Kyrie Irving had 25 points and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Sacramento Kings 122-114 on Friday night for their third straight win.
Irving played his second game since being traded by the Brooklyn Nets to the Mavericks. In his Dallas debut, he scored 24 points Wednesday night in a road win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Josh Green scored 17 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 15 as the Mavericks won for the fifth time in six games.
Kyrie Irving was cooking in Sacramento, dropping 26 points and adding 10 assists vs. the Kings
Dallas led by as many as 24 points and never trailed. The Kings cut the deficit to six points with 20 seconds remaining.
De’Aaron Fox scored 33 points for Sacramento. The Kings were coming off back-to-back wins over the Houston Rockets.
Domantas Sabonis had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings. He leads the NBA in double-doubles with 43.
It gets better for Dallas who are expected to have Luka Doncic available for their rematch on Saturday night — the first time he and Irving will share a court in a Mavs uniform.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 119, 106 LA CLIPPERS
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his ridiculous form with 35 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Bucks overcame a spirited Clippers team.
The win ensured their first 10-game winning streak since 2019-20.
Brook Lopez had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday added 19 points for the Bucks, who have won 12 of 13. They completed a back-to-back sweep in LA, having beaten the Lakers a night earlier.
Paul George led the six Clippers in double figures with 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. They were without Kawhi Leonard, who sat out due to injury management.
Giannis Antetokounmpo spearheaded Milwaukee’s first 10-win streak since 2019-20, on Friday
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 118, 107 NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Cleveland maintained a double-digit lead most of the way for a 118-107 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night that extended the Cavaliers’ winning streak to five games.
Evan Mobley had 28 points and 13 rebounds, while Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland, which snapped New Orleans’ three-game winning streak.
Cleveland shot 56.5% (48 of 85), outscored New Orleans 70-58 in the paint and outrebounded the Pelicans 41-34.
The Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram scored 25 points, his fourth straight game with at least that many. Trey Murphy added 17 points and CJ McCollum 12 for New Orleans.
Donovan Mitchell was utterly dominant once again as the Cavs flexed their muscle vs. the Pels
BOSTON CELTICS 127, 116 CHARLOTTE HORNETS
Jayson Tatum scored 41 points and Derrick White set career highs with 33 points and eight 3-pointers to help Boston hold off Charlotte.
Tatum began the fourth quarter on the bench, but was reinserted after Charlotte cut Boston´s lead to 14 points with 7:03 to play. The Hornets trailed by 28 in the third quarter before closing period on 15-3 run.
It was Tatum´s eighth game this season with 40 or more points, but he ran his minutes total to 37 minutes to do it on what was an otherwise light night of work for the MVP contender.
Terry Rozier led Charlotte with 27 points. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and 10 assists, with the Hornets having now lost their last six games.
Jayson Tatum scored 41 points for the Celtics, while LaMelo Ball had 24 points for Charlotte
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS 119, 108 NEW YORK KNICKS
Tyrese Maxey provided a huge boost off the bench, scoring 27 points to help Philadelphia rally from a 13-point deficit for a win over New York.
Joel Embiid had 35 points and 11 rebounds on 14-of-18 shooting from the floor, while James Harden added 20 points and 12 assists to help the Sixers gain a measure of revenge for a loss in New York on Sunday night when Philadelphia reinquished a 21-point lead.
Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson both scored 30 points for the Knicks.
Julius Randle’s 30 points were not enough to help the Knicks secure a victory in Philadelphia
PHOENIX SUNS 117, 104 INDIANA PACERS
Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Devin Booker scored 21 points and Chris Paul chipped in 19 as the Phoenix Suns cruised past the Indiana Pacers 117-104 on Friday night.
Playing one day after their blockbuster trade for four-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, the Suns led by as many as 26 and never trailed in a game they outrebounded the Pacers 64-45.
Bennedict Mathurin posted 22 points for the Pacers, while All-Star Tyrese Haliburton finished with 18 points and five assists. Indiana, which has lost 14 of its past 16 games, shot 42% from the field and committed 15 turnovers.
Deandre Ayton scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds in the Suns’ 13-point win vs. Indiana
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 138, 129 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 44 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to an entertaining 138-129 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Josh Giddey added 19 points for the Thunder, who had lost three of their previous five games.
Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers with 38 points, and Jerami Grant added 23.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his stunning form with another big night in Portland, OR.
DETROIT PISTONS 138, 131 (OT) SAN ANTONIO SPURS
Detroit’s Bojan Bogdanovic scored 10 of his 32 points in overtime as the Pistons beat San Antonio in a matchup of two of the NBA´s worst teams.
San Antonio, which lost its 11th straight game, led 125-121 after Devonte Graham hit his sixth 3-pointer of his Spurs debut with 18 seconds left in the first overtime.
However, Bogdanovic hit a jumper and Isaiah Livers stole the inbounds pass. Bogdanovic, who missed a short jumper at the end of regulation, was fouled with 13.2 seconds left.
He made both free throws, and the Spurs couldn´t get off a shot before the buzzer. Jalen Duren had a career-high 30 points and 17 rebounds for the Pistons.
Bogdanovic scored 10 of his 32 points in overtime as the Pistons beat San Antonio at home
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 128, 107 MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Ja Morant had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Desmond Bane added 20 points and Memphis built a big lead through the fourth quarter and coasted past Minnesota.
Santi Aldama finished with 18 points, while Jaren Jackson added 15 points and four blocks as Memphis was still shooting close to 60% when both teams emptied their benches in the fourth.
Jaylen Nowell led the Timberwolves with 21 points, while Anthony Edwards scored 17 points. Taurean Prince and Kyle Anderson scored 12 points apiece for Minnesota.
Ja Morant had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as the Grizzlies won comfortably
UTAH JAZZ 122, 116 TORONTO RAPTORS
Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler each scored 23 points, Collin Sexton had 22 as Utah overcame a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes to beat Toronto and snap a three-game losing streak.
Kelly Olynyk scored 15 points and former Raptor Rudy Gay had 12 for the Jazz, who won despite shooting 6 for 24 from 3-point range, matching a season low. Utah also made six 3-pointers in a Feb. 6 loss to Dallas.
Pascal Siakam scored 35 points, topping 30 for the second straight game, but Toronto couldn´t extend its three-game winning streak. The Raptors have not won four straight at any point this season.
Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton were critical to Utah’s six-point win over the Raptors
MIAMI HEAT 97, 95 HOUSTON ROCKETS
Gabe Vincent threw an alley-oop inbounds pass to Jimmy Butler for a dunk with 0.3 seconds remaining, giving Miami a win over Houston.
Tyler Herro had 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, who won despite scoring only 39 second-half points. Bam Adebayo scored 20 points, Butler had 10 of his 16 points in the fourth and Max Strus added 14 for Miami.
Jabari Smith Jr. scored 22 points for the Rockets. Kenyon Martin Jr. had 17 and Alperen Sengun added 12. Jalen Green had 11 points, including a game-tying layup with 0.7 seconds left.
Jimmy Butler made a spectacular dunk with 0.3 seconds remaining, giving Miami the victory
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