Kevin Durant scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and the Phoenix Suns stretched their winning streak to a season-best seven games with a 119-115 home victory over the short-handed Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Chris Paul added 25 points and made a career-best seven 3-pointers while Durant sank six treys as Phoenix wrapped up the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Deandre Ayton scored 16 points, and Devin Booker had 15 points and eight assists.
Phoenix is 8-0 when Durant has been able to play since being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in February.
Bruce Brown scored a career-high 31 points and Reggie Jackson added 20 points and six assists for Denver, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Christian Braun scored 15 points, Jeff Green had 14 and DeAndre Jordan registered 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Heat 129, 76ers 101
Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro each racked up 24 points and Miami pulled away late in the first quarter and never looked back in a rout of host Philadelphia.
Butler made 9 of 12 field-goal attempts and finished with six assists for the Heat, who picked up their third straight win as they continue to push for a guaranteed playoff spot. Bam Adebayo supplied 14 points and eight rebounds, while Max Strus also had 14 points as Miami connected on 18 of its 39 shot attempts from beyond the arc. Herro drained five 3-pointers.
Joel Embiid paced the 76ers with 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while James Harden finished with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Cavaliers 118, Magic 94
Danny Green came off the bench to score 21 points, Cedi Osman finished with 19 points and Cleveland rolled over host Orlando in a matchup of patchwork lineups.
Cleveland played without Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. A much different Cavaliers rotation than the version that outlasted Orlando in a back-and-forth affair Tuesday took command midway through the second quarter of Thursday’s contest.
Orlando played its own makeshift lineup with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris all out. Leading reserve scorer, Cole Anthony, also missed Thursday’s game. Jalen Suggs picked up the scoring slack with a game-high 22 points, Bol Bol added 18 points and a game-high-tying eight rebounds.
Spurs 129, Trail Blazers 127
Keita Bates-Diop racked up 25 points, with 10 of them in the decisive late-game stretch that helped propel San Antonio to a comeback victory over Portland in the first-ever NBA game played in the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie added 24 points each for the Spurs, with Zach Collins totaling 21 points and 10 rebounds and Tre Jones hitting for 18 points and dishing out 10 assists.
Kevin Knox II led the Trail Blazers with 24 while Drew Eubanks had 23, and Trendon Watford and Jeenathan Williams added 16 points apiece. Portland was without injured starters Damian Lillard (calf) Jerami Grant (quadriceps), Jusuf Nurkic (knee) and Anfernee Simons (foot).
Thunder 114, Jazz 98
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points to help visiting Oklahoma City snap a three-game losing streak with a victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.
The result eliminated the short-handed Jazz from postseason contention. The Thunder would clinch a spot in the play-in with a win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon.
Josh Giddy contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder. Kris Dunn finished with 22 points, eight assists and seven boards, while Kelly Olynyk totaled 16 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to pace the Jazz.
–Field Level Media
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