Johnson scores 25 points and Spurs win 7 straight with 130-110 win over Thunder

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Keldon Johnson had 25 points, Stephon Castle added 24 and the San Antonio Spurs stormed past Oklahoma City 130-110 on Tuesday night, winning their seventh straight and beating the Thunder for the second time in 11 days.

Victor Wembanyama’s streak of consecutive games with at least one block ended at 101, but the Spurs were just happy to have him on the court after he was downgraded to questionable on Monday. Wembanyama finished with 12 points.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points for Oklahoma City. Jalen Williams added 17.

San Antonio has won 14 of 17 to move into second place in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City has lost three of five games since opening the season 24-1. The defending champions’ fourth loss this season was by far their worst, as the previous three were by two, two and five points.

The Thunder’s second loss of the season was 111-109 against the Spurs in the NBA Cup semifinal on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas.

HORNETS 126, WIZARDS 109

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 23 points and nine assists, Brandon Miller added 20 points Charlotte pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Washington.

Rookie of the Year candidate Kon Knueppel finished with 19 points and provided a huge spark with five second-half 3-pointers for the Hornets. Moussa Diabate had a career-high 18 rebounds and 12 points for the Hornets and Miles Bridges flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Khris Middleton scored 16 points to lead the Wizards.

Charlotte entered the fourth quarter up 92-90, but used a 12-4 run — sparked by seven points from Ball — to begin to pull away.

Miller’s 3 from the top of the key pushed the lead to double digits with 5 minutes remaining and Knueppel buried three more 3s to give the Hornets breathing room.

In Charlotte’s last game, Knueppel became the fastest rookie to reach 100 3-pointers. He missed both 3-point attempts in the first half, but connected on 5 of 7 from beyond the arc after halftime.

The Hornets outscored the Wizards 34-19 in the fourth quarter and made 20 of 50 3s for the game.

NETS 114, 76ERS 106

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored 28 points, Egor Demin added 20 and Brooklyn beat Philadelphia.

Porter went 5 of 12 from the 3-point arc and Demin hit a couple of late 3s after the 76ers cut a 19-point lead to nine in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn shot 17 of 46 from 3-point distance to win for the third time in four games. Nic Claxton added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid scored 27 points despite going out briefly early in the third quarter after banging his right knee. Paul George added 19 points, but 76ers leading scorer Tyrese Maxey was held to 13 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Andrew Drummond finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Porter scored 24 points in the Nets’ 96-81 win over Toronto on Sunday and eclipsed that in the first half against Philadelphia.

Porter had 25 points and hit 5 of 8 from 3-point range, helping the Nets build a 63-57 halftime lead.

Embiid did most of his work inside the arc, hitting 7 of 10 shots to score 19 points by halftime. Maxey, coming off a 38-point game against Dallas, had five first-half points on 1-of-7 shooting.

RAPTORS 112, HEAT 91

MIAMI (AP) — Scottie Barnes scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Toronto Raptors beat reeling Miami.

Immanuel Quickley scored 18 for the Raptors — who got their 18th win in their 31st game of the season. They needed 57 games last season to get to the 18-win mark and are over .500 at Christmas for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 14 and Brandon Ingram finished with 12 for Toronto, which again played without RJ Barrett. He’s recovering from a sprained right knee.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 21 for the Heat, who are back to the .500 mark at 15-15 and have dropped nine of their last 11 games. They’ve been held under 100 points twice this season, both by Toronto and both in losses — with Tuesday’s 91-point figure the lowest. The Raptors beat the Heat 106-96 on Dec. 15.

Toronto won for only the fourth time in its last 12 games, with both wins over the Heat part of that span.

Norman Powell scored 17, Andrew Wiggins added 14 and Bam Adebayo grabbed 12 rebounds for the Heat. Miami played again without Tyler Herro, Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson, all who remain injured.

The Heat shot 40.2%, their worst at home this season.

CAVALIERS 141, PELICANS 118

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points, Sam Merrill added 22 and Cleveland pulled away in the second half for a victory over New Orleans.

Nine of the 11 players used by the Cavaliers players scored in double figures as they won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 21-23. Cleveland also evened its December record at 5-5.

The 23-point victory was the Cavaliers’ second-biggest margin this season.

It was the fifth time in the NBA this season and the second time in three days a team has had nine players score in double figures. According to Sportradar, it was only the second time in franchise history the Cavaliers had done it. The previous time was Nov. 10, 1992, against the Washington Bullets.

Cleveland scored at least 139 points for the second straight night and eighth time this season.

The Cavaliers got 57 points from their reserves as Jaylon Tyson scored 18 and Jaylon Tyson added a season-high 15.

Center Jarrett Allen had 14 points, including his first 3-pointer since Jan. 29, 2023.

BULLS 126, HAWKS 123

ATLANTA (AP) — Josh Giddey had 19 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds, Coby White hit a tiebreaking free throw with 1.9 seconds left, and Chicago rallied for its fourth straight victory with a win over Atlanta.

White finished with 24 points for the Bulls, who trailed by 18 points in the second quarter, by 15 late in the third and by 10 with less than six minutes left.

Giddey’s triple-double was his seventh this season, the second-most in the league behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who has 14. Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulls moved to 3-0 against the Hawks this season.

Jalen Johnson had 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost four straight. Trae Young contributed 22 points and 15 assists.

Atlanta was missing Dyson Daniels for the first time this season. He sat out with right hip inflammation.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit a driving layup for the Hawks with 1.9 seconds left to tie it at 123-all. The Bulls advanced the ball with a timeout, and then Zaccaharie Risacher fouled White before the inbound pass, giving White one free throw that he converted.

The Hawks fouled Vucevic on the next inbounds play, and he made two free throws with 1.5 seconds left. A desperation 3-pointer by Alexander-Walker wasn’t close.

BUCKS 111, PACERS 94

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Porter Jr. scored 24 points, Ryan Rollins had 23 and Milwaukee, playing its seventh consecutive game without the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo, beat Indiana.

Kyle Kuzma scored 15 and Bobby Portis had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds as the Bucks shot 51% to snap a three-game losing streak.

Former Pacers center Myles Turner, who got booed every time he touched the ball, finished with 10 points and three blocked shots.

T.J. McConnell led the Pacers, who dropped their sixth consecutive game, with 16 points off the bench. McConnell had missed Monday’s loss at Boston with left knee soreness.

Pascal Siakam had 15 points and team-high nine rebounds for the Pacers. Andrew Nembhard scored 14 and Bennedict Mathurin had 13 for Indiana, which shot 41%.

The Pacers made 8 of 31 3-pointers while the Bucks hit 10 of 30 3-point attempts.

TIMBERWOLVES 115, KNICKS 104

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 38 points to help Minnesota beat former teammate Karl-Anthony Towns for the first time and hold off New York.

Julius Randle had 17 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Rudy Gobert contributed 11 points, 16 rebounds and his reliably fierce rim protection for the Wolves (20-10), who have won 10 of 12.

Towns scored a season-high 40 points before fouling out in the final minute for the Knicks (20-9) in the absence of fellow All-Star Jalen Brunson, who rested his previously injured ankle. Tyler Kolek started for Brunson and had 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Brunson, who had 47 points in a win over Miami on Sunday, joined O.G. Anunoby (ankle), Miles McBride (ankle) and Landry Shamet (shoulder) on the shelf to leave the backcourt thin — and make Towns the go-to scorer in his homecoming game against his original team.

Towns had 32 points and 20 rebounds in his first game back at Target Center a year ago, when the Knicks won 133-107. He didn’t play in the rematch in New York the next month, a 116-99 win for the Wolves. Earlier this season, Towns had 15 points toward a 137-114 victory over Minnesota at Madison Square Garden.

MAVERICKS 131, NUGGETS 130

DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg had 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and Anthony Davis had 31 points and nine rebounds as Dallas beat Denver.

Flagg’s career-high fourth 3-pointer gave Dallas a 126-121 lead with 3:17 left, and he assisted on Naji Marshall’s left-corner 3 that put the Mavericks ahead 131-125 with 1:12 left.

The Nuggets, who trailed 50-29 early in the second quarter, got their first lead early in the fourth quarter and pulled within a point in the final minute, having a shot to win after forcing the Mavericks into a 24-second violation with 7.8 seconds left. However, Peyton Watson’s 3-point attempt from the left corner at the buzzer rimmed out.

The Mavericks snapped a two-game losing streak, during which they blew fourth-quarter leads, and have taken the first two games from the Nuggets this season. They won 131-121 at Denver on Dec. 1.

Jamal Murray had 31 points and 14 assists, and Nikola Jokic had 29 points and 14 assists for the Nuggets, who had an 11-game road winning streak snapped. Jokic, the NBA leader averaging 12.1 rebounds, had seven to match his season low.

SUNS 132, LAKERS 108

PHOENIX (AP) — Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Devin Booker added 21 and Phoenix pulled away in the second half to beat Los Angeles.

The Lakers were playing without five-time All-Star Luka Doncic, who was out with a lower leg contusion. They did welcome the return of Austin Reaves, who missed the past three games with a left calf strain.

Reaves finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting off the bench, while LeBron James led the Lakers with 23. Los Angeles has lost two straight.

The Suns — who have won two out of three against the Lakers this season — led by 10 at halftime and quickly pushed that advantage to 99-72 midway through the third. They took a 112-86 lead into the fourth after scoring 45 points in the third on 16-of-22 (72.7%) shooting.

Brooks scored 12 in the decisive third and finished 10 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. The 29-year-old came into the game averaging 21.7 points, which is easily a career high.

GRIZZLIES 137, JAZZ 128

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Santi Aldama made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 37 points to lead Memphis to a victory over Utah Jazz.

Jaren Jackson Jr. chipped in 21 points, GG Jackson II had 18 points, and Jock Landale added 17.

Cam Spencer dished out a career high 13 assists to go with 11 points, while Aldama added a season-high seven assists to help the Grizzlies snap a two-game losing streak.

Memphis shot 56% from the field and made 19 3-pointers.

Kyle Filipowski led Utah with 25 points and 13 rebounds while Keyonte George added 24 points. Taylor Hendricks had a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Ace Bailey chipped in 17.

PISTONS 136, KINGS 127

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 23 points and 14 assists, Jalen Duren had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit beat Sacramento.

Tobias Harris scored 24 points for the Pistons, who have won nine of 11.

Duren’s double-double was his fourth straight and 17th of the season. Ausar Thompson had 19 points for Detroit, and Isaiah Stewart added 16 points off the bench.

DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points and Russell Westbrook had 27 for the Kings, who have lost 10 of 12.

Westbrook had four assists to reach 10,140 for his career, one short of Magic Johnson for seventh in NBA history.

The Pistons, who lead the NBA in points in the paint at 58.1 per game, had 70 points inside to the Kings’ 48.

CLIPPERS 128, ROCKETS 108

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 41 points and James Harden added 29 as Los Angeles beat Houston.

Leonard shot 16 for 23 from the field and 4 for 5 from long distance as the Clippers won consecutive games for just the second time this season. Los Angeles was coming off a 103-88 win over the Lakers on Saturday that snapped a five-game skid. The Clippers also won consecutive games Oct. 24-26, against Phoenix and Portland.

Harden, who shot 7 for 14 from the field and 3 for 8 from long distance, was helped by 12-for-13 shooting from the line.

John Collins and Kobe Sanders added 13 points apiece and Kris Dunn scored 11 for Los Angeles, which shot 54% (20 for 37) from 3-point range.

Kevin Durant scored 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, and Alperen Sengun finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for Houston, which was 9 for 30 (30%) from long distance.

Amen Thompson added 19 points for Houston, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 16 for the Rockets, who have lost four of their last five games.

MAGIC 110, TRAIL BLAZERS 106

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Desmond Bane scored 23 points, Anthony Black added 22 and Orlando turned back Portland’s comeback attempt for a victory over the Trail Blazers.

After trailing by 17 in the third quarter, the Blazers took a one-point lead early in the fourth before Tyus Jones answered with a 3-pointer and Wendell Carter Jr. hit a jumper for the Magic.

Shaedon Sharpe had a chance to tie it with 38.9 seconds left but made only one of two free throws, leaving Portland down 107-106.

Bane missed a pull-up jumper at the other end, then blocked a layup attempt by 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan with 12 seconds remaining to preserve the lead. Bane sank two free throws to make it 109-106 and Deni Avdija missed a long 3 for the Trail Blazers before Black added a foul shot for the final margin.