DALLAS (AP) — Anthony Davis had 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in his Mavericks debut but left the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury as Dallas beat the Houston Rockets 116-105 on Saturday.
Max Christie, who was acquired with Davis from the Los Angeles Lakers a week ago in the trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to L.A., added 23 points for the Mavericks after playing twice for Dallas on the road this week.
Davis, who had not played since Jan. 28 because of an abdominal strain, assisted on the Mavericks’ first field goal four seconds in, scored six of Dallas’ first 14 points and had a double-double before halftime. He played 31 minutes.
Alperen Sengun scored 30 points and Jalen Green 24 for Houston, which has a season-long six-game losing streak. Sengun scored 15 in the third quarter, when the Rockets opened on a 21-4 run and cut a 21-point second-quarter deficit to two.
LAKERS 124, PACERS 117
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Austin Reaves scored a career-high 45 points and streaking Los Angeles beat Indiana without LeBron James or Luka Doncic.
Rui Hachimura scored 24 points for LA on his 27th birthday. The Lakers have won five straight and 11 of 13.
Los Angeles jumped to a 25-point lead in the first half, and Reaves scored 14 points in the fourth quarter while the Lakers held off Indiana, the fourth-place team in the Eastern Conference, even without their two superstars.
James sat with left ankle soreness, while Doncic watched his third straight game from the Lakers’ bench as he nears a return from the strained left calf that has sidelined him since Christmas. James and Doncic sat together and talked throughout the game ahead of their expected joint debut Monday against Utah.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and Tyrese Halliburton had 19 for the Pacers, who erased most of their huge deficit before fading in the fourth quarter. Indiana lost for only the fourth time in 17 games.
HAWKS 125, WIZARDS 111
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trae Young scored 35 points and had 14 assists to help Atlanta to a victory over Washington.
Zaccharie Risacher added 18 points as Atlanta completed back-to-back wins for the first time since winning three straight from Jan. 14-18.
Georges Niang had 16 points in his Hawks debut after being dealt by Cleveland at this week’s NBA trade deadline.
Rookie Bub Carrington scored a career-high 23 points for Washington in its second straight loss after a season-best three consecutive wins. Jordan Poole added 21 points a night after scoring a career-best 45 in a loss to Cleveland.
MAGIC 112, SPURS 111
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero’s 15-foot shot put Orlando ahead with 24.7 seconds left in a game they played mostly from behind and Victor Wembanyama missed a mid-range jumper in the final seconds as the Magic held on for a win over San Antonio.
Franz Wagner had 33 points and 12 rebounds, and Anthony Black scored 20 points off the Magic’s bench on 8-of-9 shooting. Banchero finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 25 points on 11-for-14 shooting. Harrison Barnes added 21 points and eight rebounds, and Wembanyama finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals and four blocks. Barnes hit five 3-pointers in a span of 2:13 in the first quarter.
De’Aaron Fox had nine points and nine assists in his third game with the Spurs.
THUNDER 125, GRIZZLIES 112
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and Aaron Wiggins added 26 points and 11 rebounds as Oklahoma City beat Memphis in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference.
The Thunder dominated the Grizzlies on the boards, outrebounding them 55-40. That includes 21 offensive board leading to 32 second-chance points. Isaiah Hartenstein grabbed 14 rebounds. Jalen Williams scored 25 for the Thunder, who won their fifth straight and stretched their conference lead to 7 1/2 over second-place Memphis.
Desmond Bane led the Grizzlies with 20 points, while Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 19 points. Santi Aldama added 18 points as Memphis saw the end of its four-game winning streak.
TIMBERWOLVES 114, TRAIL BLAZERS 98
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaden McDaniels had 30 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, Naz Reid scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and short-handed Minnesota overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Portland.
Minnesota played without All-Star guard Anthony Edwards for the second time this season after he was held out as a precaution because of soreness in his right hip. The Timberwolves also were missing Mike Conley (sprained right index), Julius Randle (strained right groin) and Donte DiVincenzo (sprained left big toe).
Reid hit three timely 3-pointers to help Minnesota to its third straight victory on a night when fans received his bobblehead. The Timberwolves have won eight of 10.
Anfernee Simons led Portland with 21 points. Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe each had 14.
WARRIORS 132, BULLS 111
CHICAGO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 34 points and tied a season high with eight 3-pointers, Jimmy Butler added 25 points in his Golden State debut as they rallied to beat Chicago.
Curry scored 24 of his points and made five 3s in the third quarter as the Warriors went from trailing by 24 to leading by three.
Butler, who played his first six seasons in Chicago, made a big impact in his first game since a trade-deadline deal from Miami following a messy split with the Heat. The six-time All-Star made 11 of 13 free throws and had four assists.
Quinten Post scored 18 points and Brandin Podziemski added 16 points and seven assists.
Coby White led Chicago with 27 points and made six 3s. Jalen Smith added 15 points and matched a career high with four 3-pointers. Rookie Matas Buzelis scored 16 as the Bulls lost for the 11th time in 14 games.
CELTICS 131, KNICKS 104
NEW YORK (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 40 points and Boston easily handled New York for the second time this season.
Payton Pritchard added 25 points off the bench for the Celtics, who rebounded from their loss to Dallas on Thursday in an NBA Finals rematch to win for the fifth time in six games and move 2 1/2 games ahead of the Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Derrick White had 17 and combined with Tatum for all the points in a 19-3 spurt in the third quarter that broke open the only time all night it felt like a game. The Knicks, who trailed by double digits most of the night, had cut an 18-point deficit to 70-67, but by the time the run was over Boston led 89-70.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points for the Knicks, who lost for the second time in nine games — both at home the last two Saturday nights on national TV. Josh Hart had 17.
NUGGETS 122, SUNS 105
PHOENIX (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to just miss a triple-double before sitting out the fourth quarter and Denver won their season-best sixth straight game, beating Phoenix.
Jokic made 11 of 13 shots in 28 minutes. Jamal Murray had 30 points for the Nuggets, who played without starters Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr., both sidelined with left hamstring injuries.
Devin Booker scored 24 points to lead Phoenix, who didn’t have injured starters Kevin Durant (sprained left ankle) or Bradley Beal (injured left big toe) for the second night in a row. Also out was Grayson Allen, who sat with an injured left knee. He made two 3-pointers in the final 4 seconds Friday night to force overtime in an eventual victory over Utah.
Bol Bol had a season-high 19 points, and Tyus Jones added 15 points and 10 assists for the Suns. They have lost four of five.
KINGS 123, PELICANS 118
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis had 27 points and 16 rebounds for his NBA-leading 46th double-double of the season and Sacramento overcame a 20-point deficit for a victory over New Orleans that extended their losing streak to eight games.
Zach LaVine added 22 points in his best game for the Kings since being acquired in a trade from the Chicago Bulls last week. Keegan Murray had 19 points with eight rebounds.
Zion Williamson scored a season-high 40 points for New Orleans, CJ McCollum had 31 points while Trey Murphy III scored 20.
The game began as if it might be a blowout but ended in a flourish.
New Orleans, which led 29-9 less than nine minutes into the first quarter, trailed most of the fourth quarter and got within 121-118 on a pair of free throws by McCollum with 15.2 seconds remaining.
CLIPPERS 130, JAZZ 110
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac scored 26 points apiece, James Harden added 23 and Los Angeles beat Utah to snap a three-game losing streak.
Zubac, who was 13 of 16 from the field, had a season-high in points as well as 15 rebounds. Harden dished out a season-high 17 assists.
Jordan Clarkson led the Jazz with 24 points, including 14 points in the first quarter. Keyonte George added 21 off the bench and Johnny Juzang had 19.
Utah got within 103-101 in the fourth quarter, before the Clippers outscored the Jazz 27-9 over the remaining seven minutes.
The Associated Press
