March 4 2023
NBA Rounds up
Nets 115, Celtics 105
Mikal Bridges led all scorers with 38 points and the visiting Brooklyn Nets overcame a 28-point deficit, the biggest comeback in the NBA this season, to defeat the Boston Celtics 115-105 on Friday night.
Bridges made 13 of 22 field goals, including four 3-pointers. He also had 10 rebounds and four assists.
Cam Johnson added 20 points for the Nets, who also received 17 points apiece from Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. Center Nic Claxton had a team-high 12 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown scored 35 points to lead Boston, which was held to 41 points in the second half. Jayson Tatum, who turned 25 on Friday, finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds, but he missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.
Knicks 122, Heat 120
Julius Randle scored a game-high 43 points — including a go-ahead, off-balance 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left — as visiting New York won its eighth straight game, defeating Miami.
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, the reigning NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month, had 25 points and a game-high eight assists. Immanuel Quickley scored 21 points off the bench for New York.
Jimmy Butler scored 33 points to lead Miami, which has lost six of its past seven games. New York matched its longest win streak of the season, which ran from Dec. 4 to 20.
Magic 117, Hornets 106
Paolo Banchero poured in 31 points and visiting Orlando scored in bunches in the first three quarters on the way to defeating Charlotte.
The Magic’s next three top scorers were reserves: Cole Anthony with 16 points, Jalen Suggs with 15 and Moritz Wagner with 13. Wendell Carter Jr. added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 29 points to go with 10 rebounds, but the Hornets lost their second game in a row since losing point guard LaMelo Ball to an ankle fracture earlier in the week. Terry Rozier posted 22 points, Gordon Hayward 17 and Mark Williams 13 points for Charlotte, which was hurt by 21 turnovers.
Hawks 129, Trail Blazers 111
Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 41 points to lead Atlanta to a win over visiting Portland, handing coach Quin Snyder his first victory with his new team.
Murray, who produced his previous high of 40 at Portland on Jan. 30, scored 23 in the first half on Friday. He finished 17-for-22 from the field, including 5-for-5 from 3-point range, and added six assists and five rebounds.
Portland was led by Damian Lillard, who had 33 points and eight assists. Cam Reddish added 25 points, one shy of his season high, and Jeremi Grant scored 14. The Blazers have lost three in a row and dropped five of their past six.
Suns 125, Bulls 104
Devin Booker scored 35 points and Josh Okogie added 25 to lift Phoenix over host Chicago for its 14th win in 19 games.
Booker made 12 of 24 shots from the floor — including 6 of 10 from 3-point range. He also torched Chicago for scored 51 points on Nov. 30. Kevin Durant, playing his second game with the Suns, scored 20 points to increase his career total to 26,727 and move past Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson (26,710) into 13th place in NBA history. Durant added nine rebounds and six assists.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan sank 13 of 18 shots from the floor to finish with 31 points. Zach LaVine added 27 points and Nikola Vucevic recorded 13 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls, who have lost eight of their last 11 games.
Nuggets 113, Grizzlies 97
Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for his 25th triple-double of the season as host Denver beat Memphis.
Jamal Murray had 22 points and nine assists and sparked a big fourth quarter for the first-place Nuggets, who increased their lead in the Western Conference to six games over the second-place Grizzlies. Michael Porter Jr. amassed 26 points and eight rebounds, Bruce Brown had 15 points and Aaron Gordon scored 13 as Denver won for the seventh time in eight games.
Ja Morant produced 27 points and 10 assists, Desmond Bane scored 19 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 15 points and Xavier Tillman finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies. Memphis saw its three-game winning streak end.
Timberwolves 110, Lakers 102
Rudy Gobert had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Anthony Edwards added 19 points and visiting Minnesota beat Los Angeles.
Naz Reid contributed 15 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota, which has won two straight following a three-game skid. Mike Conley scored five of his 14 points in the final 1:13 to help secure the victory.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 38 points on 12-of-22 shooting, and he went 12 of 14 from the foul line. Davis made a pair of 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds.
Thunder 130, Jazz 103
Aaron Wiggins scored a season-high 27 points, 17 in the fourth quarter, to help Oklahoma City beat visiting Utah.
Josh Giddey added 18 points, 13 assists and six rebounds for the Thunder while Jalen Williams scored 20. Five different Oklahoma City players scored at least 17 points.
The Jazz, who have dropped back-to-back games, never led. Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 20 points and added 10 rebounds.
Kings 128, Clippers 127
De’Aaron Fox recorded 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Sacramento won its fifth straight game in the NBA by prevailing over visiting Los Angeles.
Domantas Sabonis added 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and made two free throws with seven seconds remaining to put the Kings ahead. Paul George of the Clippers missed a 3-pointer as time expired in a contest in which 96 fewer points were scored than in last Friday’s matchup between the two teams.
George scored 28 points and Russell Westbrook had 27 points and 10 assists as the Los Angeles lost its fifth consecutive game. Eric Gordon scored 21 points, Robert Covington added 15 and Mason Plumlee had 13.
Warriors 108, Pelicans 99
Klay Thompson scored a game-high 27 points and Golden State worked its come-from-behind magic once again to outlast New Orleans in San Francisco.
Donte DiVincenzo came through with three big plays down the stretch as the Warriors, playing without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, completed a 5-0 homestand to continue a push up the Western Conference standings.
Jonathan Kuminga, coming off the Golden State bench, chipped in with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals. CJ McCollum had a team-high 25 points and Brandon Ingram added 17 for the Pelicans, who lost for the fifth time in six games as they also deal with injuries to several key players, including Zion Williamson.