Jamal Murray poured a career best 55 points to lead Nuggets to a victory 132-121 over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, Denver eighth straight victory.
Murray’s production is the third most in Nugget’s history. David Thompson received a franchise record 73 on the last day of the 1977-78 season when he was exaggerated by George Gervin for the points title. Nikola Jokic’s 56 points against Washington on December 7 of this season are second.
Murray struck 20 of 36 shots, including 7 out of 15 from 3-point intervals. Jokic added 26 points, 15 returns and 10 assists, and Christian Braun had 21 points, 10 returns and six assists for Nuggets.
Anternee Simons got 26 points when Portland lost his third right after winning six in a row. Rookie Donovan Clingan had 17 points and a career best 20 returns and Jabari Walker also scored 17 points for Trail Blazers.
Knicks 149, Hawks 148 (OT)
Jalen Brunson hit the game -winning shot with 11 seconds left on overtime for host New York, which overcame a five -point deficit in the extra session to Edge Atlanta in the highest score of the season.
Karl-Anthony Towns published 44 points and 10 returns for Knicks, which enters the All-Star break with nine wins in their last 11 games. Brunson had 36 points and eight assists, and Josh Hart added 18 points, 10 returns and six assists.
Trae Young had 38 points and 19 assists for the hawks, which forced overtime when George’s nation sank a 3-point with 10 seconds left. Onyka Okongwu had 21 points and 14 returns, and Caris Levert recorded 20 points and 10 returns for Atlanta, which did not lead until overtime.
Bucks 103, Timberwolves 101
Brook Lopez fell a couple of free throw by 10.9 seconds to go, and Milwaukee was on for a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Gary Trent Jr ended with 21 points from the bench for Milwaukee, who played without Giannis Antetokounmpo (Kalv) and Damian Lillard (Hamstring). Kyle Kuzma registered 19 points and 13 returns.
Anthony Edwards got 28 points but missed 23 out of 33 shots for Minnesota, but he missed two shots in the last seconds. Naz Reid (22 points, 13 Returns) and Rudy Gobert (20 points, 14 returns) each recorded a double double.
Celtics 116, Spurs 103
Jayson Tatum had 32 points, 14 returns and seven assists to lead Boston to a victory over visiting San Antonio.
Kristaps Porzingis added 29 points and six returns for Celtics, which has won seven of its last eight matches. Boston also received 19 points, seven returns and nine assists from Derrick White and six points plus 10 boards from Al Horford. Celtics was without starters Jaylen Brown (knee) and Jrue Holiday (Axel).
De’aaron Fox led the San Antonio crime by 23 points. Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, 13 returns, four assists and two blocked shots, while Harrison Barnes added 14 points and seven returns. The spurs, which dragged with 24 at one point, forced 17 Boston turnover.
Pacers 134, Wizards 130 (OT)
Obi Toppin had 31 points and 10 returns from the bench Wednesday and helped the visiting Indiana Pacers rally for a victory of 134-130 overtime over Washington Wizards.
Bennedict Mathurin added 28 points, while Tyrese Haliburton made 20 and pulled seven assists when Pacers snapped a two-game losing slide. Pascal Siakam had 15 points, tj McConnell chipped in 10 with nine assists and Thomas Bryant led the team with 11 returns.
Jordan Poole Paced Washington with 42 points, followed by Corey Kisperts 21 and Carlton Carrington’s 18. Kyshawn George added 14 points and nine returns and Malcolm Brogdon finished with 12 points and six assists when the magicians dropped their fourth game in a row.
Rockets 119, Suns 111
Tari Eason got 25 points, Jalen Green added 22 and Dillon Brooks drilled a couple of late 3-points to help worth Houston to keep off the short-handed Phoenix.
Amen Thompson published his fourth career Trippel-Double (18 points, 10 Returns, 11 Assists) and Alperen Sengun (17 points, 13 Returns) added a double double for the rockets, which received 28 points on 18 Phoenix turnover and converted 17 Offensive offensive offensive rebounds to 19 other chance points.
Kevin Durant was brilliant in defeat and paired a game high 37 points with a team-leading nine assists for Suns, who was without Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen in the second game in a back-to-back. Bol Bol added 15 points for Suns, who shot 51.7 percent from the field.
Magic 102, Hornets 86
Paolo Banchero collected 24 points, eight returns and six assists to lift the host Orlando over Charlotte to improve the magic to 3-0 against Hornets this season.
Banchero sang 4 out of 9 attempts from 3-point interval for Magic, which broke up a close game by surpassing Hornets 33-19 during the third quarter. Orlandos Anthony Black made 8 out of 13 shots to highlight his 18-point performance from the bench.
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges contributed 19 points and eight returns in an attempt to overcome the absence of leading goal scores Lamelo Ball (ankle). Hornets have dropped nine out of 10.
Cavaliers 131, Raptors 108
Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points and visited Cleveland dominated Toronto to win his fourth straight match.
De’andre Hunter set up 18 points, Sam Merrill scored 16 points and Darius Garland added 15 points and eight assists for Cavaliers, which completed a four-game-sweep of the season series.
RJ Barrett registered 27 points for Raptors, who has lost five of the last six. Scottie Barnes added 16 points, 11 returns, seven assists and three blocked shots.
Thunder 115, Heat 101
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points to lift Oklahoma City to a home victory over Miami.
Thunder, who dragged with as many as 21 during the first half, extended his winning line to seven. The heat has dropped three consecutive games. Oklahoma City seized the control with a 24-0 run to start the fourth, powered by six 3-points to each from Gilgeous-Alexander and Isaiah Joe.
Gilgeous-Alexander also died nine assists, five returns and two steals. Jalen Williams had 18 points and Luguentz Dort 17 in the victory. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 27 points, 13 came during the first quarter.
Nets 100, 76ers 96
D’Angelo Russell scored 22 points in one of his best games since returning to Brooklyn, who continued his power by holding on to the last minute to beat visiting Philadelphia.
After shooting 14 out of 49 from the field in their four previous matches, Russell made 9 out of 15 shots and got his second most point since he was acquired from Los Angeles Lakers for Dorian Finne-Smith on December 29.
Reserve Trendon Watford band a season high season by contributing eight of its 18 during the fourth quarter when Nets won its third straight and for the sixth time in seven matches. The 76s held out Joel Embiid (left knee handling) the other night by a back-to-back and was without Tyrese Maxey due to an injured right knee.
Pistons 128, bulls 110
Cade Cunningham, on his way into his first All-Star look, poured 29 points and handed out seven assists when the visit Detroit defeated Chicago for the second straight night.
Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris had 19 points per piece for Pistons, while Jalen Duren took up 16 points, 14 returns and five assists when Detroit won his fourth straight match. With a 29-26 record, the pistons will enter the All-Star break with a winning record for the first time since 2009.
Ayo Dosunmu led the bulls, who have dropped four in a row, with 23 points and six assists. Nikola Vucevic registered 21 points and 13 returns, while Josh Giddey contributed 17 points.
Kings 119, Pelicans 111
Keon Ellis scored 27 points, Demar Derozan dedicated 24 and Sacramento defeated New Orleans and handed the Pelicans their 10th loss in a row.
Zach Lavine gathered 23 and seven assists, referee Sabonis had 16 points, 15 returns and five assists, and Malik Monk chipped in 17 points for Kings, who will visit the Pelicans again on Thursday evening. Sacramento has won three games in a row.
Zion Williamson picked up 33 points, nine returns and seven assists to lead the Pelicans. Trey Murphy III had 19 points, and Jose Alvarado logged 18 points and nine assists.
Jazz 131, Lakers 119
Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points and Utah bounced back to defeat visiting Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.
Jordan Clarkson added 21 points, nine returns and seven assists for the jazz, which snapped a three-match losing line which included a 132-113 road defeat against Lakers on Monday. Keyonte George contributed 20 points, 10 assists and seven returns.
Rui Hachimura made 19 to lead the Lakers, who saw their six-match winning line. Lebron James added 18 points, seven assists and six returns, while Luka Doncic set up 16 points, four returns and four assists in his second performance with Los Angeles. Doncic shot 6 out of 13 from the floor and committed a game high five sales while playing 23 minutes.
Mavericks 111, Warriors 107
Kyrie Irving made a season’s high seven 3-points and got 27 of her 42 points during the second half when Dallas beat visited the Golden State ..
Kyy Thompson and Max Christie did 17, Brandon Williams added 12 from the bench, and Naji Marshall had 10 for Dallas, who won for the third time in their last four matches. Irving was 7 out of 10 beyond the arch and had seven returns.
Stephen Curry led Golden State with 25 points and eight assists. Butler had 21 points, nine returns and seven assists; Moses Moody and Gary Payton II got 14 points per bench; And Draymond Green added 13 points.
Clippers 128, Grizzlies 114
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points on a season high 34 minutes, James Harden added 18 points with 10 assists, and Los Angeles got a victory over visits to Inglewood, Calif.
Norman Powell also scored 18 points and Ivica Zubac added 12 points with 13 returns when the Clippers won his second game in a row after a three-match losing line. The hardy moved past Hakeem Olajuwon and to the sole possession in 13th place on the NBA score list with 26,949 points.
Desmond Bane scored 23 points and Jaylen Wells added 18 when Grizzlies played without yes Morant (knee) the other night by a back-to-back. Memphis enters the All-Star break with losses in two of the last three matches.
-Field Level Media
