Luka Doncic scored 35 points and dished out 11 assists against his former team and the Los Angeles Lakers finished perfect in NBA Cup group play with a 129-119 victory over the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Austin Reaves scored 38 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Deandre Ayton paired 17 points with eight rebounds, and LeBron James had 13 points and seven assists in his fourth game of the season after returning from sciatica.
Doncic improved to 3-0 against Dallas after his surprising trade from the Mavericks in February. Los Angeles, which had already advanced to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, finished 4-0 in West Group B.
P.J. Washington amassed 22 points and nine rebounds and Anthony Davis added 12 points for the Mavericks in his first game on his former home court after he was traded to Dallas in the Doncic deal. He was making his return after missing the previous 14 games with a calf injury.
Thunder 123, Suns 119
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points to help Oklahoma City record its 11th consecutive win, a home victory over Phoenix in an NBA Cup game that saw both teams advance.
The win sends the Thunder to the knockout round of the NBA Cup after they went 4-0 in West Group A. The Suns, who lost for just the third time in 12 games overall, fell to 3-1 in NBA Cup action. However, they still earned a wild-card spot as the Western Conference’s best second-place team, so they will join the Thunder in the knockout round.
Oklahoma City also improved to 19-1, becoming the fifth team in NBA history to win at least 19 games in the season’s first 20. After capturing the first nine games of the winning streak by 13 or more points, Oklahoma City has now won back-to-back tight games after beating Minnesota by eight on Wednesday.
Spurs 139, Nuggets 136
Devin Vassell scored 18 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter and visiting San Antonio beat Denver to win West Group C and advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup.
Julian Champagnie scored 25 points — also a season high — and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Spurs. San Antonio sealed the win my making 7 of 8 free throws in the last minute.
Jamal Murray put up 37 points for Denver, which went 2-2 in NBA Cup play. Nikola Jokic had 21 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists, and Cameron Johnson contributed a season-high 28 points.
Hawks 130, Cavaliers 123
Jalen Johnson produced his second triple-double of the season and Atlanta held off visiting Cleveland as both teams failed to advance in the NBA Cup.
Johnson finished with 29 points, shooting 9-for-18 from the floor, to go with 12 rebounds and 12 assists. Atlanta has won three of its last four, while Cleveland has lost two in a row. Both teams finished 2-2 in East Group A and were eliminated from the NBA Cup. Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 30 points and Zaccharie Risacher had 14 points.
Cleveland was led by Donovan Mitchell with 42 points, his 21st career game with 40-plus points. The Cavaliers got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Evan Mobley and 15 points and 10 assists from Darius Garland. Former Hawk De’Andre Hunter scored 16 in his return to Atlanta.
Knicks 118, Bucks 109
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 37 points, helping New York earn a victory over visiting Milwaukee and advance to the NBA Cup knockout stage.
Josh Hart finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists and Miles McBride scored 19 for the Knicks, who won their third straight and finished atop East Group C with a 3-1 record. Mikal Bridges added 14 for New York, while Karl-Anthony Towns totaled nine points and 10 rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in his return from a four-game absence caused by a thigh injury. Kyle Kuzma scored 20, AJ Green added 18, Ryan Rollins put up 13 and Myles Turner had 10 for Milwaukee, which dropped its seventh straight game.
76ers 115, Nets 103
Tyrese Maxey totaled 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the short-handed Philadelphia never trailed in a victory over Brooklyn in New York. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid (knee), VJ Edgecombe (calf), Kelly Oubre Jr. (knee) and Trendon Watford (groin).
Jared McCain added 20 off Philadelphia’s bench. Rookie Egor Demin posted career bests of 23 points and nine rebounds for Brooklyn.
Both teams entered the game having already been eliminated from advancing in the NBA Cup. They finished tied at the bottom of East Group B at 1-3.
Hornets 123, Bulls 116
Brandon Miller’s season-high 27 points and Miles Bridges’ 22 points carried Charlotte to an NBA Cup victory over visiting Chicago, a result that snapped the Hornets’ seven-game losing streak.
Reserve Collin Sexton poured in 21 points, LaMelo Ball had 16 points and eight assists and Kon Knueppel added 12 points for the Hornets, who finished 1-3 in East Group C of the NBA Cup.
Coby White and Josh Giddey each scored 25 points to lead the Bulls. Chicago also went 1-3 in NBA Cup play and has lost three of its past four games overall.
Magic 112, Pistons 109
Desmond Bane poured in 37 points and grabbed eight rebounds as visiting Orlando edged Detroit to advance to the knockout round of the NBA Cup.
Orlando finished 4-0 in the East Group B of the event and won for the fifth time in its past six games. The Pistons, who went 2-2 in NBA Cup action, lost for the second time in a row following their 13-game winning streak.
Franz Wagner had 21 points and seven rebounds for the Magic. Cade Cunningham carried the Pistons with 39 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Cunningham was fouled with 4.7 seconds left but missed the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second. The Pistons got the rebound, but Duncan Robinson’s last-ditch 3-point try was blocked by Black.
Pacers 119, Wizards 86
Pascal Siakam amassed 24 points and 11 rebounds as Indiana cruised to a win over Washington in Indianapolis. Both teams finished 1-3 in East Group A of the NBA Cup.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points and matched his season high with four assists for the Pacers, who led by as many as 33 and won for the third time in their first 19 games.
Alex Sarr led Washington with 24 points. The Wizards were unable to carry the momentum from Tuesday, when they snapped a 14-game losing streak with a home win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Jazz 128, Kings 119
Keyonte George scored 31 points, Lauri Markkanen added 28 and Utah avoided a winless round of pool play in the NBA Cup with a victory over Sacramento in Salt Lake City.
Utah, which finished 1-3 in West Group A, snapped a four-game skid. The Jazz used a 12-2 run early in the second quarter to take a lead they never relinquished.
Zach LaVine hit three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, part of a 6-of-9 period on his way to a game-high 34 points for the Kings. Sacramento ended up 0-4 in NBA Cup action.
Grizzlies 112, Clippers 107
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 24 points and Zach Edey grabbed 19 rebounds to help Memphis rally to a win in Inglewood, Calif., in the NBA Cup finale for both teams.
Vince Williams Jr. added 16 points and Jaylen Wells and backup Santi Aldama scored 13 points apiece as Memphis recovered from a 16-point third-quarter deficit. The Grizzlies went 3-1 in West Group B play but didn’t advance to the knockout round. Los Angeles went 2-2.
Kawhi Leonard scored 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting but couldn’t prevent the Clippers from losing for the 12th time in the past 14 games. James Harden had 23 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds for Los Angeles. Kris Dunn added 11 points, seven rebounds and five steals, and John Collins logged 10 points and seven rebounds.
