NBA Roundup: Undermanned Magic snap five-game losing skid against Pelicans

ORLANDO, Fla. — Franz Wagner scored 27 points and Orlando broke a five-game losing streak, never trailing in a victory over injury-depleted New Orleans.

Mo Wagner added 17 points for Orlando.

Brandon Boston Jr. had 26 points for New Orleans. Jose Alvarado added 21 points, five rebounds and five assists.

After the Magic took a 24-point lead, Boston and Alvarado combined for 15 points on a 17-1 Pelicans run that cut it to 10.

Jalen Suggs’ 3-pointer with 8:36 left in the third quarter ended a stretch of more than nine minutes in which the Magic did not make a field goal.

CAVALIERS 136, WARRIORS 117

CLEVELAND — Darius Garland scored 27 points and Evan Mobley had 23 as the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Golden State Warriors 136-117 on Friday night, extending their franchise-best start to 10-0 this season.

The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to win their first 10 games and score at least 110 points in each of them. Wilt Chamberlain and the 1960-61 Philadelphia Warriors had shared the mark with nine.

Cleveland also set a franchise record with a 41-point halftime lead at 83-42 — tying the eighth largest in the NBA’s shot clock era — and equaled its mark for points in a half. Ty Jerome scored 13 of his 20 points before the break.

Jonathan Kuminga scored 21 points and Stephen Curry had 12 points and six turnovers for Golden State, which lost for the first time in six road games this season. Draymond Green had six points, six assists and four fouls.

PISTONS 122, HAWKS 121

DETROIT — Cade Cunningham finished off his triple-double by scoring the winning basket with 8.5 seconds left, and Detroit beat Atlanta.

Cunningham had 22 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Malik Beasley and Tobias Harris also scored 22 points for Detroit.

Trae Young gave the Hawks their first lead of the game at 121-120 with 12.5 seconds left. But Cunningham drove and hit a hook shot in traffic to put Detroit back in front.

Young then drove to the basket before dishing the ball to Onyeka Okongwu, but Cunningham blocked his shot as time expired.

Young had 35 points and 13 assists. Jalen Johnson scored 20 for Atlanta.

The Hawks trailed by as many as 24 points in the first half, but they tied the game on Dyson Daniels’ floater with 3:36 to play.

HORNETS 103, PACERS 83

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — LaMelo Ball scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Brandon Miller tied a career high with seven 3-pointers and had 29 points and Charlotte overcame a 13-point deficit to beat Indiana.

Cody Martin added 15 points and Tre Mann had 14 off the bench. The Hornets have won two straight to improve to 4-5.

Pascal Siakam scored 27 points for Indiana (4-5). Benedict Mathurin added 22.

With Charlotte down by 13, the cold-shooting Ball exited the game with about six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Miller took over, putting the Hornets on his back. The second-year forward made five 3s and scored 17 points as Charlotte finished the quarter on a 23-2 run.

At one point, Miller nearly turned the ball over, tracked it down and simply flipped it up to beat the shot clock for a 3, bringing the crowd to its feet.

KNICKS 116, BUCKS 94

NEW YORK — Karl-Anthony Towns had 32 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and New York snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Milwaukee.

New York (4-4) did not trail, and six different Knicks scored in double figures. Jalen Brunson chipped in 15 points and nine assists, and Josh Hart had 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the Knicks’ third win of at least 20 points this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Damian Lillard had 19 points. Milwaukee (2-7) lost for the seventh time in eight games and is 1-5 on the road this season.

A night after snapping its six-game losing streak with a 23-point home win against Utah, Milwaukee had no answer for Towns and the new-look Knicks. The 7-footer scored 27 points in the first half as New York built a 66-47 lead at halftime.

Towns made four 3-pointers, including three in the first five minutes and on the game’s first basket.

SUNS 114, MAVERICKS 113

DALLAS — Jusuf Nurkic made the second of two free throws with 0.8 seconds left after getting fouled on an offensive rebound, lifting Phoenix to a victory over Dallas.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points, and Nurkic had 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Suns improved to 8-1 for the first time since 2009-10. Two of the victories have been over defending Western Conference champion Dallas.

Nurkic had put the Suns ahead with 31 seconds remaining with a dunk on a putback from a miss Durant. Daniel Gafford got Dallas even at 113 on an alley-oop dunk from Luka Doncic, who had 30 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Royce O’Neale missed a runner in the lane in the final seconds, but Nurkic grabbed the rebound and was bumped by several Dallas defenders on a missed shot as the buzzer sounded. Gafford fouled out on the play.

Doncic was short on a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

O’Neale scored 18 points for Phoenix, and Devin Booker had 13 points and 12 assists.

Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, and Naji Marshall had 18 for Dallas.

CELTICS 108, NETS 104, OT

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum had 33 points and nine rebounds, Payton Pritchard scored six points in overtime and Boston beat Brooklyn.

Pritchard finished with 20 points. Jrue Holiday added 17 points and five assists, and Derrick White scored 14 and had six assists for the Celtics (8-2).

Cam Thomas reached 30 points for the fourth time this season, finishing with 31 to lead the Nets (4-5). Dennis Schroder added 20 points.

Cameron Johnson was fouled by Tatum after missing a wide open 3-point attempt in the closing seconds of regulation but grabbed his own miss. He calmly sank two free throws, tying it at 94 with 7.6 seconds to play.

Tatum front-rimmed a 3 as time expired, sending it to OT.

Boston guard Jaylen Brown missed his fourth straight game with a strained left hip flexor, centre Luke Kornet was also out because of right hamstring tightness.

THUNDER 126, ROCKETS 107

OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 29 points to help Oklahoma City rout Houston.

Oklahoma City opened a six-game homestand with a victory after losing at Denver on Wednesday night for its first defeat of the season.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 10 of his first 11 field goals and didn’t take a 3-pointer until his 13th shot. It went in to give the Thunder a 96-73 lead in the third quarter.

Holmgren made 8 of 14 field goals, including 4 of 6 3-pointers, for the Thunder (8-1). Oklahoma City pulled away from a game that was tied 31-all at the end of the first quarter.

The Thunder had been inconsistent on offence so far this season, but they figured things out in this game. They shot 51.1% from the field and made 20 of 23 free throws.

Dillon Brooks scored 17 points for the Rockets (5-4), who shot just 43.3% from the field.

GRIZZLIES 128, WIZARDS 104

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 39 points, Scotty Pippen Jr. got his first career triple-double and Memphis beat Washington for their fourth win in five games.

Pippen had 11 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Rookie Zach Edey had 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Grizzlies, and Santi Aldama added 12 points.

Kyshawn George scored 17 points to lead the Wizards, and Jonas Valanciunas added 16 points. Corey Kispert finished with 14 points.

The Grizzlies maintained a lead of at least 20 points through the bulk of the second half, sending the Wizards to their third straight loss.

TIMBERWOLVES 127, TRAIL BLAZERS 102

MINNEAPOLIS — Anthony Edwards hit nine 3-pointers and scored 37 points to help Minnesota beat Portland.

The nine 3s on 15 attempts were one short of a career high for Edwards, who scored 33 when Minnesota rallied past the Bulls in Chicago on Thursday. He added six rebounds and five assists as the Wolves dominated the Trail Blazers from the start.

Julius Randle scored 22 points and Rudy Gobert had eight points, 15 rebounds and three blocks for Minnesota, which won its third straight.

Scoot Henderson led the Blazers with 16 points. Anfernee Simons had 14 and Robert Williams III added 13 points.

NUGGETS 135, HEAT 122

DENVER — Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his third straight triple-double to lead Denver past Miami.

The triple-double was Jokic’s NBA-best fifth of the season.

After missing the past three games in concussion protocol, Jamal Murray had 28 points and became the first player in Nuggets franchise history with 1,000 career 3-pointers.

The Heat played most of the game without Jimmy Butler, who turned his ankle on a drive against Murray seven minutes into the game and did not return.

Denver raced out to a 17-6 lead in the opening 4:10 as part of a 40-point first quarter in which it made 14 of its 20 shots. Though it fought back to get within seven in the final five minutes of the game, Miami never led and trailed by as many as 26 in the second half.

Tyler Herro had a team-high 24 points and 11 assists for the Heat.

LAKERS 116, 76ERS 106

LOS ANGELES— LeBron James had 21 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds in his second triple-double of the season, and the Los Angeles Lakers extended Philadelphia's miserable start with a victory.

Anthony Davis scored 31 points, Austin Reaves had 20 and D’Angelo Russell added 18 as a reserve for the Lakers, who remained unbeaten at home this season in their return from a 1-4 trip.

James secured his 114th career triple-double early in the fourth quarter.

Paul George scored nine points for the Sixers, who dropped to 1-7 while playing without two of their top three players. Rookie Jared McCain had 18 points for Philadelphia, which has lost five straight.

Former league MVP Joel Embiid served the second game of his three-game suspension for shoving a reporter, while All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey missed his first game with the hamstring injury that will sideline him for at least two weeks.

Bronny James played the final 1:28.

CLIPPERS 107, KINGS 98

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Norman Powell posted his first career double-double with 31 points and 12 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Sacramento for their third straight win.

James Harden added 22 points for the Clippers, who led nearly the entire way. They took a 78-73 lead into the fourth quarter and began the period with a 16-5 run.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored nine points in the fourth and Los Angeles withstood a late push by the Kings, who cut the deficit to four with under three minutes left.

De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 31 points. Domantas Sabonis added 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Harden had 15 points in the first quarter and Powell scored 11 in the second to help the Clippers build a 51-45 halftime lead.