averaging more points than Damian Lillard over their past 10 games, and he had another 39 in a 126-101 home loss to the Washington Wizards.

Lillard, who came into the contest averaging 38.2 in his past 10, shot 14-of-30 from the field while adding 10 rebounds and six assists.

But the Wizards were too good, led by their leading scorer this season, Kristaps Porzingis, with 28 points (10-of-15), 12 rebounds and five assists, while Kyle Kuzma bombed away for 33 points (11-of-20) and nine rebounds.

Luka Doncic had fun linking up with Kyrie Irving for the first time in spite of the Dallas Mavericks going down 133-128 in overtime at the Sacramento Kings.

In his third game since being traded from the Brooklyn Nets, Irving scored 28 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, but it was not enough to beat the Kings at Golden 1 Center again, as the Mavs did on Friday.

Doncic did not play in that game, but he returned on Saturday for the second of a double-header against Sacramento, and linked up well with Irving as he finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

"Amazing, only our first game together, but I think it's so fun to play with this guy," the Slovenian said about lining up with Irving. "He's an amazing basketball player and I think it's going to be really fun and today, first game, it was really fun, too."

Mavs coach Jason Kidd was equally enthused by his new star partnership despite the loss, saying: "I thought it was good. It was just natural. Nothing forced.

"It's going to make us that much better. They did an incredible job."

De'Aaron Fox managed to outshine Doncic and Irving in Sacramento, scoring 36 points for the hosts, 26 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime, while Domantas Sabonis and Terence Davis also put up 22 points each, with the former recording 14 rebounds for a league-leading 44th double-double of the season.

Kings coach Mike Brown was understandably pleased with his team's work, saying: "Heck of a job by our guys. Defensively, we did a pretty good job in both second halves.

"We had a lot of great individual performances."

Joel Embiid and James Harden led the Philadelphia 76ers to a hard-fought 101-98 win against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Saturday.

The Nets, now shorn of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, had to face another of their former stars in Harden, who had no problem showing them the kind of form he rarely displayed in Brooklyn on his first appearance there since leaving last year, scoring 29 points with six rebounds and six assists.

Embiid had an even better outing, with the Cameroonian finishing with 37 points and 13 rebounds, making 12 of his 18 field-goal attempts.

Mikal Bridges scored 23 on debut for Brooklyn after his arrival as part of the Durant deal with the Phoenix Suns, with fellow debutant Cam Johnson adding 12, while Joe Harris managed 18 points from just over 16 minutes on court.

The two players the Nets acquired as part of the Irving deal, Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, struggled against the Sixers.

Finney-Smith made just two of his eight field-goal attempts, while Dinwiddie fared even worse with two from 10, and zero from four shots from beyond the arc.

Dinwiddie thought he had forced overtime at least when a three-pointer finally went in, but it was ruled out of time after a review as Philadelphia secured the victory.

Doncic and Irving outfoxed by De'Aaron

In their first outing together for the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic and Irving could not get the W as De'Aaron Fox helped the Sacramento Kings to an overtime victory.

Both Doncic and Irving spent more than 40 minutes on the court, scoring 27 and 28 points respectively in a tight game in which neither team ended a quarter with more than a two-point lead.

Fox particularly shone in the latter stages as he recorded 26 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including six free throws in the final 18.4 seconds to help seal a 133-128 win at Golden 1 Center.

Jokic makes history, Young's assist bonanza

Nikola Jokic became only the fifth player in NBA history to record 20+ triple-doubles in a single season as he led the Denver Nuggets to a 119-105 win at the Charlotte Hornets.

The two-time MVP scored 30 points, with 16 rebounds and 10 assists, while Trae Young also had a productive game as the Atlanta Hawks beat the San Antonio Spurs 125-106.

Young provided an impressive season-high 17 assists for his team to go with his 24 points to make it a 12-game losing streak for the Spurs, their longest since 1988-89 (13).

A much-changed Los Angeles Lakers pulled off a 109-103 victory against the Golden State Warriors, with Dennis Schroder top-scoring with 26 points, while the returning D'Angelo Russell added 15 and Anthony Davis recorded 16 rebounds.