Jalen Brunson scored nine of his season-high 55 points in overtime and the visiting New York Knicks extended their season-best winning streak to seven games, beating the Washington Wizards 136-132 on Saturday.
Brunson hit two foul shots in overtime to put the Knicks ahead 134-131 with 4.2 seconds left. Malcolm Brogdon made 1 of 2 free throws on the other end before Josh Hart’s two foul shots sealed the victory for New York, which has won 17 of its past 21 games overall, including 11 of 13 this month.
Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who rallied from an eight-point deficit that they faced at the start of the fourth quarter. Mikal Bridges scored 21 points, and Hart finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The Knicks improved to 12-6 away from home and have seven straight road wins.
Justin Champagnie led Washington with a career-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Brogdon scored 22 points, Coulibaly had 18, Carlton Carrington added 17 and Kyshawn George posted 13.
Lakers 132, Kings 122
Anthony Davis scored 36 points with 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves added 26 points with a career-high 16 assists as short-handed Los Angeles earned a victory over visiting Sacramento, which was playing one day after head coach Mike Brown was fired.
Playing without star LeBron James (illness), while Gabe Vincent (oblique) did not see time in the second half, the Lakers got past the Kings as Rui Hachimura scored 21 points, while rookie Dalton Knecht had 18.
De’Aaron Fox scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter with 12 assists, while DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points for the Kings, who have lost six consecutive games for the first time since an eight-game losing streak in January 2022. Sacramento was playing under the guidance of interim head coach Doug Christie.
Warriors 109, Suns 105
Reserve Jonathan Kuminga tied a career high with 34 points, leading Golden State to a win over Phoenix in San Francisco.
Stephen Curry chipped in 22 points for Golden State, while Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 16 apiece. Jackson-Davis also had 10 rebounds. Dennis Schroder had 11 points as the Warriors snapped a three-game skid.
Kevin Durant led Phoenix with 31 points. Bradley Beal contributed 28, Ryan Dunn had 15 and Josh Okogie scored 11 to go along with nine boards for the Suns, who have dropped five of their past six games.
Nuggets 134, Pistons 121
Nikola Jokic scored 37 points, Jamal Murray added 34 and host Denver held off a furious rally in the fourth quarter to beat Detroit.
Michael Porter Jr. contributed 26 points and Christian Braun scored 10 for Denver, which is 6-0 this season in the second game of back-to-backs.
Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey scored 17 points apiece, Malik Beasley added 14, Jalen Duren and Ronald Holland II each finished with 12 and Ausar Thompson notched 10 for Detroit, which went 3-1 on its four-game Western Conference road trip.
76ers 114, Jazz 111
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each scored 32 points to lift Philadelphia to a victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.
Embiid hit a go-ahead jumper with 1:38 remaining to make it 110-108, and the Sixers then held off the Jazz from the free-throw line in the final minute, with Maxey and Paul George each hitting a pair of foul shots.
Lauri Markkanen scored 23 points and Collin Sexton added 20 points, eight assists and six rebounds for Utah, while Brice Sensabaugh contributed 20 points off the bench.
Trail Blazers 126, Mavericks 122
Shaedon Sharpe had 23 points and Anfernee Simons added 22 points and eight assists to help Portland post a victory over visiting Dallas.
Deandre Ayton contributed 21 points and 16 rebounds and Deni Avdija recorded 21 points, five assists and five rebounds as Portland won its second straight game. Scoot Henderson had 19 points, six assists and five steals off the bench and Jerami Grant had 14 points and eight boards for the Trail Blazers.
Kyrie Irving scored 20 of his season-high 46 points in the final quarter for Dallas, which played without star Luka Doncic for the second straight night and fell to 7-3 without his services this season. Doncic will miss at least one month due to a left calf strain sustained on Christmas Day.
Thunder 106, Hornets 94
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again led Oklahoma City in scoring with 22 points in the Thunder’s road victory against Charlotte.
Jalen Williams racked up 20 points, Aaron Wiggins had 17 points, Isaiah Hartenstein provided 12 points and 15 rebounds and Ajay Mitchell added 10 points as the Thunder won their fifth in a row and their 10th in the last 11 outings.
Miles Bridges scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Charlotte’s losing streak reached seven. Seth Curry, who didn’t play in Thursday’s loss at Washington, was in Charlotte’s starting lineup and supplied 12 points. Vasilije Micic posted 16 points, Mark Williams had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Josh Green and reserve Isaiah Wong both had 10 points.
Hawks 120, Heat 110
Jalen Johnson had 28 points and 13 rebounds and Atlanta won its third straight with a victory over visiting Miami.
Johnson was 13-for-20 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and had five assists and two blocked shots. Atlanta also got 26 points off the bench from De’Andre Hunter and 11 points and 15 assists from Trae Young.
Miami was led by Tyler Herro’s 28 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists and Bam Adebayo’s 17 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Bulls 116, Bucks 111
Josh Giddey returned from a four-game absence to record a 23-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, and his go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining in regulation helped Chicago beat visiting Milwaukee.
Coby White finished with 22 points and Nikola Vucevic added 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to help Chicago snap a three-game losing streak. The Bulls also got 15 points, seven assists and six rebounds from Zach LaVine.
Milwaukee, playing without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (illness), welcomed Damian Lillard back to the lineup following a four-game absence. Lillard scored a game-high 29 points and dished out 12 assists without committing a turnover but went scoreless in the game’s final 7:15.
–Field Level Media
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