NBA Roundup: Rockets upset Cavaliers for fifth-straight win

HOUSTON — Jalen Green had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Houston beat Cleveland 117-103 for their fifth straight victory on Saturday night.

Jabari Smith Jr. added 20 points, Amen Thompson had 18 and Fred VanVleet finished with 13 points and 16 assists for the Rockets, who made 15 3-pointers and outscored Cleveland 56-46 in the paint.

Green added four assists while hitting 4 of 9 from 3.

Houston led 70-54 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead.

The Rockets have won seven of their last eight, pulling within three games of the Golden State Warriors for the final Western Conference play-in spot.

Caris LeVert scored 21 points for Cleveland. Georges Niang had 14 and Donovan Mitchell added 13.

WARRIORS 128, LAKERS 121

LOS ANGELES — Stephen Curry scored 31 points in his return to Golden State’s lineup, Klay Thompson added 26 off the bench and the Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers in a pivotal Western Conference matchup.

LeBron James had 40 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who had to play without Anthony Davis for the final three quarters after he suffered an eye injury.

The Warriors inched ahead of the Lakers by a percentage point into ninth place in the West after winning a game that dragged to the finish because of a pair of replay reviews — one that overturned an apparent 3-pointer by James — then a malfunctioning clock.

Davis got poked in the left eye by Golden State’s Trayce Jackson-Davis while driving to the basket for a layup with 2:47 remaining in the first quarter. Davis kept playing for the next few minutes, but his eye was swollen shut as he went to the locker room.

The Lakers described the injury as an eye contusion.

Golden State took advantage of Davis’ injury as it dominated inside and regularly drove into the paint. The Warriors outrebounded the Lakers by six and had a 62-54 advantage in points in the paint.

Jonathan Kuminga added 23 points for the Warriors and Draymond Green had six points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists after he missed the last game due to back soreness.

D’Angelo Russell added 23 points and 13 assists for the Lakers, who have dropped their last two.

KNICKS 98, KINGS 91

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 42 points, becoming the fourth player in franchise history with 40 or more in consecutive games, and the New York beat Sacramento.

Brunson had 45 points in Thursday’s win at Portland, his seventh 40-point game of the season. He’s the first Knicks player to reach that total in back-to-back games since Carmelo Anthony on Feb. 19 and 21, 2014.

Hall of Famers Bernard King and Patrick Ewing are the other Knicks to do it. 

Donte DiVincenzo scored 15 points and Josh Hart had nine points and 12 rebounds. Isaiah Hartenstein was a force on the defensive end, blocking five shots and grabbing 14 rebounds, along with seven points.

Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 21 points and 14 rebounds for his 49th consecutive double-double.

De’Aaron Fox added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but was held to 5-for-19 shooting. Malik Monk scored 18 off the bench.

Sacramento fell to 0-8 when scoring fewer than 100 points, as New York held its fifth straight opponent under that number.

76ERS 109, HORNETS 98

PHILADELPHIA — Tyrese Maxey shook off a bloody nose caused by Brandon Miller’s flagrant foul to score 30 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in 22 and Philadelphia withstood a fourth-quarter charge to beat Charlotte.

Buddy Hield had 14 points and Paul Reed added 11 for the 76ers, who have struggled with an 8-13 record since Joel Embiid’s meniscus injury at the end of January to fall into eighth place in the Eastern Conference, putting them in danger of having to take part in the play-in tournament.

Tre Mann had 21 points and Miles Bridges added 14 for Charlotte, which has lost six straight to Philadelphia and nine of its last 12 overall.

Charlotte had trailed for most of the night but took an 89-88 lead after two free throws by Bridges capped an 18-9 run with about five minutes remaining. After that point, Maxey and Oubre took control on the offensive end, driving to the basket and through the Hornets' defence.

THUNDER 118, GRIZZLIES 112

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Chet Holmgren had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Williams added 23 points and six assists and Oklahoma City held off Memphis to claim a share of first place in the Western Conference.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and Josh Giddey finished with 13. Oklahoma City’s fifth win in six games pulled the Thunder even with idle Denver atop the West at 47-20.

Desmond Bane, playing in his first game since Jan. 12 due to injury, led the Grizzlies with 22 points and seven assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. and GG Jackson finished with 19 points apiece for Memphis, which lost its second straight and fourth in five games.

After a closely contested game early on, the Thunder were able to create a bit of a buffer in the third, stretching the lead to 14 points while shooting 53 per cent at that point for the game. They went on a 19-5 run in the final minutes of the frame.

Memphis fought back to within one possession early in the fourth, but another Oklahoma City run, fueled by a couple of Holmgren baskets inside, stretched the Thunder lead to double digits.

TIMBERWOLVES 119, JAZZ 100

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 31 points despite a twisted ankle, Mike Conley added a season-high 25 points in his return to Utah and Minnesota topped struggling Utah.

Edwards stepped on Taylor Hendricks’ foot while driving and turned his right ankle Just before halftime. He got up limping and went straight to the locker room.

Edwards jumped rope during the break and started the second half, but seemed a bit slower and less explosive.

Still, he made four 3-pointers, a layup and a circus three-point play in the final two quarters to help Minnesota keep Utah at bay.

The game marked the first time Conley played in Utah since being traded in February 2023 after four seasons with the Jazz and was highest scoring output with Minnesota.

Collin Sexton scored 22 points and Keyonte George added 18 for the Jazz, who have lost four of five.

PELICANS 126, TRAIL BLAZERS 107

NEW ORLEANS — CJ McCollum scored 30 points, Zion Williamson had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and New Orleans defeated Portland for their sixth victory in seven games.

Brandon Ingram scored 22 points and blocked four shots, and Trey Murphy III added 20 points for the Pelicans, who shot 53.6 per cent (52 of 97) and broke open a competitive game in the fourth quarter. McCollum made six of the Pelicans’ 13 3-pointers, and Murphy hit four.

The victory pulled the Pelicans within 1 1/2 games of the idle Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference.

Portland guard Dalano Banton scored 28 points, his third time scoring 25 or more points in his last six games, including a career-high 30 points on March 8 against Houston. Anfernee Simmons scored 25 and Deandre Ayton had 20 points for the Blazers, who shot 50 per cent (42 of 84).

PACERS 121, NETS 100

INDIANAPOLIS — Pascal Siakam had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Aaron Nesmith scored 16 points and Indiana beat Brooklyn.

All-Star Tyrese Haliburton finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, overcoming a 6-for-18 shooting night, and his backup T.J. McConnell finished with 13 points. McConnell has scored in double figures 10 times in his past 17 games.

Cam Thomas had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Nets, who were outscored 82-42 in the paint in the teams’ first meeting of the season. Brooklyn shot 43 per cent from the field, committed 21 turnovers and fell to 1-4 on its six-game road trip.

Indiana trailed 30-25 at the end of the first quarter and led just 59-57 at halftime before blowing the game open in the second half, leading by 27 in the fourth quarter. The victory was the Pacers’ seventh of the season by a margin of at least 20 points.

Cam Johnson scored 14 points for the Nets, Dennis Schroder had 13 points and five assists, and Dorian Finney-Smith finished with 12 points.

BULLS 127, WIZARDS 98

CHICAGO — Ayo Dosunmu scored a career-high 34 points, Nikola Vucevic added 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Chicago pounded Washington.

The Bulls made it look easy against the team with the NBA’s worst record with Dosunmu and Vucevic setting the tone. They led by 22 at halftime and never were threatened after the break.

Dosunmu, whose previous high was 29 points in a win at Atlanta last month, made four three-pointers. He matched a season-best with nine assists.

Alex Caruso scored 16. DeMar DeRozan added 13 points — despite taking just seven shots — and six assists.

The Wizards fell to 4-20 under interim coach Brian Keefe with their third straight loss and 19th in 21 games.

Corey Kispert led Washington with 16 points, and Bilal Coulibaly scored 15.