Russell Westbrook scored 29 points, Peyton Watson blocked a shot in the closing seconds after missing a pair of free throws at the other end and the injury-riddled Denver Nuggets rallied to beat Oklahoma City 124-122 on Wednesday night to hand the Thunder their first loss of the season.
Nikola Jokic finished with 23 points, 20 rebounds and 16 assists as the Nuggets rebounded from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter. Christian Braun added 24.
Michael Porter Jr. came up big after a slow start, scoring 21 of his 24 points in the second half. The short-handed Nuggets were without power forward Aaron Gordon (strained calf) and point guard Jamal Murray (concussion protocol).
Watson had a chance to seal the game at the line with 16 seconds left but missed both free throws. He made up for it by swatting the shot of a driving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just before the buzzer sounded.
Jalen Williams led the Thunder with 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points.
Celtics 118, Warriors 112
Stephen Curry scored 27 points, Buddy Hield had 16 and the Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics 118-112 on Wednesday night for their fifth straight victory.
Andrew Wiggins also added 16 points for Golden State (7-1). Curry played his second straight after missing three with an ankle injury.
Jayson Tatum led Boston (7-2) with 32 points, and Derrick White had 26 with six rebounds.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was booed by the TD Garden crowd that showed its displeasure over how he used Tatum at the Paris Olympics.
With Warriors holding a 115-112 lead, Draymond Green hit a free throw with 11 seconds left. Kyle Anderson sealed it with two free throws with 2.4 seconds to play.
Boston forward Jaylen Brown missed his third straight game with a strained left hip flexor. Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski was out with an illness.
Hornets 108, Pistons 107
Brandon Miller scored off an offensive rebound at the buzzer to lift Charlotte to a thrilling victory over Detroit.
Miles Bridges had 27 points and LaMelo Ball added 25 points on five 3-pointers for the Hornets, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Miller finished with 19 points.
Cade Cunningham had a triple-double for Detroit with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Jaden Ivey added 21 points for the Pistons.
Miller’s putback avenged a huge turnover just seconds earlier.
With the Hornets leading by one and trying to run out the clock, Miller got caught in a double team and the Pistons wrestled the ball away from him.
Ron Holland picked up the loose ball and drove from halfcourt for a go-ahead layup with 6.3 seconds left to give the Pistons the lead, stunning the home crowd.
But on Charlotte’s final possession, Miller grabbed Grant Williams’ missed three-pointer on the left side of the lane and quickly put it back in off the backboard for the winner and was promptly mobbed by his teammates.
Pacers 118, Magic 111
Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points, four teammates each had 17, and Indiana defeated Orlando.
Ahead two in the final minute, the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton sank a three-pointer and Mathurin made two foul shots. Six of nine Pacers scored in double digits. Haliburton, Myles Turner, Pascal Siakam and Jarace Walker each scored 17. T.J. McConnell had 15.
Orlando’s Franz Wagner led all scorers with 28. Jalen Suggs added 15 and Moritz Wagner had 14 off the bench.
Hawks 121, Knicks 116
No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher scored 33 points and had seven rebounds and Atlanta rallied late to beat New York 121-116.
Risacher’s 33 points were the most by a rookie this season. He also had three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
The Hawks trailed 110-105 with 2:57 to play, but went on a 13-1 run to put the game away.
Jalen Johnson had 23 points and 15 rebounds. Trae Young had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds one game after scoring just two points on 1-for-10 shooting against Boston.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Jalen Brunson scored 21 points.
Rockets 127, Spurs 100
No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher scored 33 points and had seven rebounds and Atlanta rallied late to beat New York.
Risacher’s 33 points were the most by a rookie this season. He also had three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
The Hawks trailed 110-105 with 2:57 to play, but went on a 13-1 run to put the game away.
Jalen Johnson had 23 points and 15 rebounds. Trae Young had 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds one game after scoring just two points on 1-for-10 shooting against Boston.
Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Jalen Brunson scored 21 points.
Grizzlies 131, Lakers 114
Ja Morant scored 20 points before leaving in the third quarter with a right hamstring injury and Memphis used their 3-point shooting to beat Los Angeles.
Rookie Jaylen Wells and Jaren Jackson Jr. also scored 20 points each for the Grizzlies. There was no immediate word on the extent of Morant’s injury.
LeBron James led the Lakers with 39 points, while Austin Reaves added 19 despite going 2 for 9 from 3-point range.
The Lakers played without starting centre Anthony Davis, who was suffering from left heel soreness. Rui Hachimura was also out with an illness, giving rookie Dalton Knecht from Tennessee his first NBA start.
Meanwhile, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins missed the game because of a death in the family. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo led the team.
Cavaliers 131, Pelicans 122
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Cleveland defeated New Orleans to open 9-0 for the first time in their 55-year NBA history.
Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each added 16 points, and Allen grabbed 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers surpassed an 8-0 start by the 1976-77 squad that finished 43-39 under coach Bill Fitch.
Zion Williamson returned from a two-game absence and had 29 points for the Pelicans. He temporarily took himself out after playing 10 minutes, but returned to start the second half and scored 23 after halftime.
Jose Alvarado hit all seven 3-pointers he took and finished with 27 points for New Orleans. Brandon Ingram added 20 points for the Pelicans, who have lost three straight and six of seven.
Mavericks 119, Bulls 99
Luka Doncic had 27 points and 13 assists, Kyrie Irving scored 17 points and Daniel Gafford also scored 17 playing a season-high 24 minutes as Dallas beat Chicago.
The defending Western Conference champions scored the first 13 points of the second half and led by as many as 30 while improving to 2-2 on a five-game homestand.
Nikola Vucevic had 14 points and 10 rebounds while sitting out the fourth quarter to lead the Bulls, who have lost three straight games. Rookie Matas Buzelis, who had five total points this season going into play, had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Dallas played without starting forward P.J. Washington because of a right knee sprain and without Dereck Lively II, who averages the most centre minutes as Gafford’s backup, because of a right shoulder sprain.
The Bulls played their second consecutive game without leading scorer Zach LaVine, who has a right adductor strain.
Suns 115, Heat 112
Kevin Durant scored 32 points, Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points and 18 rebounds, and Phoenix rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Miami and extend their winning streak to six games.
The Suns trailed 79-64 in the third quarter but finished the period on a 15-3 run to cut the Heat’s lead to three.
Neither team could take control in the fourth, but Durant’s jumper from the free-throw line with 16 seconds to play gave Phoenix a four-point lead.
Devin Booker had 22 points and nine assists for Phoenix, which has won its last five games by six points or fewer. Booker made one of two free throws with 4.8 seconds to go, giving the Heat a chance, but Miami failed to get a shot off before time expired.
Grayson Allen scored 12 points and Tyus Jones matched Booker with nine assists for the Suns.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 28 points. Reserve forward Haywood Highsmith scored 19 and Jimmy Butler added 15. Bam Adebayo had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Clippers 110, 76ers 98
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Norman Powell scored 26 points — his seventh straight game with 20 or more — and Los Angeles beat Philadelphia in Paul George’s return to face his old team.
George had 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting and seven rebounds in 24 minutes for the Sixers in his second game of the season. He’s on a minutes restriction since a left knee injury delayed his season debut.
James Harden added 18 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Clippers.
Kelly Oubre Jr. also had 18 points for the Sixers. Caleb Martin had 14 points and Andre Drummond had 10 rebounds.
The Sixers were without Joel Embiid who is serving a three-game suspension for shoving a Philly sports columnist. He’s due to return on Tuesday, although he has yet to play this season because of a knee injury.
Kings 122, Raptors 107
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and Sacramento beat Toronto.
Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.
DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento during the 1998-99 season.
RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.
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