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.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 33 points with a career-high nine 3-pointers and the New York Knicks rolled to their eighth straight victory, 118-103 over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

Jalen Brunson had 29 points and nine assists and Precious Achiuwa matched a season high with 18 points as the Knicks concluded a 14-2 January. That is their most wins in a month since going 14-0 in March 1994 and just one short of their most ever, a 15-3 record in December 1968.

New York was again without starting forwards Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, but Josh Hart had his first career triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best 10 assists and Isaiah Hartenstein added 14 points and 12 boards.

Collin Sexton scored 22 points for the Jazz, who lost in New York for the second straight night to close their road trip at 2-4.

The Knicks took control by outscoring Utah 36-24 in the third quarter, turning a 57-49 halftime lead into a 93-73 cushion entering the fourth.

 

Tatum lifts Celtics over Pacers

Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and came up with two blocks in the final 30 seconds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 129-124 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Jaylen Brown had 25 points and Derrick White added 24 for Boston, which won its fifth in six games to improve the NBA’s best record to 37-11.

Kristaps Porzingis contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds in his return after missing two games with a sprained left ankle.

Aaron Nesmith had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Pascal Siakam added 23 as Indiana had a three-game winning streak snapped.

 

Curry leads Warriors as Embiid limps off

Stephen Curry scored 37 points with eight 3-pointers and the Golden State Warriors sent the Philadelphia 76ers to their fourth straight loss, 119-107.

Jonathan Kuminga added 26 points and Andrew Wiggins had 23 to help the Warriors win for just the third time in nine games.

Tobias Harris had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia and Embiid scored 14 points before limping to the locker room with 4:04 remaining after Kuminga fell on his left knee.

Curry, who also had eight rebounds and seven assists, shot 12 for 17 from the field in his third straight 30-point game. It was his third consecutive game with at least six 3s with 25 or more points.

Nikola Jokic scored 31 points as part of his league-leading 13th triple-double of the season and Jamal Murray also had 31 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 114-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.

Jokic sealed Denver’s third straight win with a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining. He leads all active players with 118 triple-doubles.

Myles Turner had 22 points and Pascal Siakam added 16 with 10 rebounds in his first home game since the Pacers acquired him from Toronto last week.

Indiana lost its third in a row overall and eighth straight against Denver.

The Nuggets took a 93-81 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Pacers took the lead 103-102 on Ben Sheppard’s 3-pointer with 3:42 left.

Jokic’s layup with 1:38 to play gave Denver the lead for good and Murray’s running finger roll 22 seconds later made it 111-107.

McCollum sinks 9 3-pointers as Pelicans erupt

CJ McCollum matched his season high with 33 points and went 9 for 13 from 3-point range as the New Orleans Pelicans set a franchise scoring record in a 153-124 win over the Utah Jazz.

Zion Williamson added 17 points and a career-high 11 assists and Herb Jones scored 22 points for the Pelicans, who surpassed their previous franchise record of 149 points in a win over Sacramento in October 2018.

McCollum shot 11 of 17 from the field and New Orleans connected on half its attempts from long range (23 of 46) as part of a 57.7 percent overall shooting effort.

Brunson, Randle team up to keep Knicks hot

Jalen Brunson had 30 points and Julius Randle flirted with a second straight triple-double as the New York Knicks rallied for a 108-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 points and OG Anunoby added 10 for the Knicks, who have won four straight and improved to 10-2 since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto.

Randle finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists after he had 18 points, 16 boards and 10 assists in Saturday’s win over the Raptors.

Mikal Bridges scored 36 points with a career-high seven 3-pointers for the Nets, who entered the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, just two nights after squandering an 18-point advantage in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

 

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points and Jalen Williams added 27 and eight assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder snapped the Utah Jazz’s six-game winning streak on Thursday with a 134-129 victory.

Josh Giddey had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Carson Wallace added a season-high 16 points for the Thunder, who had 19 fast-break points and shot 55.8 percent from the field.

Williams shot 11 of 14 and has scored at least 25 points in three straight games.

Colin Sexton scored 31 points and Lauri Markkanen had 26 but Utah had a nine-game home winning streak stopped.

Sexton made three free throws and dunked with 68 seconds left to get the Jazz within 130-126 but Wallace drilled a 3-pointer to extend Oklahoma City’s lead.

Brunson leads Knicks past Wizards

Jalen Brunson had 41 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the New York Knicks got past the Washington Wizards, winning 113-107.

Brunson shot 14 of 27 from the field and scored 18 of the Knicks’ 21 points during a long stretch of the fourth quarter, as New York extended a one-point lead to 105-97 with 86 seconds to play.

Julius Randle added 21 points and Donte DiVincenzo and OG Anunoby each had 19 to help the Knicks improve to 8-2 since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto.

Jordan Poole scored 24 points for Washington, which has lost eight of nine.

Short-handed Pacers defeat Kings

Bennedict Mathurin scored 25 points and the undermanned Indiana Pacers held off the Sacramento Kings in a 126-121 victory.

T.J. McConnell had 20 points and 10 assists and Jalen Smith added 17 points with 13 rebounds as Indiana won for the 10th time in 13 games.

The Pacers were without newly acquired Pascal Siakam and are still missing fellow All-Star Tyrese Haliburton due to a strained left hamstring. Aaron Nesmith (shin) and Andrew Nembhard (back) were also out and Isaiah Jackson left in the first quarter after taking a hit to the head.

Kevin Huerter scored a career-high 31 points with seven 3-pointers for the Kings, losers of four in a row.

The NBA has postponed Wednesday night’s game between the Warriors and Utah Jazz after Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojevic suffered a medical emergency at a team dinner in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night.

The Warriors did not provide any details on the emergency, but multiple reports said the 46-year-old Milojevic had a cardiac event.

Milojevic played professionally in Europe from 1994-2009, winning the Adriatic League Most Valuable Player Award three years in a row (2004-06).

He became a head coach in his native Serbia from 2012-20 and in Montenegro in 2021.

Milojevic joined Golden State head coach Steve Kerr’s staff in August 2021 and went on to help the Warriors defeat the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals.

The Memphis Grizzlies got career-best scoring performances from Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson to overcome a slew of injured players and spoil Draymond Green's return to the Golden State Warriors' lineup in Monday's 116-107 win.

Williams amassed 24 points and seven rebounds and Jackson contributed 23 points off the bench on a night Memphis was without three of its top four scorers for the season in Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart.

Both players recorded eight fourth-quarter points as the Grizzlies pulled away late to halt a two-game losing streak and hand the reeling Warriors an eighth loss in 11 games.

Green had seven points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes in his first appearance in just over a month. The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year had just completed serving an indefinite NBA suspension for striking Phoenix Suns centre Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12.

The Warriors owned a 91-90 lead following Stephen Curry's go-ahead 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, but Memphis responded with a 16-5 run to break the game open. 

Jackson, who finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range, had two triples during the surge, which Luke Kennard capped with a 3-pointer to give the Grizzlies a 106-96 advantage with 7:20 left.

Golden State never got closer than seven points behind the rest of the way.

Curry led the Warriors with 26 points and Jonathan Kuminga delivered 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

Mavericks down rival Pelicans behind big games from Irving, Hardaway

Kyrie Irving and Tim Hardaway Jr. each eclipsed the 40-point mark while rallying the Dallas Mavericks to a 125-120 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, a win that created a two-way tie atop the Southwest Division between the teams.

The Mavericks overcame a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter and another absence from superstar Luka Dončić to avenge Saturday’s 118-110 home loss to the Pelicans.

Irving and Hardaway more than made up for Doncic missing a third straight game with a sprained ankle. Irving scored 24 of his 42 points in the second half, while Hardaway had 11 of his season-high 41 points during a fourth quarter in which Dallas outscored New Orleans by a 33-21 margin.

The Pelicans held a 111-104 lead with seven minutes left before Dallas took control with a 17-4 run. Hardaway hit back-to-back 3-pointers during the pivotal spurt, the second of which gave the Mavericks a 112-111 edge with 4:16 remaining.

Jalen Green’s 3-pointer with 1:27 left to play extended Dallas’ advantage to 121-115, though New Orleans answered with five straight points to cut its deficit to one with 17.7 seconds remaining.

Irving then hit two free throws on the ensuing possession, and after the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram missed a potential game-tying 3-point attempt, Maxi Kleber made two foul shots to seal the win and pull Dallas even with New Orleans in the standings.

Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 30 points and CJ McCollum had 23 in the loss, though Ingram went just 3 of 14 from the field while finishing with 12 points.

Jazz extend winning streak with rout of Pacers

Lauri Markkanen put up 32 points and 10 rebounds as the resurgent Utah Jazz continued their recent winning ways with a 132-105 rout of the short-handed Indiana Pacers.

The Jazz cruised to their sixth consecutive victory behind the hot shooting of Markkanen and Collin Sexton, who went 11 of 17 from the field while scoring a season-high 30 points to go along with five assists. Markkanen made 10 of 15 field goal attempts and was a perfect 10 for 10 from the foul line.

After getting off to a 7-16 start, Utah has won 15 of its last 19 games to move up to ninth place in the Western Conference.

The Pacers lost their second in a row while playing a fourth straight game without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, out with a hamstring injury. Indiana was also without two other key contributors in guard Bruce Brown and 3-point specialist Aaron Nesmith due to injuries.

Indiana's depleted lineup proved to be no match, as the Jazz took a 33-26 lead after one quarter and increased it to 64-50 at half-time behind 17 points from Sexton and 15 from Markkanen.

Utah maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way, with its lead swelling to 29 points in the final stages.

Buddy Hield and Andrew Nembhard each had 14 points to lead Indiana.

 

Anthony Davis said the Los Angeles Lakers could not use LeBron James' injury-enforced absence as an excuse after the 39-year-old missed Saturday's 132-125 defeat to the Utah Jazz.

James rolled his left ankle during the first half of the Lakers' 127-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, staying in that contest but scoring a season-low 10 points in just 24 minutes on the court.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer was then absent as Los Angeles suffered their sixth defeat in eight games on Saturday, with D'Angelo Russell's season-high 39 points not enough in Salt Lake City.

Davis had a triple-double with 15 points, 15 boards and 10 assists but shot five of 21 from the field as the Lakers dropped to 19-21 for the season. 

While the 30-year-old pointed to the injury problems which have hampered Los Angeles throughout the campaign, he feels they have enough talent on the roster to win games without their stars. 

"We're not in a bad spot," Davis said. "It could be worse. Our injuries just piled up over and over. 

"As soon as we think we get a couple of guys back, guys go down. So, that's the toughest thing but we still have enough to win basketball games. 

"Even though Bron doesn't play, we have enough to win. We've just got to keep going. We've played 40 games, 42 left. We got to make a push. 

"These next five or six games at home are going to be a big stretch of games for us."

The Lakers, who sit 11th in the Western Conference standings, welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls to Crypto.com Arena in the next 11 days.

The Indiana Pacers overcame a double-digit deficit and an injury to star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to rally for a thrilling 133-131 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics on Monday.

Indiana earned its seventh win in eight games despite trailing by 11 points in the third quarter and playing the entire second half without Haliburton, the team's top scorer who had to be carried off the court after slipping and straining his left hamstring late in the second quarter.

Bennedict Mathurin helped offset Haliburton's absence with 26 points off the bench, while Buddy Hield scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Pacers also withstand a season-high 40 points from Boston's Jaylen Brown.

Brown finished 17 of 26 from the field on a night the Celtics played without leading scorer Jayson Tatum due to a sore left ankle. Boston lost for only the second time in its last 10 games and was coming off a 118-101 home win over the Pacers on Saturday. 

The Celtics did hold a 74-63 lead early in the third quarter before Indiana put forth a 17-6 run to tie the game and later take a slim 103-101 edge into the fourth.

The game remained tight up until the very end, when Mathurin was fouled by Kristaps Porzingis on a 3-point try with 0.6 seconds on the clock. He made the first two free throws before deliberately missing the third and leaving the Celtics with not enough time to get a good shot off.

Fast start helps Jazz extend Bucks' slump

The Pacers closed the gap on first-place Milwaukee in the Central Division after the struggling Bucks were handed a 132-116 defeat by the visiting Utah Jazz.

Five Jazz players had at least 19 points and Utah led from nearly start-to-finish to deal Milwaukee a fourth loss in five games. The Bucks' lead over Indiana and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central is now down to 3 1/2 games.

Utah hit 11 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 41-23 lead after 12 minutes, then shot 54.2 per cent in the second to build a commanding 77-46 half-time advantage. John Collins and Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 12 first-half points.

Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen each finished with 21 points for Utah, which had its lead reduced to seven points midway through the fourth quarter before pulling away again late.

Collins, Collin Sexton and Keyonte George all had 19 points in the Jazz's eighth win in 10 games, while Kris Dunn dished out 13 assists.

Milwaukee did get a 25-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double from Giannis Antetokounmpo on a night in which it played without fellow star Damian Lillard, who was away from the team due to a personal matter. 

Cade Cunningham has faith the Detroit Pistons can turn their form around after a 25th successive loss saw them close in on an unwanted NBA record.

The Pistons went down 119-111 to the short-handed Utah Jazz on Thursday.

That means Detroit are just one defeat away from matching the single-season record for consecutive losses, which is shared by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers, while the latter hold the outright record for successive defeats, having lost 28 straight games across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Cunningham, though, believes the Pistons still have the quality to turn matters around.

"We're not 2-26 bad, no way are we that bad," said Cunningham, who finished with a double-double of 28 points and 10 assists.

"I think we can turn this around. We can play a much better brand of basketball.

"We had a chance to win it down the stretch, and we just weren't solid enough.

"This is history no one wants to be a part of."

While Cunningham was upbeat ahead of Saturday's meeting with the Brooklyn Nets, coach Monty Williams had to hold his tongue.

"I want to be careful with my words, because this one hurts more than most of them," Williams said.

"A team that played last night got [50] points off turnovers and rebounds. It is unbelievably hard to understand how we can get outworked in those categories."

Jazz coach Will Hardy, meanwhile, hailed a big win for his team, who were without four of their top seven scorers.

Hardy said: "That's a really, really good team win for us. That's a hard game to play, second night of a back-to-back on the road with a bunch of guys out." 

The Detroit Pistons suffered their 25th straight loss – one short of the NBA single season record – as Kelly Olynyk scored 25 points to lead the short-handed Utah Jazz to a 119-111 victory on Thursday.

Detroit missed nine of 10 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and was 9 of 31 overall from long range as it remained winless since Oct. 28.

The 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers share the record at 26, which the Pistons will try to avoid Saturday in Brooklyn. The 76ers hold the overall mark of 28, a skid that started in 2014-15 and carried over into 2015-16.

Collin Sexton scored 19 points and Ochai Agbaji added 18 for the Jazz, who played without four of their top seven scorers – Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Keyonte George and Talen Horton-Tucker – on the second night of a back-to-back after losing at Cleveland on Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo propels Bucks to 6th straight win

Giannis Antetokoumpo tallied 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and the Milwaukee Bucks completed a perfect six-game homestand with a 118-114 win over the Orlando Magic.

Damian Lillard added 24 points and eight assists for the Bucks, who have won 15 straight games at Fiserv Forum. That’s the Bucks’ longest single-season home win streak since they opened 18-0 at home in 1991-92.

Franz Wagner scored 29 points and Paolo Banchero had 23 for the Magic, who have lost four in a row.

Thunder snap Clippers’ 9-game streak

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 31 points and Chet Holmgren gave the Thunder the lead for good with a dunk he threw off the backboard to himself, and Oklahoma City ended the Los Angeles Clippers’ nine-game winning streak, 134-115.

Holmgren’s flashy jam with 8:43 left in the third quarter gave the Thunder a 74-73 lead and sparked a decisive 13-0 run.

Holmgren finished with 23 points and Lu Dort added 21 for Oklahoma City, which has won three straight and five of six.

James Harden scored 23 points and Paul George had 22 for the Clippers, who played without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard due to a bruised right hip.

Keegan Murray scored a career-high 47 points as the Sacramento Kings continued their good form with a 125-104 win over the Utah Jazz, but the forward's coach Mike Brown thinks he is "barely scratching the surface" of his potential. 

The Kings eased to a fourth win in their last five games on Saturday, with the Jazz unable to respond after allowing 44 points in the third quarter.

Murray scored a franchise-best 26 points in the third period, while his 12 three-pointers across the course of the contest were also a record for a Sacramento player.

Murray had Klay Thompson's single-game league record of 14 three-pointers in his sights until he missed with two late attempts, meaning he had to settle for becoming just the seventh player to make a dozen or more threes in one outing.

Brown, however, believes there is still more to come from last year's fourth overall draft pick.

"I thought Keegan was playing the right way," Brown said. "Nothing was really forced. Our guys didn't really force anything to him. They just hit him when he was open.

"He's just barely scratching the surface because he's been asked to do something that he's never been asked to do at the highest level.

"With his work ethic, his determination, his skill set and all that other stuff, he's got a chance to be a high-level player in a lot of different areas. 

"Everybody's just seeing a little bit of it now, so there's a ton of room to grow, for sure."

Saturday's win saw Sacramento improve to 15-9 for the season, with Domantas Sabonis adding 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, registering his 20th double-double of the season.

The Jazz, meanwhile, saw their winning streak snapped at two games, and coach Will Hardy accepted there was little they could do to stop Murray in that vein of form.

"Keegan never let us off the hook," he said. "Every time you make a mistake, he makes the shot. 

"The percentages will tell you that's not necessarily realistic either, but it was one of those nights. He's obviously a very good young player, so hats off to him."

Luka Dončić notched a triple-double by halftime and finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters in the Dallas Mavericks’ 147-97 rout of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Doncic grabbed a rebound with 71 seconds left in the first half and assisted on Dereck Lively II’s dunk 12 seconds later to complete the 60th triple-double of his career. That moved him past Larry Bird into sole possession of ninth on the career list.

The Dallas superstar had the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history. Doncic shot 14 of 25 from the field and was 6 of 12 from long range.

Kyrie Irving added 26 points for Dallas, which had its highest-scoring game of this season and came up two points shy of the highest-scoring game ever in regulation.

Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points for the Jazz, who played without top scorers Lauri Markkanen (hamstring) and Jordan Clarkson (thigh).

Grizzlies’ Bane goes off as Pistons lose again

Desmond Bane poured in 32 of his career-high 49 points in the second half and the Memphis Grizzlies sent the Detroit Pistons to their 18th straight loss, 116-102.

Detroit’s streak is the longest single-season run in franchise history and the longest in the NBA since the Houston Rockets’ 20-game slide in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers hold the NBA record with a 26-game drought in 2013-14.

Bane shot 19 of 31 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range while sinking all seven free-throw attempts. He added eight assists and six rebounds.

The Pistons held a 69-61 lead midway through the third quarter, but Bane scored the next seven points.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for Detroit, which was outscored 34-18 in the fourth quarter.

Embiid drops 50 in 76ers’ win

Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-126 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Embiid hit the 50-point mark for the sixth time in his career, falling nine points short of his career best set on Nov. 13, 2022, against Utah.

He was 19 of 24 from the floor with a 3-pointer on two attempts and 11 of 13 from the foul line. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes.

Tyrese Maxey added 26 points as the 76ers averted a third straight loss.

De’Aaron Fox scored 16 of his season-high 43 points in the fourth quarter and the Sacramento Kings won their fifth straight, 129-120 over the San Antonio Spurs to remain perfect in the In-Season Tournament on Friday.

Domantas Sabonis had 28 points and Malik Monk added 20 as the Kings won their fourth in a row in San Antonio and moved to 2-0 in the West Group C standings of the tournament.

Victor Wembanyama had 27 points on 12-of-26 shooting and nine rebounds after scoring a season-low eight points in Tuesday’s loss at Oklahoma City.

Zach Collins scored 28 points and Keldon Johnson contributed 20, but the Spurs lost their seventh straight and dropped to 0-3 in the in-season tournament.

Durant stars as Suns beat Jazz

Kevin Durant scored 38 points and came up just shy of a triple-double and Devin Booker had 24 points and 15 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 131-128 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Durant had nine rebounds and nine assists and scored at least 25 points for the 11th straight game, the longest active streak in the NBA.

Durant’s 3-pointer gave Phoenix a 124-115 lead before Utah rallied to get within one in the final minute. He struck again with his sixth 3 of the game with 18 seconds to play.

Jordan Clarkson had a season-high 37 points for Utah and Lauri Markkanen added 21.

Harden hits key 3-pointer as Clippers snap skid

James Harden drilled a tiebreaking 3-pointer while getting fouled with six seconds remaining and the Los Angeles Clippers ended a six-game losing streak with a 106-100 win over the Houston Rockets.

Harden sank a 26-footer from atop the key and completed the rare four-point play to seal his first win since joining the Clippers, who had lost their last five games since acquiring the superstar.

Kawhi Leonard added two free throws in the final second and finished with 26 points, while Harden added 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Alperen Sengun scored 23 points for the Rockets, whose six-game win streak was stopped after allowing Los Angeles to close the game on a 12-1 run.

Luka Doncic amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks continue their strong start to the NBA season with Monday's 125-110 road win over the slumping Memphis Grizzlies. 

Coming off a 49-point effort in a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Doncic followed up by making 6 of 12 attempts from 3-point range and going 11 of 22 overall from the field to lead the way as the Mavericks improved to 3-0.

Derrick Jones added 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 points on a night Dallas played without its other star guard, Kyrie Irving, due to a left foot sprain.

Memphis, which had the Western Conference's second-best record at 51-31 last season, fell to 0-4 despite 30 points each from Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. The Grizzlies also got 23 points and nine assists from Marcus Smart in a losing cause.

The short-handed Grizzlies have opened the season without a pair of starters in All-Star Ja Morant and center Steven Adams. Morant is serving a 25-game suspension by the NBA for conduct detrimental to the league, while Adams is not expected to play in 2023-24 after recently undergoing knee surgery.

 

Jokic powers 4-0 Nuggets past Jazz

Nikola Jokic recorded the 107th triple-double of his illustrious career with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the unbeaten Denver Nuggets to a 110-102 win over the Utah Jazz.

Jokic made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and added a pair of blocks while tying LeBron James and Jason Kidd for fourth on the NBA's all-time list in triple-doubles. 

Denver also got an efficient shooting night from Aaron Gordon, who finished 12 of 16 from the field while compiling 21 points and seven rebounds. Jamal Murray chipped in 18 points and 14 assists as the defending NBA champions moved to 4-0.

Lauri Markkanen paced Utah with 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, while Walker Kessler tallied 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting along with 13 rebounds.

The Jazz led for just 16 seconds and trailed by as many as 17 points to fall to 1-3.

 

Curry's hot hand sparks Warriors' rout of Pelicans

Stephen Curry drained seven 3-pointers and finished with 42 points as the Golden State Warriors continued their recent roll with a 130-102 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans.

With long-time backcourt mate Klay Thompson unavailable with a sore right knee, Curry carried the Warriors' offence by going 15 of 22 from the floor and 7 of 13 on 3-point tries. The two-time NBA MVP added five assists to help the Warriors to a third straight victory following a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Curry has now made 24 3-pointers during the Warriors' 3-1 start, the most by any player through four games of a season in NBA history. 

Moses Moody started in place of Thompson and scored 13 points, with Chris Paul and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis also contributing 13 points off the bench in a game Golden State broke open in the second half.

The Warriors held a slim 59-57 advantage at half-time before outscoring the Pelicans by a 39-21 margin in the third quarter.

New Orleans had a two-game winning streak to begin the season snapped while playing without second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram, who was held out with a sore right knee.

Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum led the Pelicans with 19 points each.

 

Just two years ago, Lauri Markkanen had fallen out of the starting lineup for the Chicago Bulls and was scoring a career-low 13.6 points per game.

In 2022-2023, he has been voted the NBA's Most Improved Player after finding a new home with the Utah Jazz.

Markkanen received 69 of 100 first-place votes to claim the award, beating out fellow finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Brunson.

Playing for his third team in as many years, Markkanen broke out this season by averaging 25.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists – all improvements on his numbers last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers of 14.8/5.7/1.3. In February, Markkanen played in his first career All-Star game, where he was named a starter.

He is the first Jazz player to win the award, and the Finland native is the seventh international player to claim the honour.

Markkanen received news of winning the award while fulfilling his required military service in Helsinki.

Markkanen has been involved in several trades and failed to put down roots with his two previous clubs, but he was given a larger role with the Jazz after being part of the deal that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.

After struggling to find his role with the Bulls and Cavaliers, the seven-foot forward has emerged as a cornerstone in Utah.

Markkanen accepted his award remotely on a TNT telecast, crediting his career-best season to his situation with a new team.

"The right place at the right time," Markkanen said of his first season in Utah.

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