The 2023-24 NBA MVP award will be won by either the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The NBA announced the three finalists for the top individual honour with Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic being the top three vote-getters for the Michael Jordan trophy.

Jokic won back-to-back awards in 2020-21 and 2021-22, and should he win again he'll become the ninth player to win three or more MVPs, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Jordan and Bill Russell (five), Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James (four), and Moses Malone, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (three).

Jokic led the Nuggets to the franchise's first NBA title last season and the second seed in the Western Conference play-offs in 2023-24 after averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists.

Gilgeous-Alexander helped the Thunder to the West's top seed with an average of 30.1 points - third highest in the NBA while also leading the league with 150 steals.

Doncic averaged an NBA-best 33.9 points per game, while also ranking second in assists per game (9.8) and 3-pointers made per game (4.1).

Neither Gilgeous-Alexander nor Doncic have won the MVP award before.

Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs is the runaway favourite to win the league rookie of the year after averaging 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and an NBA-best 3.6 blocked shots per game.

Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren and the Charlotte Hornets' Brandon Miller are the other finalists.

Michael Malone believes the Denver Nuggets face "a hell of a series" against the Los Angeles Lakers, with LeBron James pledging to improve after his team were beaten in Game 1 on Saturday.

The Nuggets and the Lakers faced off in the Western Conference finals last season, and they were reunited for Game 1 of this year's first-round series at Ball Arena on Saturday.

It's advantage Denver after Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 12 rebounds in a 114-103 win over Los Angeles, their ninth victory in the teams' last nine head-to-head meetings.

The reigning NBA champions were made to work for their success, though, having gone into halftime down 60-57, with James scoring 19 first-half points. 

However, the NBA's all-time leading scorer was limited to just eight second-half points and didn't attempt a shot in the fourth quarter until the final 80 seconds.

Though the Lakers ultimately ran out of steam, Denver coach Malone expects another tough test when the teams reconvene for Game 2 on Monday.

"We're not going anywhere," Malone said. "This is the playoffs. No team in the playoffs, if you get down 12 early, you're not going to just take your ball and go home. 

"We still have plenty of fight left in us and we know that we are better than what we were playing early.

"That's a good team over there. They came into the playoffs playing extremely well, and they showed it. 

"LeBron was on course, I thought he was about to have 50 points tonight, the way he was playing and shooting the ball.

"We've got to watch the film to see what we can do better. This is going to be a hell of a series."

James' 27 points came in support of Anthony Davis, who had 32, while the Nuggets had two other players match Jokic's double-double, with Jamal Murray tallying 22 points and 10 assists and Aaron Gordon adding 12 points and 11 rebounds.

James, who is appearing in the playoffs for the 17th time in 21 seasons, says the team won't get too low with plenty of time remaining to rescue the series. 

"I thought we played some good ball tonight, just could have been better," he said. "You don't have much room for error versus Denver, especially on their home floor.

"They're just a team that's been through everything. Obviously, they're the defending champions, so you've got to execute, you've got to make shots, you've got to defend.

"I don't ever get into the 'here we go again' mindset. It's one game, they protected their home court. We have another opportunity on Monday to come back and be better."

Nikola Jokić had 32 points and 12 rebounds and got ample help from his teammates as the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets continued their recent mastery of the Los Angeles Lakers with a 114-103 win in their Western Conference playoff opener on Saturday.

Jamal Murray tallied 22 points and 10 assists, Aaron Gordon added 12 and 11 rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. contributed 19 points and eight boards as the Nuggets won their ninth straight against the Lakers.

Anthony Davis matched Jokic with 32 points and 14 rebounds and LeBron James scored 27 points, but D’Angelo Russell was held to 13 points on 6-of-20 shooting – including 1 of 9 from 3-point range – and Rui Hachimura managed just seven points in 31 minutes.

Los Angeles hasn’t beaten Denver since Dec. 16, 2022, and will try again Monday in Denver, where the Nuggets are 34-8 this season.

Denver’s lead was down to 103-96 with five minutes left but Porter Jr. hit a 3 and Jokic dunked off a turnover by James to push the lead to 12.

Knicks’ reserves step up in win

Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart each scored 22 points and the New York Knicks got a huge lift from their bench for a 111-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Deuce McBride outscored the 76ers by himself with 13 points in the second quarter and finished with 21 on 7-of-12 shooting, including 5 of 7 from long range. Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 points and Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to add eight points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

Joel Embiid had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points for the 76ers, who will try to even the series in Game 2 on Monday.

Embiid was listed as questionable to play and went down with 2:49 left in the first half with an apparent injury to his surgically repaired knee. He walked to the locker room area and missed the rest of the first half but returned to start the second.

Hart made a pair of huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, the second extending the Knicks’ lead to 107-100 with one minute remaining.

Edwards powers Timberwolves past Suns

Anthony Edwards scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter and grabbed nine rebounds to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a tone-setting 120-95 win over the visiting Phoenix Suns in their series opener.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 19 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18 and Rudy Gobert tallied 14 points, 16 rebounds and stellar defence to help Minnesota to its first home win in the playoffs in 20 years.

Edwards keyed a 19-4 run to close the third quarter for a 20-point cushion and put a bow on his performance by stealing the ball from Kevin Durant and finishing with a slam on the other end to give the Timberwolves a 111-91 lead with 3:37 left.

Durant scored 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting, but Devin Booker was held to 18 on 5 for 16 from the field. The Suns were outrebounded 52-28 and outscored 52-34 in the paint.

Game 2 is in Minnesota on Tuesday before the best-of-seven series shifts to Phoenix for Game 3.

Nikola Jokic said he is not the only player deserving of MVP honours after strengthening his case by putting up 41 points in the Denver Nuggets' crucial victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.  

Jokic is favoured to see off competition from Luka Doncic and be crowned MVP for the third time in four seasons, and he did his hopes no harm in what was arguably the game of the year to date.

The Timberwolves entered the game top of the West due to holding the tiebreaker over the Nuggets, but the reigning NBA champions leapfrogged them with a crucial 116-107 win at Ball Arena.

Jokic added 11 rebounds and seven assists in the 20th 40-point game of his career, shooting 16-of-20 from the field as a big second half carried the Nuggets home in front of a capacity crowd.

Asked what the performance meant for his hopes of landing the league's top individual prize, Jokic said: "I think I'm playing good basketball. The team is playing good basketball,

"I think there is a lot of guys playing really good basketball in the league and a couple of guys deserve to have that award."

The 2021 and 2022 MVP instead preferred to focus on the role of Denver's closers Peyton Watson and Christian Braun, saying: "They were great. 

"P-Wat, it seemed like he was all over the place. He was just full of energy. C.B., with that sequence of two minutes, it was really amazing. 

"I was happy for those guys. They don't get enough credit for what they are doing on the floor, and they're helping us energy-wise, effort-wise. We need them."

Jokic's huge performance came despite him being guarded by the league's top defender in Rudy Gobert, leading Denver coach Michael Malone to describe the Serbian as unstoppable.

"Nikola always embraces the physicality. He never shies away from it," Malone said. "Rudy Gobert is going to be a Hall of Fame player one day. 

"Rudy Gobert is going to be regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation. It just speaks to how great Nikola is. I don't think anybody in the NBA can guard Nikola one-on-one."

Minnesota now need the Nuggets to slip up in one of their final two games, at the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies, to allow them back into the race for the top seed. 

Guard Anthony Edwards, who put up a team-high 25 points, said: "We knew what this game was going to determine.

"If we won it, we knew we were going to possibly be the number one seed. If we lost it, we knew they'd possibly be the number one seed. 

"I think we cared before but now that we lost, we can't do nothing about it."

Nikola Jokić scored 41 points on 16-of-20 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday to take a one-game lead in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference.

Jamal Murray added 20 points in 27 minutes and Michael Porter Jr. had 18 points with eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who split the four-game season series with the Wolves. Denver needs to finish ahead of Minnesota and Oklahoma City to earn the No. 1 seed for the second straight season.

The Nuggets parlayed the top seed last year into a 10-1 run at home in the playoffs on the way to their first NBA title.

Anthony Edwards scored 25 points but was a non-factor in the fourth quarter and Mike Conley added 19 for Minnesota, which had won four of five.

Denver closed the third quarter on a 9-1 run to take an 83-80 lead into the fourth. The Nuggets’ second until extended the margin to 91-87 before Jokic and Murray returned with 7 ½ minutes left, and Denver used a 10-0 spurt to pull away.

Mavericks clinch Southwest Division

Luka Dončić scored 29 points and Kyrie Irving had 25 as the Dallas Mavericks secured the Southwest Division title with a 111-92 win over the Miami Heat.

Doncic fell just shy of his 22nd triple-double of the season with nine rebounds and nine assists.

Derrick Jones Jr, P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford each scored 12 points for the Mavericks, who will face the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. It will be the third opening-round matchup between those teams in the last four seasons.

Tyler Herro scored 21 points for Miami, which fell to 20-19 at home this season after going 24-17 on the road.  

Portis leads Bucks without Antetokounmpo

Bobby Portis collected 30 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five steals and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame Giannis Antetokounmpo’s absence for a 117-99 win over the Orlando Magic.

Damian Lillard had 29 points and eight assists and Pat Beverley had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Bucks, who played a night after Antetokounmpo suffered a strained left calf that will sideline him the final three games of the regular season.

Milwaukee is 1 ½ games ahead of the Knicks and two in front of Cleveland in the race for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Cole Anthony scored 23 points for Orlando, which has lost two straight and three of four.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 29 points and the Golden State Warriors won their season-high sixth straight game, 133-110 over the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis had a career-high 20 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Warriors, who made it 13 straight wins against the Rockets since a loss on Feb. 20, 2020, and tightened its grip on 10th place in the Western Conference.

Thompson scored 21 points in the first half with five 3-pointers to help Golden State take a 65-50 lead into the break.

The Warriors held a 16-point lead after three quarters and were up 20 with just under four minutes left when coach Steve Kerr cleared his bench.

Jabari Smith Jr. scored 24 points for the Rockets, who dropped their third straight following an 11-game winning streak.

Knicks rally past Kings to end skid

D had 35 points and 11 assists and Josh Hart added a season-high 31 points as the New York Knicks overcame a 21-point deficit in a 120-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Hart shot 14 of 19 from the field, had nine rebounds and eight assists and Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points to help New York snap a three-game skid and tie Orlando for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.

De’Aaron Fox had 29 points, seven boards and seven assists for the Kings, who failed in a bid to tie New Orleans and Phoenix for sixth in the West.

Sacramento raced to a 46-25 lead while making 19 of its first 28 shots, but the Knicks responded with a 16-2 to get back in it.

Clippers hold off Nuggets

Paul George had 28 points and Ivica Zubac scored the final six points for the Los Angeles Clippers in a 102-100 win over the Denver Nuggets.

James Harden tallied 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds and Zubac finished with 14 points and 15 boards as the Clippers snapped a five-game home skid despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who sat out his second straight game with a sore right knee.  

Nikola Jokić notched his 24th triple-double of the season with 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, but the Nuggets couldn’t come all the way back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and dropped one-half game behind Minnesota for the Western Conference lead.

Joel Embiid made his presence felt in his first game in nine weeks following knee surgery, sinking four free throws in the final 40 seconds and finishing with 24 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-105 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

Embiid – the reigning MVP - added seven assists and six rebounds in nearly 30 minutes in his first game since Jan. 30.

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 25 points and Tobias Harris added 18 for the 76ers, who have won two straight following a 1-5 slide.

They are eighth in the Eastern Conference, 1 ½ games behind Miami.

Chet Holmgren scored 22 points and Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins added 15 apiece as the Thunder failed to win a third straight and dropped one-half game behind Denver for the Western Conference lead.

Oklahoma City squandered an 11-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and was without All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the third time in four games with a quad injury.

Jokic’s big night powers Nuggets

Nikola Jokić had 42 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 28 seconds left to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 110-105 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Jokic’s hook shot snapped a 103-all tie but Victor Wembanyma’s layup at the other end tied it again with 62 seconds left.

Porter, who had 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, then drilled a 3 to put Denver ahead to stay.

Wembanyama had 23 points, 15 boards, eight assists and nine blocks to nearly complete the NBA’s first quadruple-double since David Robinson in 1994.

Denver moved atop the Western Conference – a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and Minnesota.

Warriors stay hot, cool Mavericks

Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points and the Golden State Warriors survived Luka Dončić’s 20th triple-double of the season in a 104-100 victory to end the Dallas Mavericks’ seven-game winning streak.

Doncic had 30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists and trails only Domantas Sabonis (23) and Nikola Jokić (23) in triple-doubles. The Dallas superstar also notched his 48th 30-point game of the season, trailing only Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (50).

Klay Thompson and Chris Paul each scored 14 points and Stephen Curry had 13 on 5-of-18 shooting as the Warriors tied a season high with their fifth straight win.

Nikola Jokić had 35 points and 16 rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 113-109 win over the undermanned Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday in a matchup of Western Conference heavyweights.

Jamal Murray had 18 points and 11 assists and Aaron Gordon added 14 with 11 rebounds as the Nuggets won for the sixth time in seven games to move within percentage points of idle Oklahoma City for the West lead.

Denver blew an 18-point lead in less than 12 minutes but Jokic hit a 3-pointer with 1:45 remaining and sank a floater with 44 seconds to go for a 109-103 lead.

Mike Conley’s 3 with 12 seconds made it a two-point game, but the Nuggets sank four free throws down the stretch and Anthony Edwards missed a potential tying 3 from the wing at the buzzer.

Edwards had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Jaden McDaniels contributed 26 points for the Wolves, who had won three straight.

Minnesota played at home for the first time in 15 days and was without its top three big men - Karl-Anthony Towns (knee), Rudy Gobert (ribs) and Naz Reid (head).

Green drops 42 for surging Rockets

Jalen Green matched a career high with 42 points and the Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Wizards, 137-114, for their sixth consecutive win.

Green scored 15 points in the third quarter and finished with 10 rebounds. He previously scored 42 points against Minnesota on Jan. 23, 2023.

Amen Thompson scored 25 points and Jabari Smith Jr. added 18 with 14 rebounds for Houston, which moved within 2 ½ games of Golden State for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Justin Champagnie and Jules Bernard scored 16 points apiece for the league-worst Wizards, who lost their fifth straight.

Magic roll past Hornets

Cole Anthony scored 17 of his 21 points in the second quarter and Jalen Suggs added 19 points to lead the Orlando Magic to their fourth straight win, 112-92 over the Charlotte Hornets.

Paolo Banchero and Moritz Wagner each scored 13 points for the Magic, who led 67-32 at halftime and won their ninth in 11 games to extend their lead over second-place Miami in the Southeast Division.

Orlando clinched at least a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference and secured just its second non-losing season since 2011-12.

Brandon Miller had 21 points and fellow rookie Vasilije Micic added 20 as Charlotte lost its third straight and dropped to 2-10 in its past 12 games.

Kyrie Irving's Dallas Mavericks team-mates heaped praise upon the eight-time All-Star after his incredible buzzer-beater downed the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, with center Daniel Gafford describing him as a "magician".

With just 0.4 seconds remaining in a back-and-forth contest, Irving hit a dramatic floating shot with his left hand to stun the reigning NBA champions and end their five-game winning streak.

Taking an in-bounds pass from Maxi Kleber after Jamal Murray had misfired at the other end, Irving dribbled to just behind the free-throw line before sinking his stunning left-handed runner.  

That lifted the Mavs to their fifth win in their last six games, improving them to 39-29 as they battle for a playoff spot. 

Irving finished with 24 points in support of Luka Doncic, who had 37 on his return from a hamstring injury, meaning the duo accounted for over half of the Mavs' total.

Asked about Irving's buzzer-beater, Doncic said: "That shot was unbelievable, man. I couldn't believe it."

Gafford added: "He's a magician. He is a very crafty finisher, but finishing somewhere that far around the basket?

"I don't know if he works on something like that, but I know he works on his left hand. It went in and then we just got crazy."

Irving himself, meanwhile, was himself taken aback when watching replays of the shot, saying it was pure instinct.  

"I thought I got a little closer in the paint, but I looked at it after the game and I was pretty far out…" he said. "The majority of it is instinctual and comes from preparation for hours that no one sees.

"I saw [Nikola] Jokic taking away my pull-up going left. I knew that he was going to come up, but I didn't know he was going to commit like that, so he was forcing me inside the 3-point line. 

"As soon as I felt him kind of behind me, I was like, 'oh, I have my left hand. It's wide open, so why not go to it?'"

Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.

The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span. 

Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.

Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.

Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.

Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach. 

The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.

Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid

Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.

Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.

Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.

The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.

Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.

Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot

Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.

Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.

Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.

The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.

Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.

The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.

Kevin Durant scored 24 of his 37 points in the second half to help rally the Phoenix Suns to a 117-111 win over the hobbled Cleveland Cavaliers in a key inter-conference clash on Monday.

Durant added eight rebounds and six assists for Phoenix, which overcame a 19-point deficit in the second quarter while being boosted by All-Star Devin Booker's return from a sprained ankle.

Booker contributed 27 points on 11-of-22 shooting along with seven rebounds in 38 minutes after missing the Suns' last four games.

Darius Garland went 7 of 10 from 3-point range and finished with 30 points for the Cavaliers, who were again without three injured starters in All-Star Donovan Mitchell, forward Evan Mobley and guard Max Strus. Caris LeVert recorded 17 points and 11 assists in the loss. 

Cleveland has lost two straight and dropped a game behind the Milwaukee Bucks for first place in the Central Division.

Garland and the Cavs came out hot, as the standout guard put up 21 first-quarter points and Cleveland shot 66.7 per cent for the period to build a 41-32 lead. The margin grew in the second quarter, as Garland buried a 3-pointer to cap an 11-2 run that put the hosts up 63-44 with 4:50 left before half-time.

Phoenix closed the gap to 70-63 at the intermission before outscoring the Cavaliers by a 34-21 margin in the third quarter to pull ahead. Durant led the way with 19 points for the period on 6-of-8 shooting. 

Cleveland fought back to tie the game at 104-104 with under eight minutes left, but Booker and Durant led the Suns on a 9-3 flurry that the latter finished with a 3-pointer that gave the Suns a 113-107 lead with 3:43 remaining.

Doncic extends triple-doubles streak, but 30-point run ends

Luka Dončić posted his seventh consecutive triple-double, though his record run of six straight games of at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists came to an end in the Dallas Mavericks' 127-92 rout of the Chicago Bulls.

Doncic recorded 14 assists and 12 rebounds but failed to hit the 30-point mark after being removed from the blowout win midway through the fourth quarter. He finished with 27 points.

Dallas also dominated inside en route to its third consecutive victory, as post players Derrick Lively and Daniel Gafford combined for 44 points on 20-of-21 shooting. Lively missed just one of his 12 attempts while compiling a career-high 22 points, while Gafford was 9 of 9 from the field to end with 20 points.

Gafford is now a perfect 28 of 28 on field goal attempts over his last four games.

The Mavericks set the tone right from the start, as they outscored Chicago by a whopping 44-16 margin in the first quarter while shooting 64.3 per cent as a team. Doncic had 15 points and seven assists for the period and Lively chipped in 10 points in just six minutes.

Chicago never mounted a serious threat the rest of the way, as Dallas took a 62-42 lead into half-time and went ahead by as many as 34 points in the third quarter.

Onuralp Bitim led the Bulls with a career-high 17 points off the bench. Chicago has now lost two straight following a three-game winning streak on the road from March 4-7.

Jokic, Nuggets overcome 22-point deficit to top Raptors

Nikola Jokić compiled a 35-point, 17-rebound, 12-assist triple-double that helped spark a big second-half comeback which lifted the Denver Nuggets to a hard-earned 125-119 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Denver trailed by 21 points in the third quarter and as many as 22 in the game before rallying behind Jokic and Jamal Murray, who recorded 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and scored the go-ahead bucket with 6:48 left to play.

Jokic also had a season-high six steals in addition to his 21st triple-double of the season.

The Nuggets moved to 9-1 since the All-Star break, though the underdog Raptors gave the defending NBA champions all they could handle for much of the night.

Toronto opened the second quarter on an 11-0 run to build a 45-32 lead and extended the margin to 68-51 at the break behind 15 points from RJ Barrett and 13 from rookie Gradey Dick.

The Nuggets began chipping away late in the third quarter, as they closed out the period on a 16-5 spurt to trim the deficit to 98-93 entering the fourth. Jokic had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting for the quarter.

Murray's floater midway through the fourth quarter gave Denver a 108-107 lead, though the Raptors continued to keep it close until Michael Porter Jr.'s 3-pointer with 1:02 left to play proved to be too much to overcome as the Nuggets took a 124-119 edge into the final minute.

Barrett finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and nine assists for Toronto, which also received 24 points from Kelly Olynyk but lost for a fourth consecutive time.

Kristaps Porzingis bowed down to the "incredible" Luka Jokic after the Denver Nuggets star dismantled the Boston Celtics.

Eastern Conference leaders Boston lost back-to-back game for the first time since November as the Nuggets ran out 115-109 victors on Thursday.

Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists – his 20th triple-double of the season and his 30th career 30-point triple-double as the Nuggets completed the series sweep against the Celtics.

Porzingis recorded 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 41 points and 14 rebounds, but ultimately Jokic's quality told for the reigning NBA champions.

"He's just an incredible basketball player," said Porzingis.

"Some things I learned from him today, actually. He's just so smart, so crafty, so many things you don't see that he does on the floor that helps that team win.

"It's incredible. Whenever you [slip up] just a little bit, he'll find [Aaron] Gordon, he'll find all these guys. It speaks to how valuable he is for them."

The Nuggets have won seven of their last eight games and sit third in the West.

"They're a really good team, and they have basically an answer for everything," Jokic said.

"Matchup-wise, defense-wise, offense-wise. They are a really well-built team, and they're playing really good.

"That's why they're the best team in the NBA right now. It's really hard to play against that team. They're long and tall. They defend really good. They have really smart players. It's a great thing."

Denver coach Michael Malone knows it is something of a statement win.

"That team never goes away," Malone said of the Celtics, before adding of his team: "I thought the bench was outstanding, they gave us really good contributions.

"We've got 19 to go, we've got to find a way to stay hungry, we can't just get up for the great teams, we've got to get up for everybody and play that brand of basketball every night."

LeBron James scored his 40,000th point, but the Denver Nuggets closed strong and won their sixth straight game, 124-114 over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

James finished with 26 points and nine assists while reaching his latest milestone on a layup with 10:39 left in the second quarter. He extended his lead as the league’s career scoring leader.

Nikola Jokić had 35 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. added 25 and 10 and Jamal Murray had 24 points, 11 assists and six boards to help Denver get within one-half game of Minnesota for the Northwest Division lead.

The Nuggets closed the game on a 16-6 run, with Aaron Gordon’s 3-pointer with 3:49 left putting them ahead for good.

Jokic made a turnaround hook before Murray hit a jumper and Justin Holiday converted a running layup for a 117-110 advantage. After Anthony Davis’s basket got the Lakers within 117-112 with 1:49 left, Murray made a layup and Jokic added a layup of his own.

Booker injures ankle in Suns’ loss

Jalen Green poured in 34 points with six 3-pointers to lead the Houston Rockets to a 118-109 win over the Phoenix Suns, who lost star guard Devin Booker to an ankle injury.

Booker left late in the game after he injured his right ankle when he stepped on teammate Royce O’Neale’s foot. Booker had 24 points in 38 minutes before departing.

Fred VanVleet scored 24 points and Alperen Sengun added 21 with 10 rebounds as the Rockets snapped a three-game skid and avenged Thursday’s loss at Phoenix.

Kevin Durant had 30 points for the Suns, who had a nine-game home winning streak snapped.

Butler leads Heat past Jazz

Jimmy Butler scored 18 of his season-high 37 points in the third quarter and the Miami Heat defeated the Utah Jazz 126-120 for their 10th win in 13 games.

Bam Adebayo added 23 points and Caleb Martin had 18 for the Heat, who beat the Jazz at home for the seventh straight time.

Butler hit all three of his 3-point attempts and had a steal, extending his streak of having at least one 3 and one steal to 13 consecutive games – the fourth-longest run in the NBA this season and tying Tim Hardaway for the second-longest such streak in Heat history.

Keyonte George scored 31 points and Lauri Markkanen added 25 as the Jazz lost their third straight and eighth in nine games.

Nikola Jokic registered his 16th triple-double of the season and was 10-for-10 from the floor in the Denver Nuggets’ 130-110 win over the reeling Washington Wizards on Thursday.

Jokic had 21 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists to become the third player in NBA history to record at least one triple-double against every opponent in the league. He had 10 points, 14 boards and nine assists in the first half alone.

LeBron James and Russell Westbrook are the only other players with a triple-double against every opponent.

Michael Porter had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Jamal Murray added 18 points and eight assists as the Nuggets returned from the All-Star break and snapped a season high-tying three-game skid.

Kyle Kuzma tallied 31 points and 13 rebounds, but Washington dropped its ninth straight to match a season high.

The Wizards shot 38.8 percent from the field and fell to 1-34 against opponents with winning records.

Doncic powers streaking Mavericks

Luka Dončić scored 41 points and fell a rebound shy of a triple-double as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Phoenix Suns, 123-133, for their seventh straight win.

Doncic handed out 11 assists and grabbed nine boards while shooting 14 of 27 from the field and 6 of 11 from long range. He just missed his 11th triple-double of the season.

Kyrie Irving scored 13 of his 29 points in the first quarter and restored a double-digit lead for Dallas early in the fourth with a nifty behind-the-back dribble and spin move for a layup.

Devin Booker scored 35 points and Kevin Durant had 23 but was 9 of 22 from the floor and 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. Phoenix lost for the second time in seven games.

Celtics extend winning streak to seven

Derrick White scored 28 points and Jayson Tatum added 25 to lead the Boston Celtics to their season-high seventh consecutive win, 129-112 over the Chicago Bulls.

Jaylen Brown had 21 points and White and Tatum each made five of Boston’s 23 3-pointers as the Celtics padded their lead atop the NBA’s overall standings.

Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who have lost all three meetings against the Celtics this season.

Recent acquisition Buddy Hield scored 24 points and the Philadelphia 76ers held on late to end the Cleveland Cavaliers' nine-game winning streak with Monday's 123-121 victory.

Despite still being without injured reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, Philadelphia handed the red-hot Cavaliers just their second loss in their last 19 games behind hot-shooting efforts from Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr. 

Hield, making his third appearance since being acquired by the Sixers from the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range and 9 of 13 overall from the field. Oubre hit 10 of his 14 field goal attempts while also collecting 24 points.

The win was Philadelphia's second straight following a 1-8 stretch from Jan. 25-Feb. 9, during which the team lost Embiid for an extended period due to a knee injury that required surgery.

Cleveland got 36 points and six assists from All-Star Donovan Mitchell and 21 points and 10 rebounds from Jarrett Allen, but couldn't match the Sixers down the stretch after taking a 102-100 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Hield scored the final eight points of a 13-2 run that gave Philadelphia a 113-104 advantage with 4:28 left to play, and the 76ers led 120-110 with 1:25 to go following an Oubre 3-pointer.

The Cavs responded with a 9-0 spurt to pull within 120-119 on Mitchell's 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining, and had a chance to win at the buzzer when Darius Garland launched a 3-point shot that just missed the mark.

Garland ended with 21 points and nine assists, while Tyrese Maxey recorded 22 points and nine assists for Philadelphia.

Timberwolves dominate second half in rout of Clippers

The Minnesota Timberwolves got 24 points from Karl-Anthony Towns and a big third quarter to pull away for a 121-100 win over the Los Angeles Clippers and pad their lead atop the Western Conference.

Anthony Edwards added 23 points, 12 of which came during a dominant third quarter in which the Timberwolves outscored Los Angeles by a 40-19 margin.

Minnesota entered Monday's clash owning a slim half-game advantage on the Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, who were handed a 112-95 defeat by the Milwaukee Bucks, in the tightly bunched West standings. 

The Clippers kept it close until the latter stages of the third quarter, as the Timberwolves held a 70-69 edge with under five minutes left in the period.

Minnesota took over from there, as it closed out the quarter on a 19-3 run to take a commanding 89-72 lead into the fourth. Towns had eight points during the pivotal spurt.

The Timberwolves maintained a lead of 15 points or more throughout the final period en route to posting a second straight win and giving Los Angeles a second loss in its last three games.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George led the Clippers with 18 points each, while James Harden finished with 17 points and six assists. 

Bucks use defence to get past champion Nuggets

The Milwaukee Bucks got 36 points and 18 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo and another strong performance from their much-maligned defence to hand the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets a 112-95 loss.

Milwaukee entered Monday's marquee matchup ranked 23rd in the NBA in scoring defence at 119.3 points allowed per game, but held the formidable Nuggets to their second-lowest shooting rate of the season at 38.3 per cent.

The Bucks have yielded under 100 points in consecutive games for the first time this season. Milwaukee lost five of its first six outings under new head coach Doc Rivers prior to Friday's 120-84 rout of the Charlotte Hornets.

Nikola Jokić amassed 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Denver's second and third-leading scorers on the season, were a combined 4 of 16 from the field, however.

Murray managed just three points on 1-of-5 shooting before sitting out the second half due to inflammation in his lower legs.

The Bucks had built a comfortable 60-44 lead at that point as Antetokounmpo racked up 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting over the first two quarters. The Nuggets never got their deficit under 13 points the rest of the way and are now mired in a two-game losing streak.