NBA Roundup: Green scores 37, Rockets beat Thunder for 10th win in a row

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Houston Rockets didn’t care that they beat an Oklahoma City squad that was missing its best player, All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The Rockets celebrated loudly in the locker room after escaping with a win at one of the toughest venues in the league. Jalen Green scored 37 points and Houston won its 10th straight game, defeating the Thunder 132-126 in overtime on Wednesday night.

“It was lit, it was lit,” Green said. “Everybody was happy, celebrating, screaming. I mean, we fought for that one. We worked hard.”

Rockets coach Ime Udoka said it’s all about stacking victories.

“Ten in a row is 10 in a row, regardless if Shai is out or whatever the case may be,” Udoka said. “But it’s hard to do in the NBA. The guys are proud of that effort, and well deserved.”

Amen Thompson had 25 points and 15 rebounds and Dillon Brooks added 20 points for the Rockets.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who was out with a bruised right thigh, ranks third in the league with 30.4 points per game.

Josh Giddey matched a career-high with 31 points for the Thunder, one night after scoring a season-high 25 in a win at New Orleans. Jalen Williams added 23 points and 10 assists for Oklahoma City, which entered the night a half game behind the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.

CLIPPERS 108, 76ERS 107

PHILADELPHIA — Kawhi Leonard completed two 3-point plays late in the game then made a block at the rim on the final possession to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a controversial 108-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

Kelly Oubre Jr. was stuffed at the rim by Leonard on a play that Sixers head coach Nick Nurse felt should have resulted in a foul on Paul George.

The officiating crew after the game said a foul should have been called on the last play that would have sent Oubre to the line with a chance to win the game.

Nurse stormed onto the court to dispute the non-call and had to be restrained by his assistants. Oubre also jumped into the mix, pointing at each official before being pulled away after the final horn.

“Well I think, listen, I think he took it in there pretty hard, right?” Nurse said. “I looked it on our computer screen a couple times. I thought there was certainly contact. Certainly as much as the last two or three that got called and-1's at the other end. And that’s all. I just thought it was enough contact to call. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

The game officials agreed.

“On the last play on the floor, in real time the crew interpreted that play as the defender jumping vertically,” referee Kevin Scott said to a pool reporter. “However, in post-game video review we did observe some slight drift to his left by the defender George, and a foul should have been ruled.”

Leonard bounced back from a 1-for-8 shooting first half to score 17 points and grab 10 rebounds.

“We had to stay focused if we were going to stay in the game,” he said.

George had 22 points to lead Los Angeles while James Harden, in his return to Wells Fargo Center, had 16 points and 14 assists for the Clippers, who had lost six of nine.

“I liked our fight when we got down 15 points,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “It's a tough game for a first game of a road trip. ... I just liked us staying with it and attacking the paint and getting to the rim.”

Tyrese Maxey had 26 points for the 76ers while Oubre added 17 points.

NUGGETS 104, SUNS 97

DENVER — Kevin Durant had 30 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks and the Phoenix Suns won in Denver for the second time this month, beating the defending champion Nuggets 104-97 on Wednesday night.

The Suns, with the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, moved a half-game ahead of Sacramento for the seventh spot in the Western Conference as they try to move up to sixth to avoid a play-in game. Dallas is No. 6, a half-game ahead of Phoenix.

The Western Conference-leading Nuggets struggled without starting point guard Jamal Murray, who missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

Nikola Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists as he fought through lower back pain and left hip soreness.

The Nuggets, a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and Minnesota, lost for just the third time in 18 games since the All-Star break, and two of those losses have come at home to the Suns, who prevailed 117-107 in overtime at Ball Arena on March 5.

Denver won six straight games at home after that, but Wednesday night were again victimized by terrific long-range shooting from the Suns, who made 16 of 33 shots from behind the arc. Denver was 10 of 40 on 3s.

Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon each added 18 points for Denver, but the Nuggets' bench shot just 5 of 19.

Jusuf Nurkic was out for Phoenix with a sprained right ankle after the center was hurt in the third quarter of the Suns' 104-102 loss at San Antonio on Monday night.

Bradley Beal left that game with a sprained right ring finger, but he started Wednesday night and sank a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, setting the tone for another sizzling shooting performance by the Suns, who sank 15 3-pointers at Ball Arena in their last visit.

BULLS 125, PACERS 99

CHICAGO — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Nikola Vucevic added 22 with 12 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls past the Indiana Pacers 125-99 on Wednesday night to snap a three-game skid.

Coby White had 18 points to help Chicago take the season series from Indiana 3-1.

All five Chicago starters reached double digits in scoring, but this victory was about defense. The high-scoring Pacers were held under 100 points for the first time this season. Their previous low was 101 against Boston in a loss on Jan. 6.

“As a team, I thought we were very connected defensively,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “I really thought the way they helped each other was very important ... with (Indiana) being such a hard team to guard offensively, the number of points they score.”

Andrew Nembhard scored 18 points for the Pacers, who concluded a five-game trip at 3-2 and remained in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers were held to 40% shooting, while the Bulls shot 50% in an often sloppy game.

Chicago limited Pascal Siakam to 14 points after the two-time All-Star had scored 25 or more in four straight games and 36 and 31 in his last two, respectively.

“I thought we didn't have the sense of urgency early to get into the paint, as much as we usually do,” said Siakam, who often was double-teamed. “Obviously we weren't making shots and I said we didn't have no juice, no real energy, like kind of flat.”

Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 on 7-for-11 shooting, including 3 for 5 on 3-pointers. Andre Drummond added 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Chicago, ninth in the East.

TIMBERWOLVES 106, PISTONS 91

MINNEAPOLIS — Naz Reid had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Jaden McDaniels added 20 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves overcome a sluggish start Wednesday night to beat the NBA-worst Detroit Pistons 106-91.

Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 14 rebounds and Kyle Anderson scored 14 points off the bench to help offset a quiet nine points by All-Star Anthony Edwards for the Wolves (50-22), who moved into a second-place tie with Oklahoma City in the Western Conference after the Thunder lost in overtime to Houston.

Denver played later, taking a one-game edge into a home game against Phoenix.

“Why not the first seed? And regardless of whether we do or not, we know the real season starts in mid-April,” Gobert said.

The Wolves hit the 50-win mark for just the fifth time in their 35 seasons, matching the franchise's third-highest total with 10 games to go. Minnesota's all-time best record was 58-24 in 2003-04.

“It means a lot. I’ve been here four years now and ain’t got close to 50 wins,” McDaniels said. “It’s a little milestone, but we've still got to keep winning.”

Cade Cunningham scored 32 points for the Pistons (12-61), who lost their eighth straight. With nine games to go, they've got the fourth-most losses in the franchise's 76-year history. The ignominious record (16-66) was set in 1979-80.

LAKERS 136, GRIZZLIES 124

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — LeBron James had a triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, Rui Hachimura scored 32 points as the Los Angeles Lakers built a big lead in the third quarter and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 136-124 on Wednesday night.

Coming off a 128-124 double-overtime victory in Milwaukee without James on Tuesday night, the Lakers won their fifth straight to pull within 2 1/2 games of idle Dallas for the sixth spot in the Western Conference, a spot that would avoid a play-in game.

Anthony Davis sat out against Memphis after having 34 points and 23 rebounds in a career-high 52 minutes against Milwaukee. He hyperextended his left knee late against the Bucks. James said Hachimura's scoring — including 7 of 8 3-pointers — along with grabbing 10 rebounds was a key with Davis sitting out.

“Rui's ability to shoot and spread the floor was big time for us,” James said. “He just stayed locked in all night.”

D'Angelo Russell added 23 points for Los Angeles, and Taurean Prince had 15.

Desmond Bane led Memphis with 26 points and a career-high 16 assists. Jake LaRavia scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and Jaren Jackson added 17. The Grizzlies have lost six of seven.

Despite the extended game a night earlier, the Lakers seemed fine with their shooting legs in the first half, and led 69-61 at the break. Lakers coach Darvin Ham almost predicted the pace of the game, saying it was key for Los Angeles to get their legs in the first half after the Milwaukee win and let the second half play out.

“We started getting a groove into the game,” Ham said. “We knew coming off the (Bucks) game, this was not going to be a walk in the park.”

Los Angeles converted eight of its first 10 long-range shots in the third to stretch the advantage to 27. Memphis closed the third on a 21-4 run to pull to 102-92 entering the fourth.

The Lakers would maintain the double-digit lead through the bulk of the fourth.

SPURS 118, JAZZ 111

SALT LAKE CITY — Devin Vassell scored 31 points, Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and five blocks and the San Antonio Spurs ran past the Utah Jazz 118-111 on Wednesday night.

The Spurs, second in the league in assists behind Indiana, had a season-high 40 on 44 field goals. San Antonio also shot 51.8% from the field and were well above .500 from 3-point range until missing their final four attempts and finishing 16 of 33.

Jeremy Sochan, Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham all scored 17 points for San Antonio.

Collin Sexton had 26 points and nine assists, while Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points for the Jazz, who lost their seventh in a row.

The Jazz led just once and trailed by double-digits most of the game.

HORNETS 118, CAVALIERS 111

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rookie Brandon Miller made seven 3-pointers and finished with 31 points, and Charlotte beat Cleveland 118-111 on Wednesday night to avenge a 23-point loss earlier in the week.

Miles Bridges and Tre Mann added 17 points and Grant Williams had 16 for the Hornets, who shot 58% from the field to snap a five-game losing streak. Vasa Micic had 11 points and 12 assists, and Nick Richards added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

But it was Miller who provided the boost — and the knockout blow with a 3 with 25 seconds left — for the Hornets.

Jarrett Allen scored 24 points and Sam Merrill added 17 for the Cavs, who have lost four of their last five games. Allen became the first Cleveland player in four games to top 20 points.

WARRIORS 101, MAGIC 93

ORLANDO, Fla. — Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points, Stephen Curry made the final two baskets of the game on an off-shooting night and Golden State overcame Draymond Green’s early ejection to beat Orlando.

Green, who missed 16 games after being suspended by the NBA in December, was ejected 3:36 in for disputing a foul call on Wiggins. It was Green’s fourth ejection of the season.

Curry made a driving hook shot with 1:09 to go to make it 98-93 and added a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left for the final points. He had 17 points — going 6 of 18 from the field — and 10 assists.

Cole Anthony led Orlando with 26 points and eight rebounds. Paolo Banchero had 15 points and eight rebounds. Anthony’s turnaround jumper brought the Magic within a point with 2:41 left.

The Warriors, holding the 10th spot in the Western Conference, won for the 20th time in 35 road games. They are 18-19 at home.

NETS 122, WIZARDS 119, OT

WASHINGTON — Cam Thomas scored 38 points, including a pair of jumpers in overtime, and Brooklyn held off Washington, snapping the Wizards’ modest three-game winning streak.

Jordan Poole scored a season-high 38 points for Washington, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game late in overtime. Dorian Finney-Smith had a chance to ice the game for Brooklyn with 4.3 seconds left, but he missed two free throws. The Wizards, however, were out of timeouts, and after securing the rebound, Washington’s Deni Avdija lost control of the ball when he tried to dribble quickly upcourt.

The game began moments after Wizards owner Ted Leonsis spoke at a news conference touting the new agreement keeping his NBA team and the NHL’s Capitals in the District of Columbia. A plan to move them to Virginia had fallen apart.

HAWKS 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 106

ATLANTA — Dejounte Murray had 30 points and seven assists and Atlanta won their third in a row and handed Portland its eighth straight loss.

The Hawks won their third straight game and maintained a hold on 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The Trail Blazers lost their eighth in a row.

Garrison Mathews scored a season-high 21 points off the bench for the Hawks, hitting five three-pointers. It was part of a 41-point effort from the Hawks bench.

Bogdon Bogdonovich had 16 points and five assists and Clint Capela had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Hawks avenged a 106-102 loss in Portland on March 13.

KNICKS 145, RAPTORS 101

TORONTO — Miles McBride scored 29 points, Jalen Brunson had 26 and New York never trailed in a win over slumping Toronto,, New York’s biggest margin of victory this season.

Precious Achiuwa had 19 points and 13 rebounds against his former team as the Knicks won for the seventh time in eight games, set a season-high for points and swept the four-game season series with Toronto.

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson played for the first time since a left ankle injury in December that sidelined him for 50 games. The 7-footer had not played since he was injured in a Dec. 8 loss at Boston, later undergoing surgery.

Robinson came off the bench and scored eight points in 12 minutes.

Gradey Dick scored a career-high 23 points for Toronto and Gary Trent Jr. had 18 but the short-handed Raptors lost their 12th in a row and fell to 1-13 against Atlantic Division opponents.