INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton scored 22 points and Myles Turner had 17 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks to help Indiana pull away from Memphis for a 127-113 win on Thursday night.
Indiana missed its first seven shots and first eight three-pointers in its first game since the All-Star break and still managed to score a season-high 78 points in the first half. Seven Pacers scored in double digits and Haliburton had nine assists.
Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 23 points and seven assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Ja Morant had 12 points for Memphis. Canadian Zach Edey, the two-time NCAA Player of the Year, had five points and 11 rebounds in his first NBA game in Indiana.
Memphis took a 20-7 lead midway through the first quarter, but the Pacers charged back fast in the second, taking their first lead at 48-46 before Turner scored the first 12 points in a 23-4 run that staked Indiana to a 78-50 halftime lead.
CELTICS 124, 76ERS 104
PHILADELPHIA — Payton Pritchard made eight three-pointers and scored 28 points, Jayson Tatum finished with his fourth career triple-double as Boston beat Philadelphia.
Tatum had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Jaylen Brown added 20 points, Kristaps Porzingis scored 17, and Derrick White had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who have won eight of nine.
Paul George scored 17 points to lead the 76ers. Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. had 16 apiece. The Sixers have lost six straight and eight of nine, falling a season-worst 15 games under .500.
CAVALIERS 110, NETS 97
NEW YORK — Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and three Cleveland teammates scored in double figures as they beat the Brooklyn.
Darius Garland scored 18 points, Evan Mobley added 18 points and 13 rebounds and Jarrett Allen finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds for Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland, which improved to 45-10.
Cam Johnson led Brooklyn with 18 points. Keon Johnson scored 16 points, Trendon Watford finished with 13 points off the bench and Ziaire Williams and Jalen Wilson each scored 10.
MAGIC 114, HAWKS 108
ATLANTA — Paolo Banchero had 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as Orlando rallied from an early 19-point deficit to beat Atlanta.
Franz Wagner scored 25 points and Cole Anthony had 17 for the Magic, who are seventh in the Eastern Conference — two spots ahead of the Hawks.
Banchero now has 47 games with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, the third most by a player before his 23rd birthday behind LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Trae Young scored 38 points for the Hawks, and rookie Zaccharie Risacher had his first double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Magic overcame a poor shooting night from 3-point range, connecting on just 6 of 25 (24 per cent).
BUCKS 116, CLIPPERS 110
MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points in his return after missing six games with a strained calf and Milwaukee rallied for a victory over Los Angeles.
Anteotkounmpo was on a minutes restriction and played just under 24 minutes, leaving for good with 6:27 remaining as the Bucks trailed 101-96. Milwaukee then completed its comeback from a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit with Antetokounmpo on the bench.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points and put the Bucks ahead for good by converting a three-point play with 3:02 remaining.
Kawhi Leonard had 25 points, James Harden added 24 and Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who played without Norman Powell due to knee soreness.
KNICKS 113, BULLS 111 (OT)
NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points and 18 rebounds, Jalen Brunson added 22 points and 12 assists and New York edged Chicago Bulls in overtime.
Miles McBride finished with 22 points, while Mikal Bridges had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Knicks, who improved to 36-18 in their first game following the All-Star break.
New York, which has won three straight and nine of 11, was without Josh Hart, who was held out due to pain in his right kneecap. OG Anunoby missed his sixth consecutive game because of a sprained right foot.
Josh Giddey had 27 points and 16 rebounds and Nikola Vucevic had 21 points for the Bulls, who have lost their last five games.
Vucevic had a chance to win with two seconds left in the fourth quarter, but had his shot blocked by Bridges under the basket.
Giddey opened overtime with a three-pointer before the Knicks responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by three consecutive baskets from Towns.
Chicago pulled within 113-111 with two baskets from Colby White and had a chance to send the game into a second overtime when Vucevic missed an eight-foot jumper over Landry Shamet as time expired.
NUGGETS 129, HORNETS 115
DENVER — Jamal Murray scored 34 points, Nikola Jokic finished an assist shy of his 26th triple-double of the season and the Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to nine games by holding off the depleted Charlotte Hornets 129-115 on Thursday night.
Jokic finished with 29 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists. He attempted a career-high 14 three-pointers and made six.
Murray picked right up where he left off before the All-Star break when he erupted for 55 points. Against Charlotte, Murray was 12 of 18 from the floor, including seven three-pointers.
A 17.5-point favorite, the Nuggets didn't put away the Hornets until a late spurt. The win, coupled with a loss by Memphis, moved the Nuggets into second place in the Western Conference.
Miles Bridges had a season-high 36 points to go with 13 rebounds for a Hornets team missing LaMelo Ball (ankle management) and Mark Williams (return to competition reconditioning). Charlotte was playing on the second night of a back-to-back after beating the Lakers 100-97 in Los Angeles. It was a game rescheduled from January due to the devastating wildfires in Southern California.
SPURS 120, SUNS 109
AUSTIN, Texas — De’Aaron Fox scored 11 straight points in the final three minutes and finished with 26 as San Antonio beat Phoenix, hours after learning Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was done for the season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.
Fox added nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks as the Spurs won the opener of a two-game set in Austin, a city they covet as part of a mega-region that they’ve been cultivating for years.
Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie each scored 15 points for San Antonio. Stephon Castle had 10 rebounds and Chris Paul 10 assists.
Royce O’Neale scored 27 to lead Phoenix, which lost its fourth straight game and for the seventh time in eight games.
Kevin Durant scored 22 points in his return to the University of Texas campus. The All-Star forward played one season at Texas, 2006-07, and was selected as player of the year by The Associated Press and a number of other outlets.
LAKERS 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 102
PORTLAND, Ore. — LeBron James scored 40 points, including eight straight in a fourth-quarter surge, and Austin Reaves had 32 as Los Angeles beat Portland.
The Lakers were without guard Luka Doncic, who missed the game as he continues to recover from a strained calf.
Deni Avdija led Portland with 28 points.
After Portland tied it at 81 in the fourth quarter, Reaves gave the Lakers the lead again with a scoop shot. James then kicked things into a higher gear.
After an empty possession for Portland, James made a 3-pointer to give the Lakers an 86-81 lead. He hit another 3 moments later to make it 89-81. James then made a fadeaway jumper to cap a run of eight straight points — part of a 10-3 Lakers stretch that forced the Blazers to call a timeout.
After Portland’s timeout, James hit another jumper to make it 95-86. Reaves made three free throws to push the lead back to double-digits at 99-89.
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