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Rockets win third straight with a win over the Hornets

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Jabari Smith Jr. had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Fred VanVleet added 20 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Hornets 114-101 on Monday night for their third straight win.

Amen Thompson had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Cam Whitmore chipped in with 17 points off the bench for the Rockets. They led by 34 in the second half after getting a strong effort from their young corps of players.

Miles Bridges scored 24 points and LaMelo Ball added 23 for the Hornets, who’ve lost 13 of 14.

The Rockets stifled the Hornets early on, holding Charlotte to 15 points in the first quarter and 1 for 11 from beyond the arc. The Rockets extended their lead to 62-31 at halftime as VanVleet buried a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. As the Hornets walked to the locker room at halftime they were greeted with a cascade of boos from the home crowd.

76ERS 111, SPURS 106

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 32 points and made two crucial plays in the final minute, and Philadelphia rallied after Joel Embiid was ejected to beat Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio.

Embiid was thrown out by referee Jenna Schroeder with 2:59 left in the second quarter. The seven-time All-Star received the first technical for arguing with Schroeder, and received another technical — and ejection — from Schroeder before any more game time elapsed. Embiid was close to Schroeder, but it wasn’t clear from replays whether he made contact with the official.

Wembanyama had 26 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks.

Maxey added 10 rebounds and eight assists, and Paul George contributed 19 points for Philadelphia.

San Antonio went ahead 103-102 on Chris Paul’s baseline jumper with 1:20 to play.

Maxey took over from there, first stealing the ball, scoring on a left-handed dunk and finishing the three-point play after being fouled by Julian Champagnie to put Philadelphia in front 104-103 with 59 seconds left.

Then, he drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 29 seconds remaining.

HAWKS 117, TIMBERWOLVES 104

ATLANTA (AP) — Garrison Mathews made a career-best seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points off the bench as Atlanta knocked off Minnesota.

Trae Young had 29 points and seven assists and De’Andre Hunter added 19 points to help the Hawks halt a three-game losing streak. Young was listed as questionable with a bruised heel but showed no ill effects.

Naz Reid scored 23 points off the bench for the Timberwolves, who have lost three straight. Anthony Edwards had 16 points and six rebounds in his only regular-season appearance in his hometown. He shot 7 for 20 from the floor and committed five turnovers while being guarded by NBA defensive player of the month Dyson Daniels most of the night.

Daniels finished with eight steals.

Mathews was 5 for 5 from 3-point range with 15 points in the first half and 7 for 8 for the game.

The Hawks sprinted out to a 30-11 lead as the Timberwolves shot 4 for 20 with five turnovers, but Minnesota rallied quickly and took a 55-52 halftime lead thanks in part to 11 points off the bench from both Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

MAGIC 108, CELTICS 104

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tristan da Silva scored 18 points and made a critical 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left, and Orlando Magic rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit for a victory over the Boston Celtics, who were missing Jayson Tatum.

With Tatum sidelined two nights after his 43-point triple-double in a win at Chicago, Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 35 points.

Boston led 58-43 at halftime, but the Magic dominated the third quarter to tie the game by the end of that period, and they pushed ahead by 10 in the fourth. The Celtics made a late run and Brown’s layup got Boston within 105-104 with 59.6 seconds left. Al Horford missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer for the Celtics, and da Silva responded with his game-sealing 3.

Trevelin Queen added 17 points in his first NBA start and Jalen Suggs scored 16 for the Magic. Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White each scored 17 for the Celtics.

Magic center Goga Bitadze was ejected with 3:36 left for stepping into an altercation between Suggs and Porzingis, both of whom drew technical fouls.

KNICKS 139, RAPTORS 125

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, OG Anunoby also scored 31 points and shot 13 for 15 from the field, and New York beat Toronto.

Cam Payne had 19 points off the bench for the Knicks, who put seven players in double figures and won their fourth straight. Mikal Bridges finished with 14 points and Jalen Brunson had 12 points and seven assists.

Scottie Barnes had 24 points and eight assists, and RJ Barrett scored 23 points for Toronto (7-23), which dropped its eighth straight game.

BUCKS 112, BULLS 91

CHICAGO (AP) — Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez each scored 21 points, Bobby Portis added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and Milwaukee beat Chicago without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

Middleton set a season high for the second game in a row after scoring 18 in Saturday’s win over Washington. The three-time All-Star missed the first 21 games following surgery on both ankles.

Middleton and Lopez each made three of Milwaukee’s 18 3-pointers. Gary Trent Jr. nailed four from beyond the arc and finished with 14 points.

Antetokounmpo missed his second consecutive game because of back spasms and his fourth overall this season. Lillard missed his third game in a row — this time because of a non-COVID illness. The eight-time All-Star sat out the previous two with a strained right calf.

Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Chicago. The Bulls made just 10 of 48 3-pointers in losing their second in a row.

HEAT 110, NETS 95

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and Miami snapped a three-game skid with a win over Brooklyn.

Nikola Jovic scored 18 points and Tyler Herro added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat, who are 7-0 when holding opponents under 100 points. Miami’s Duncan Robinson had 17 points, shooting 5 for 10 from 3-point range.

Cam Johnson and Noah Clowney each scored 19 points for Brooklyn. The Nets’ Keon Johnson scored 15 and Tyrese Martin finished with 14.

Brooklyn closed the first half on a 17-6 run and cut its deficit to a point at the break. The Heat outscored the Nets 52-38 in the second half.

Heat star forward Jimmy Butler missed his second straight game because of a stomach illness. Miami reserve guard Dru Smith left the game because of a lower left leg injury early in the second quarter and did not return.

CAVALIERS 124, JAZZ 113

CLEVELAND (AP) — Darius Garland scored 23 points and NBA-best Cleveland beat the Utah for their 17th victory in 18 home games.

Evan Mobley had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Donovan Mitchell also scored 22 points, Sam Merrill scored a season-high 20 and Garland had eight assists for Cleveland. The Cavaliers (26-4) have won five straight by an average margin of 20 points.

Jordan Clarkson scored 27 points off the bench for the Jazz, while Lauri Markkanen had 26 and Collin Sexton had 24. Utah traded Mitchell to Cleveland in exchange for Markkanen, Sexton and multiple draft picks on Sept. 1, 2022.

The start of the game was delayed 35 minutes because of a broken rim that forced the replacement of one of the hoops and a stanchion.

CLIPPERS 114, GRIZZLIES 110

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Norman Powell scored 29 points, including four in the final 25 seconds to lead the Los Angeles to a victory over Memphis.

With the game tied at 110, Powell hit a 14-foot jumper with 25 seconds left and then converted two free throws to give the Clippers their third win in four games. James Harden had 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Ivica Zubac finished with 20 points and a season-high 20 rebounds.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 24 points, and Ja Morant scored 23. Desmond Bane had 21 points and seven assists.

The game was close throughout. By late in the fourth quarter, there had been 13 lead changes and nine ties.

THUNDER 123, WIZARDS 105

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 41 points and Oklahoma City beat Washington, sending the NBA-worst Wizards to their 21st loss in 23 games and 12th straight on the road.

Jalen Williams added 17 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, who shot 44.3% from the field and made 19 of 22 free throws.

Oklahoma City led 67-63 at halftime and 91-87 after three quarters. The Thunder took control with a 19-3 run to open the final period.

Gilgeous-Alexander, who had two points after one quarter, made 14 of 25 shots, 3 of 6 3-pointers and 10 of 10 from the foul line. He added nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks.

Jordan Poole scored 31 points, Carlton “Bub” Carrington added 14 and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 16 rebounds for the Wizards. Washington played without double-figure scorers Kyle Kuzma, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr, the team’s No. 2 overall draft pick.

MAVERICKS 132, TRAILBLAZERS 108

DALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic returned from a two-game absence to score 27 points, Daniel Gafford added 23 off the bench and Kyrie Irving finished with 20 as Dallas beat Portland.

Doncic shot 10 of 19 overall and 1 for 7 on 3-pointers after missing Dallas’ two previous games with a left heel contusion. He had seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Mavericks have won 14 of their last 17 games following their only losing streak of the season, a four-game skid from Nov. 8-14.

Deni Avdija scored 19 off the bench to lead the Trail Blazers, who have lost eight of their last nine games. Deandre Ayton scored 16 points, including 10 in the second quarter.

The Mavericks opened the second period with a 21-9 run and outscored the Blazers 74-45 in the middle periods. They led by as many as 32 in the fourth quarter.

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