Damian Lillard scored 30 of his 40 points in the first half to help the Portland Trail Blazers roll to an easy 127-115 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
Lillard drained eight 3-pointers while reaching the 40-point mark for the 11th time this season. He also had six rebounds and five assists as Portland won for the seventh time in its past 11 games. Shaedon Sharpe scored 15 points off the bench for Portland while Anfernee Simons and Matisse Thybulle added 14 apiece.
Anthony Davis paced the Lakers with 19 points, 20 rebounds and three blocked shots, while Malik Beasley scored a team-high 22 points off the bench. LeBron James (sore left ankle) sat out his third consecutive game.
Los Angeles shot 61.9 percent from the field in the third quarter and still couldn’t dent its large deficit. The Lakers trailed 101-79 entering the final stanza. Lillard reached 40 points on a driving hoop to make it 113-89 with 7:40 remaining in the fourth. He exited the game 38 seconds later, and Los Angeles cut into the margin in the final minutes.
Knicks 124, Nets 106
Jalen Brunson scored 17 of his 40 points in the third quarter as host New York pulled away for a victory over Brooklyn.
Brunson’s latest big game helped the Knicks end a nine-game losing streak to the Nets. It was New York’s first win over Brooklyn since Jan. 26, 2020. Josh Hart, Brunson’s close friend from their Villanova days, added a season-high 27 points off the bench.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 28 points but shot 8 of 21 and was visibly frustrated with the officiating most of the game.
Warriors 135, Wizards 126
Andrew Wiggins poured in 29 points, Klay Thompson went for 27 points and Golden State beat Washington in San Francisco.
Golden State’s Donte DiVincenzo bombed in five 3-pointers en route to 17 points, helping the Warriors outscore the Wizards 60-36 from beyond the arc while completing a two-game season-series sweep.
Kristaps Porzingis was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points and Bradley Beal had 33 for the Wizards, who saw a two-game winning streak come to an end.
Hornets 144, Hawks 138
Taking control of the game at times, LaMelo Ball scored 30 points as Charlotte did enough to end a seven-game losing streak by defeating visiting Atlanta.
Ball shot 12-for-19 from the field and distributed a game-high 15 assists for the hot-shooting Hornets, who hadn’t won since Jan. 29. Terry Rozier added 29 points as Charlotte posted its highest point total of the season.
Trae Young pumped in 25 points to go with 14 assists and Clint Capela tacked on 22 points for the Hawks, who had won their previous two games.
76ers 123, Rockets 104
James Harden had 28 points and 10 assists against his former team as host Philadelphia cruised past reeling Houston.
Tyrese Maxey came off the bench to produce 26 points, six assists and five rebounds. Joel Embiid added 23 points and Tobias Harris had 11 for the Sixers.
Jalen Green, who led the Rockets with 29 points, shot 6 of 20 from the field and was 15-for-17 from the free-throw line as the Rockets dropped their sixth straight.
Timberwolves 124, Mavericks 121
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points and Rudy Gobert recorded 21 points and 14 rebounds as visiting Minnesota withstood a 26-point fourth quarter by Kyrie Irving to beat Dallas.
The Timberwolves led by as many as 26 midway through the third quarter while winning for the second time in three games. Jaden McDaniels scored 19 points, and Mike Conley added 12 points and nine assists.
Irving finished with 36 points for the Mavericks, who lost their second game in a row. Luka Doncic had 33 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Christian Wood had 24 points.
Cavaliers 117, Spurs 109
Donovan Mitchell sank six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 41 points to lead host Cleveland past San Antonio for its seventh consecutive win.
Jarrett Allen notched 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Evan Mobley added 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Spurs, who lost their 13th game in a row, cut the gap to as few as four points in the fourth quarter. Keldon Johnson’s 25 points led San Antonio, which had six players score in double figures.
Jazz 123, Pacers 117
Lauri Markkanen totaled 29 points with 11 rebounds and Jordan Clarkson also scored 29 points to lift Utah to a victory over Indiana in Indianapolis.
Clarkson scored 22 points in the second half and came up clutch down the stretch to lift Utah to 2-1 during a four-game road trip. He and Markkanen each scored four points in the final minute as Utah held off Indiana’s late comeback bid.
Tyrese Haliburton led all scorers with 30 points, but Indiana couldn’t keep the momentum after outscoring Utah 33-27 in the first quarter. Haliburton also dished out a game-high 12 assists.
Nuggets 112, Heat 108
Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 points and visiting Denver beat Miami.
Bruce Brown had 16 points and Jeff Green scored 12 for the Nuggets. Jimmy Butler had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, Max Strus scored 23 points and Bam Adebayo added 19 for the Heat.
Denver led by six before Adebayo made a bank shot with 1:06 to go. Brown missed a shot, but Miami couldn’t convert on its next possession. Porter missed a 3-point attempt with 16 seconds left, but the Heat again failed to score on the ensuing possession and the Nuggets closed it out.
Magic 100, Bulls 91
Paolo Banchero scored 22 points and Markelle Fultz and Franz Wagner added 18 points apiece to help the visiting Orlando defeat Chicago for its fourth win in six games.
The Bulls matched a season high with their fourth straight defeat despite a game-high 26 points from Zach LaVine. Orlando led by as many as 13 points and was ahead throughout the final three quarters.
Fultz narrowly missed a triple-double, contributing 10 rebounds and nine assists. Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and seven boards for the Magic. Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points.
Pelicans 103, Thunder 100
Brandon Ingram scored 34 points to lead New Orleans to a victory at Oklahoma City, ending the Pelicans’ six-game road losing streak.
The Thunder’s Isaiah Joe had a corner 3-point attempt bounce off the back of the rim at the buzzer. Jonas Valanciunas and Jose Alvarado each had 14 points for New Orleans, which never trailed while winning for the fourth time in five games overall.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Jalen Williams added 22 points and Josh Giddey had 17.
–Field Level Media
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