The Los Angeles Clippers need to discover their identity, so said Paul George after a loss to the Atlanta Hawks made it four defeats from five games.

Los Angeles slipped to a 110-93 defeat to the Hawks on Sunday, leaving them just one game ahead of the surging New Orleans Pelicans in the tussle for the number four seed in the Western Conference.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 28 points while George added 26, though James Harden contributed just nine, albeit while laying on as many assists.

But the Clippers' veterans did not have enough to drag Tyronn Lue's team over the line.

When asked if the Clippers were resembling a team of stars who though they could switch their game on at ease, George replied: "I mean that's what we're appearing to look like, which is not good.

"We want to be a team that's consistent and we want to establish an identity. I've always spoken about having an identity and I think it's extremely important.

"Right now, I don't think we have an identity."

Leonard suggested the Clippers' mentality has to change.

"It's between the ears with us," he said. "We've got to go out and do it.

"Just seeing what we want to do. That's it. What type of team we want to be.

"If everybody's saying they want to be one of the last teams standing, then we got to go out and do it."

Coach Lue is searching for answers.

"When they do it, it works," he said. "When you have so much talent and you have guys that can do it so easily, they don't understand that your talent is great, but the talent's got to be for the team as well.

"Maybe it's me. Maybe I've got to do something a little different to make sure that we're doing what we're supposed to do. [But] I'll never really overreact because I know we're a good team. 

"If you want to win, I know what it looks like. I've been there, I've seen it."

Atlanta Hawks point guard Trae Young is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament in the fifth finger of his left hand. He will re-evaluated in four weeks.

The team said Young sustained the injury in Friday's loss to the Toronto Raptors and an MRI on Saturday revealed a tear.

It’s a devastating loss for the playoff-hopeful Hawks, who at 24-32 lead the Brooklyn Nets by three games for 10th place in the Eastern Conference and a berth in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Young leads Atlanta with 26.4 points per game (11th in the NBA) and ranks second in the league with 10.8 assists per contest.

He was named an All-Star for the third time in his career this season and led the East with seven assists in a 211-186 win over the Western Conference last Sunday.

Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey is hopeful the team could have Joel Embiid available for a potential playoff run, after the NBA MVP was forced to undergo knee surgery this week. 

Embiid has been sidelined since displacing a flap of the lateral meniscus in his left knee during the 76ers' 119-107 defeat to the Golden State Warriors at the end of January. 

That injury came on Embiid's return to action after he missed the team's previous two games with another knee problem. Last Sunday, Philadelphia confirmed that Embiid would go under the knife to correct the issue, throwing his availability for the rest of the season into doubt.

The 76ers currently sit fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-21 record, though they are 4-12 in games Embiid has missed this season. 

They have lost eight of their last nine following Friday's 127-121 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks, with that run casting doubt over their championship aspirations. However, should the 76ers manage a deep playoff run, Morey is upbeat regarding Embiid's prospects of featuring. 

"We're hopeful," Morey said when asked about Embiid before Friday's game. "The feedback has been more good than bad since we first heard about what led to his procedure. 

"So, we're hopeful and we're building the team to make it better this year. 

"Obviously, it's not at 100 per cent. But with Joel playing at an MVP level, hopefully, he could get back to that. This is a year where we have a real shot.

"If the hope wasn't there in Joel, I think it would have changed things dramatically. 

"We're very hopeful. Obviously, it's not 100 per cent. It's something that is probably a good chunk short of 100 per cent, but we thought it was the right thing [for Embiid to have surgery].

"There's a lot of ways to not win the title. Winning a title is hard; Joel not coming back at the level we hope is one of the ways we can't win a title this year.

"But you always want to be among the best teams and that means taking risks on the injury front. That's where we are at right now."

Philadelphia looked to rebalance their roster ahead of Thursday's trade deadline, acquiring veteran guards Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne in separate deals while allowing Patrick Beverley, Danuel House, Furkan Kourkmaz, Jaden Springer and Marcus Morris Sr. to depart.

Morey believes Hield, in particular, will provide vital support to Tyrese Maxey during Embiid's spell on the sidelines, saying: "Our priority was to get a big, but we wanted to add to our playoff rotation.

"We have to win games and it's going to be a battle, but we were focused on playoffs, we have a rotation that we know can win at a high level. He [Hield] was the only player who moved teams that would play a big role in our rotation. What he brings to the table is pretty obvious."

The 76ers' latest defeat came at the hands of a Hawks team inspired by Trae Young, who had 37 points and 12 assists as Atlanta improved to 23-29 with an impressive road win.

"This isn't the easiest place to play, so coming in here and getting a win at any time is a good thing for us," Young said after the game. 

"We had some guys out, so we needed other guys to step up and they did."

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and led a torrid shooting performance from 3-point range that carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to a sixth consecutive win, a 136-110 rout of the Sacramento Kings on Monday. 

Cleveland rolled to its 14th victory in 15 games by going 23 of 41 (56.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Mitchell finished 5 of 11 on 3-point tries and Max Strus was 6 for 10 while adding 22 points.

The Kings got 12 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists from Domantas Sabonis - his 15th triple-double of the season - but couldn't match the Cavaliers' prolific perimeter shooting as Cleveland began pulling away early in the second quarter.

Cleveland scored five straight points to stretch its lead to 46-36 less than two minutes into the second quarter and went into the half owning a comfortable 74-59 advantage behind Mitchell's 19 points.

The Cavaliers remained up by double digits the rest of the way, with their lead expanding to as many as 29 points late.

Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 22 points while finishing 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The Kings closed out a seven-game road trip in which they had won five of their first six outings and six of seven overall coming into Monday's clash.

Irving, Doncic lead Mavericks past ailing 76ers

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić combined for 42 points in the duo's first appearance together in two weeks to propel the Dallas Mavericks to a 118-102 win over the staggering Philadelphia 76ers.

Irving racked up 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with eight assists in his return from a six-game absence caused by a sprained right thumb. Doncic had 19 points and eight assists to help Dallas end a two-game skid and deal the ailing 76ers their sixth loss in seven games.

It was just the 23rd time in the Mavericks' 50 games this season they had a healthy Irving and Doncic together in the lineup.

Playing their third straight game without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who will undergo left knee surgery and is out indefinitely, the Sixers received 19 points from Kelly Oubre Jr. and 17 from Tobias Harris.

All-Star Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia's second-leading scorer behind Embiid, had 15 points but was just 6 of 16 from the field.

The 76ers did manage to lead 33-26 after one quarter and 57-53 at the half, but Doncic hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the third quarter to spark an 8-2 run that gave the Mavericks a 77-72 edge near the end of the period.

Dallas then dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the 76ers by a 41-28 margin with its bench providing most of the offence, as reserves Jaden Hardy and Grant Williams each recorded 10 points in the final 12 minutes. 

Leonard's 36 points help Clippers cap trip with win over Hawks

Kawhi Leonard scored 13 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Atlanta Hawks and completed a successful road trip with a 149-144 victory.

James Harden added 30 points and 10 assists as he and Leonard powered Los Angeles to a ninth win in 10 games. The Clippers went 6-1 on an 11-day trek away from Crypto.com Arena while the venue hosted the Grammy Awards. 

In a fast-paced fourth quarter that saw both teams combine for 90 points, the Clippers outscored Atlanta by a 21-10 margin over a late stretch to move ahead for good.

Leonard began the run with a putback of his own miss that gave Los Angeles a 124-123 lead with 4:52 left, and Harden capped it when he was fouled after hitting a 26-foot jumper with 1:06 to go. He made the free throw to complete the 4-point play and extend the margin to 143-133.

The Hawks put forth a late rally and got to within 147-144 on Bogdan Bogdanović's 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds remaining, but Harden sunk two free throws on the ensuing possession to keep Atlanta at bay.

De'Andre Hunter had 27 points and seven rebounds off the bench to lead Atlanta, which had a four-game winning streak snapped. Trae Young finished with 25 points and 12 assists in the loss. 

 

Stephen Curry was left frustrated after having no win to show for his 60-point haul in the Golden State Warriors' loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Curry scored a season-high 60 points, while recording six rebounds and four assists, but the Warriors went down 141-134 in overtime on Saturday.

The Warriors are now 21-25 for the season, and 12th in the Western Conference.

Having fallen just two shy of his career-best 62 points, Curry became the 10th player in NBA history to register multiple 60-point games.

Yet the four-time champion was left with a sour taste in his mouth after watching Trae Young lead the Hawks to a fourth straight win with his 35 points.

"It sucks to not have something to show for it," Curry said.

"It's frustrating, obviously, not coming away with the win knowing a couple plays here, a couple plays there could have been a different outcome. It just adds to our frustrating season."

Draymond Green chipped in with seven points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors, and despite the result, he was delighted to see Curry shine.

"It just seems he continues to get better, which is special at his age," Green said of Curry, while coach Steve Kerr added: "We competed like crazy but just couldn't get over the hump."

Young and Curry embraced on the court after the game, with the latter offering some advice to the Hawks star, who is averaging 27.3 points per game but missed out on an All-Star pick.

"I told him after the game it will all come back to him if he continues to approach the game in the right way," said Curry.

Stephen Curry scored 60 points for the second-most in his career and made 10 3-pointers, but the Atlanta Hawks started fast in overtime in a 141-134 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

Curry had eight points in overtime to notch the second 60-point game of his career, falling two points shy of matching his career high set against Portland on Jan. 3, 2021. He was 22 of 38 from the field, 10 of 23 from long range, and made all six free throws.

Dejounte Murray scored the last seven points in an 11-0 run to open overtime for the Hawks and finished with 19 points.

Curry’s second 3 of overtime drew Golden State within 136-131 with 67 seconds to play but Trae Young hit a floater and Jalen Johnson’s layup with 20 seconds left sealed the win.

Young scored 35 points with seven 3-pointers, and Onyeka Okongwu added a career-high 22 points and a season-best 16 rebounds for Atlanta, which has won a season high-tying four straight.

 

Lakers snap Knicks’ 9-game streak

LeBron James scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away down the stretch for a 113-105 victory to end the New York Knicks’ nine-game winning streak.

Austin Reaves had 22 points, D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince each scored 16 and Anthony Davis added 12 with 18 rebounds.

It was the second straight impressive road win for the Lakers after their 114-105 victory at NBA-leading Boston on Thursday.

Jalen Brunson poured in 36 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 26 before fouling out. The Knicks were done in by a nearly seven-minute scoreless stretch in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers turned a 96-94 deficit into a 105-96 lead.

 

Antetokounmpo outduels Doncic in Bucks’ win

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 48 points and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from a 25-point deficit for their first win under coach Doc Rivers, 129-117 over the Dallas Mavericks.

Antetokounmpo shot 20 of 28 from the field to go with 10 assists and six rebounds as Milwaukee avoided a season-high third straight loss.

The Bucks, who lost their first two games under Rivers, started the rally with a 15-0 run in the final two minutes of the first half to get within five.

Damian Lillard added 30 points on 10-of-11 shooting and hit all five 3-point attempts.

Luka Dončić had 40 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to fall just shy of his 10th triple-double of the season.

Maxi Kleber scored 21 points and Josh Green had 20 with nine rebounds for Dallas, which had its biggest blown lead in a loss this season and dropped to 2-6 in its last eight games.

LeBron James is unable to explain the Los Angeles Lakers' inconsistent form after his side went down 138-122 to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Lakers have followed up wins over the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors with losses to the Houston Rockets and now the Hawks.

With a record of 24-25, the Lakers find themselves ninth in the Western Conference ahead of facing the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

LeBron posted an underwhelming 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists at State Farm Arena on Tuesday as his side fell to a fourth defeat in seven.

"We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA," he told reporters. "Then on any given night, we can get our a** kicked by any team.

"That's just the [facts]. What's our record? Under .500? What, 24-25? That's where we are."

The Lakers now have to lift themselves for their trip to the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics, before then facing the New York Knicks.

James is hoping to hit back in those games and regain some momentum after quickfire double-digit defeats.

"When I'm healthy enough to play, I just try to perform at a high level," he said. "I want to help my team-mates do great things out there.

"Win, lose or draw, I want to be satisfied with the way I approach the game."

Trae Young starred for the Hawks with 26 points, which included knocking down his first six attempts from the 3-point range.

De'Andre Hunter added six points in his 16 minutes on the court as he made his comeback after six weeks out, missing 19 games in total.

Atlanta are now 20-27 for the season and face the Phoenix Suns next up as they search for a third-straight win.

"Any team can do it one night or two nights in row," Young said. "We've just got be consistent with it.

"Hopefully we can string together some wins that propel us forward to where we want to go and need to be."

Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd heaped praise on Luka Doncic after his franchise-record 73 points helped them past the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, declaring: "He is the game plan".

The Mavs arrived at State Farm Arena looking to halt a three-game losing run, and Doncic ensured they did exactly that with a historic performance in their 148-143 victory.

He tied Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson for the fourth-best return in NBA history. Chamberlain also holds the scoring record with a 100-point game and also had a 78-point performance to his name, while Kobe Bryant racked up 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in 2006.

Doncic's incredible performance came just four days after the Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid brought up 70 points in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Kidd was more than happy to let Doncic take centre-stage and believes the Slovenian will have been frustrated to miss out on a triple-double after adding 10 rebounds and seven assists.

"He is the game plan," Kidd said of Doncic. "The three assists are what he's probably thinking about in the locker room to have a triple-double!"

Doncic himself was focused purely on helping Dallas end their slump, saying: "We've been struggling lately, so the mindset was to go and get a win. We played great."

He was not the only player to put in a huge performance on Friday, with Devin Booker scoring 62 points for the Phoenix Suns, only to finish on the losing side against the Indiana Pacers. 

Obi Toppin's putback broke a tie with just under four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, guiding Indiana to a 133-131 victory and ruining Booker's remarkable display.

"He's a great player," Toppin said of Booker. "But in that fourth quarter, we decided to hit and send another defender to get the ball out of his hands and just scramble out of that. They didn't like it at all. I think it was their worst quarter.

"We needed points so our objective was just to get involved, crash the boards. I saw Bennedict [Mathurin] try to finish over someone and then Pascal [Siakam] was right in front of me, so I just grabbed the ball and put it in."

Luka Doncic became the fourth player to score 73 points or more in NBA history as Dallas Mavericks beat Atlanta Hawks 148-143.

The 24-year-old’s haul also set a franchise record for the Mavericks, easily surpassing his personal best of 60 points, scoring 41 in the first half.

Doncic now joins an elite list of players, moving level with Wilt Chamberlain and David Thomson with 73 points, while Chamberlain holds the NBA record scoring with 100 points and also had a 78-point game, with Kobe Bryant racking up 81 points.

The Slovenian’s impressive tally comes only four days after Joel Embiid set a new Philadelphia 76ers scoring record after bagging 70 points in a 133-123 victory over San Antonio Spurs.

Doncic’s 73 points helped the Mavericks earn an important win having come into the match on a three-game losing streak.

“We’ve been struggling lately. Mindset was to get a win,” Doncic told the NBA website.

“(The performance) probably (ranks) at the top, one of the top. But I’m glad we got a win.”

In the Western Conference, leaders Oklahoma City Thunder won their fifth game in a row by beating New Orleans Pelicans 107-83, while LA Clippers earned a 127-107 win against Toronto Raptors.

Memphis Grizzlies edged to a 107-106 victory over Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers also bagged a narrow 133-131 win against Phoenix, despite Devin Booker’s 62-point haul for the Suns.

Houston Rockets beat Charlotte Hornets 138-104 and San Antonio Spurs earned an important 116-100 victory over fellow strugglers Portland Trail Blazers.

In the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee fell to a 112-100 defeat against Cleveland Cavaliers, with the Bucks announcing Doc Rivers as their new head coach after the game.

Luka Dončić scored a franchise-record 73 points to tie for the fourth-most in NBA history in the Dallas Mavericks’ 148-143 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Doncic surpassed his previous career high of 60 points after scoring a team-record 41 in the first half.

He joined Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson as players to score 73 points. Chamberlain, who owns the NBA record with 100 points, also had a 78 and a 73-point game, while Kobe Bryant scored 81 on Jan. 22, 2006.

Doncic shot 25 of 33 from the field, was 8 of 13 from 3-point range and made 15 of 16 free throws. He also had 10 rebounds and seven assists in 44 ½ minutes.

No other player has ever had as many points, rebounds and assists in the same game as Doncic did.

His milestone game came in his original NBA home, at least for a few minutes. Doncic was drafted by the Hawks with the No. 3 overall pick in 2018 before having his draft rights traded to Dallas for Young with the No. 5 pick and a 2019 first-round pick used to select Cam Reddish.

Josh Green had 21 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. was the only other Dallas player in double figures with 13 points. The Mavericks snapped a three-game skid and sent the Hawks to their fourth straight loss.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 30 points and Jalen Johnson added 25.

Pacers rally to spoil Booker’s big night

Obi Toppin snapped a tie on a putback with 3.4 seconds remaining and the Indiana Pacers overcame Devin Booker’s 62 points in a 133-131 win, snapping the Phoenix Suns’ seven-game winning streak.

Booker scored 50 or more points for the second time this season and seventh time in his career, falling eight shy of matching his career-high 70 set at Boston on March 24, 2017.

Pascal Siakam scored 31 points and Toppin finished with 23 and 11 rebounds to help Indiana win its second straight without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton.

The Pacers fell behind 54-37 in the second quarter but whittled the deficit down to 80-70 at halftime. They trailed 114-105 entering the fourth but tied it twice in the final 90 seconds before Toppin’s basket won it.

Harden powers Clippers past Raptors

James Harden had 22 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his 75th career triple-double to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to their fourth straight win, 127-107 over the Toronto Raptors.

Harden, who notched his first triple-double this season, ranks eighth all-time in that category. He has at least 20 points and 10 assists in each of his last three games.

Paul George scored 21 points and Russell Westbrook added 20 as the Clippers won for the 12th time in 14 games.

Scottie Barnes scored 14 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter for the Raptors, who lost their fourth straight and ninth in 11 games.

Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill each scored 18 points to lead seven players in double figures and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to their seventh straight victory, 116-95 over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

Jarrett Allen had 14 points with 11 rebounds and Dean Wade added 17 points as the Cavaliers scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed to improve to 3-0 this season against the Hawks.

Cleveland is 12-3 since starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were injured.

Dejounte Murray tallied 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Atlanta, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Hawks star Trae Young left the game with 8:43 remaining after taking a charge from Isaac Okoro. Young, who was hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow, remained on the court for a few minutes but walked back to the locker room with the game out of reach.

 

Embiid extends streak for surging 76ers

Joel Embiid scored 33 points to extend his franchise-record streak of 30 or more to 20 games, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to their fifth straight win, 97-89 over the Charlotte Hornets.

Embiid, who added 10 rebounds, last failed to reach 30 points in a loss to Boston on Nov. 15, when he had 20 points.

Tobias Harris scored 21 points and Tyrese Maxey contributed 16 with eight assists for Philadelphia, which limited Charlotte to 16 fourth-quarter points after entering the period trailing by four.

 

Lillard scores 45 as Bucks win

Damian Lillard poured in 45 points and handed out 11 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the lowly Detroit Pistons, 141-135.

Lillard became the first player in franchise history with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five 3-pointers in a game.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but missed 11 of 22 free throw attempts. Brook Lopez added 19 points as Milwaukee won its fourth in five games.

Detroit dropped to 2-37 in its last 39 games.

Joel Embiid shook off an ankle injury to finish with 31 points and 10 rebounds in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 121-111 win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday.

Embiid scored all 31 points after landing awkwardly trying to block a shot with 5:25 remaining in the first quarter.

He recorded at least 30 points and 10 rebounds for the 13th straight game, the longest in the NBA since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 16 consecutive games in 1971-72. Embiid has scored 30 or more in 14 games in a row, the most in the NBA since James Harden’s 32-game run in 2018-19.

Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey each scored 33 points, marking just the second time in franchise history three players have scored 30-plus points in a game. The other was in 1961 when Dick Barnett, Hal Greer and Dolph Schayes did it for the Syracuse Nationals.

Philadelphia has won eight of nine overall and six straight meetings with Toronto.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 31 points.

Young makes history in Hawks’ loss

Trae Young had his sixth straight game with at least 30 points and 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Miami Heat got 30 points from Tyler Herro in a 122-113 victory.

Young finished with 30 points and 13 assists for his sixth consecutive game with at least 30 and 10. That ties the second-longest such streak in NBA history, one that only Oscar Robertson has topped.

Robertson had such a streak twice – a six-game stretch in January 1964, then a seven-game run spanning December to January 1965.

Duncan Robinson had 21 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 19 for the Heat, who overcame an 11-point deficit in the third quarter.

Sabonis has triple-double to lift Kings

Domantas Sabonis had 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds for his fourth triple-double of the season as the Sacramento Kings rolled to a 120-105 win over the short-handed Phoenix Suns.

De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and broke Mike Bibby's Sacramento-era assists record in the third quarter.

Kevin Durant scored 28 points and Devin Booker contributed 24 for the Suns, who have lost four of five to fall to .500 (14-14).

Phoenix played without Bradley Beal (ankle), Josh Okogie (hip strain) and Jusuf Nurkic (personal).  

Zion Williamson delivered a season-high 36 points as the New Orleans Pelicans cooled off the NBA-leading Minnesota Timberwolves with a 121-107 victory on Monday.

CJ McCollum scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help the Pelicans pull away and bounce back from Thursday's 44-point blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals.

Minnesota entered the matchup with a league-best 17-4 record and had won six consecutive games but played without leading scorer Anthony Edwards due to a hip pointer.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley and Naz Reid all had 17 points for the Timberwolves, with Towns adding 12 rebounds. 

Minnesota never led in the second half, however, as the Pelicans ended the second quarter on a 12-3 run to take a 59-52 half-time lead.

New Orleans held a 90-86 advantage after three quarters, then opened the fourth on a 9-0 spurt capped by a McCollum 3-pointer to gain further separation.

The Pelicans also received 20 points from Brandon Ingram and 14 points and 13 rebounds from Jonas Valanciunas.

Bucks bounce back with overtime win over Bulls

Giannis Antetokounmpo compiled 32 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and the Milwaukee Bucks dominated the early stages of overtime to come through with a 133-129 win over the Chicago Bulls.

After Chicago rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit to force overtime on DeMar DeRozan's jumper with 3.7 seconds left in regulation, the Bucks opened the extra session with an 8-1 run to build a 126-119 lead and never trailed thereafter.

Brook Lopez and Malik Beasley each had 19 points to help Milwaukee rebound from Thursday's loss to the Indiana Pacers in the NBA In-Season Tournament semfinals.

The Bulls had a four-game winning streak halted despite a monster performance from DeRozan, who put up 41 points and 11 assists. Coby White finished with a season-high 33 points in the loss.

Nuggets hold off Hawks to end three-game skid

Jamal Murray scored 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting and added nine rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets get back on track with a 129-122 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The reigning NBA champions withstood a career-high 40 points from Atlanta's Bogdan Bogdanović and a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by the Hawks to stop a three-game losing streak. Nikola Jokić contributed 25 points and nine assists for Denver, while rookie Julian Strawther hit six 3-pointers while producing a career-high 22 points off the bench.

Bogdanovic had 13 of his points in the fourth quarter with Atlanta's leading scorer, Trae Young, out of the game after being ejected when arguing a no-foul call late in the third.

The Hawks trailed 100-86 at the time of Young's departure and were down by 20 points with under 10 minutes left before rallying late, as Bogdanovic led a 16-5 run that cut the Nuggets' lead to 126-122 with 30.5 seconds left.

Jokic hit two free throws on the ensuing possession, however, and Bogdanovic missed a pair of 3-point tries in the final seconds as the Hawks' bid came up short.

Young had 19 points and nine assists before exiting.

 

Trae Young scored 45 points and drew a charge with 2.7 seconds left to lift the Atlanta Hawks to a 137-135 win Thursday over the San Antonio Spurs, who lost their 13th straight game.

Dejounte Murray had 24 points and five steals against his former team as Atlanta avoided a third straight loss.

Jeremy Sochan tied his career high with 33 points on 11-of-13 shooting and Victor Wembanyama had 21 with 12 rebounds and four blocks, but the Spurs have remained winless since Nov. 2.

Young scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, going 3 for 5 from the field and 7 for 8 on free throws.

Sochan stole the ball from Saddiq Bey and was driving for the potential tying basket but was called for charging to seal San Antonio’s latest defeat.

The Spurs dominated early, leading by as many as 15 points in the first half.

 

Butler, Heat overcome Haliburton, Pacers

Jimmy Butler scored 36 points and the Miami Heat used a huge fourth quarter to overcome a career-high 44 points from Tyrese Haliburton in a 142-132 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Miami trailed by 13 early and took its first lead early in the fourth quarter, using a 28-6 run to take control in the opener of a two-game series.

The Heat’s 45 fourth-quarter points were the second-most in team history, topped by only a 48-point fourth against New York on March 2, 1989.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 24 points and Josh Richardson added 19 to help the Heat snap a three-game skid.

Haliburton scored 28 points in the first half and had 10 assists, giving him the NBA’s first game of at least 44 points and that many assists since Donovan Mitchell’s 71-point, 11-assist game for Cleveland on Jan. 2.

 

Brunson, Knicks send Pistons to 16th straight loss

Jalen Brunson scored 42 points and Julius Randle had 29 points with 10 rebounds as the New York Knicks extended the Detroit Pistons’ franchise-record losing streak to 16 with a 118-112 victory.

RJ Barrett had 15 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 12, hitting a pair of key 3-pointers down the stretch to help the Knicks win their third in four games.

Cade Cunningham scored 31 points and Killian Hayes contributed 23 as Detroit completed a winless November and lost their 13th straight against New York.

The Pistons haven’t won since a victory over Chicago on Oct. 28 left them 2-1.

The Indiana Pacers got 37 points and nine 3-pointers from Tyrese Haliburton and set a franchise scoring record in a 157-152 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday to clinch a quarterfinal berth in the In-Season Tournament.

Buddy Hield hit consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch, including one with 53 seconds left to put the Pacers up 155-152.

Haliburton handed out 16 assists, Hield finished with 24 points and Obi Toppin added 21 off the bench for Indiana, which trailed by 20 in the third quarter.

The Pacers are 3-0 in East Group A with one game left in group play, while the Hawks dropped to 1-2.

Trae Young had 38 points and eight assists for Atlanta, while Dejounte Murray added 28 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic had 26 on 10-of-15 shooting.

The Hawks held an 86-73 lead at the break and set a franchise record for points in the first half.

 

Allen sparks Cavaliers past 76ers in overtime

Jarrett Allen scored six of his 26 points in overtime and Darius Garland had 32 points to lead the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers to a 122-119 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday in the In-Season Tournament.

Cleveland played without Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro due to injury but had six players score in double figures to remain alive for the wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Joel Embiid scored 32 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30 for the 76ers, who were eliminated from tournament contention with their third straight home defeat.

Allen’s hook shot with 18 seconds left in overtime gave the Cavs the lead for good before Embiid and Maxey missed layups at the other end.

 

Durant moves up scoring list in Suns’ win

Kevin Durant had 31 points to pass Elvin Hayes for 11th on the all-time scoring list and the Phoenix Suns handled the reeling Portland Trail Blazers 120-107 on Tuesday in an In-Season Tournament game.

Durant, playing in his 1,000th NBA game, passed Hayes in the first quarter by shooting 6 for 6.

Devin Booker added 28 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 18 and 12 rebounds to help Phoenix wins its fourth straight.

Deandre Ayton was booed heavily by the Phoenix crowd in his first game against the Suns after he was traded to Portland in a three-team deal that saw Damian Lillard go to Milwaukee.

Ayton finished with 18 points and eight rebounds as the Blazers lost their eighth in a row.

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