MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Jalen Williams scored 26 points, Kenrich Williams added 21, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:07 left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 21-point deficit in the second half and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Friday night.
Memphis and Oklahoma City were working with short-handed lineups.
Ajay Mitchell added 23 points for Oklahoma City, which has won 16 straight against Memphis, including a sweep in the first round of last year’s playoffs. Aaron Wiggins finished with 16 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 23 points and seven rebounds. GG Jackson finished with 18 points, and Santi Aldama added 15. Memphis has lost six of seven.
Oklahoma City whittled away and pulled within 80-68 midway through the third, helped by a 15-6 run. Oklahoma City shot 61% in the third period and trailed 94-81 after three quarters.
The Thunder took the lead with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter when a 3-pointer by Kenrich Williams made it 115-114.
While Memphis has dealt with absences much of the season, Oklahoma City played without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, among others. While Hartenstein has been out for several games with a soleus strain, Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren and Cason Wallace played in Wednesday’s 129-125 overtime loss to Utah.
PELICANS 128, WIZARDS 107
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 35 points, Zion Williamson added 31 and Derik Queen had a triple-double to help New Orleans snap a nine-game losing streak with a rout of Washington.
Kyshawn George and Tristan Vukcevic scored 15 points apiece for the Wizards, who were without newly acquired guard Trae Young because of quadriceps and knee issues.
Queen, the standout rookie for New Orleans, was terrific in his return to the D.C. area. The former Maryland star had 14 points, 16 rebounds and 12 assists for the second triple-double of his young career. The rebound and assist totals were season highs for him.
Young was on the bench with the team and got a nice hand from the crowd when he was introduced during a break in the first quarter. The trade that sent him from the Hawks to the Wizards was finalized Friday.
The Pelicans also made that trip, having lost at Atlanta on Wednesday night before beating the Wizards.
New Orleans led 60-50 at halftime and extended its advantage to 21 in the third quarter. Washington got back to within 10 in the fourth, but a 21-5 run by the Pelicans made it a blowout again.
Jeremiah Fears scored 21 points for New Orleans, which shot 53% from the field and outscored the Wizards 68-46 in the paint.
CELTICS 125, RAPTORS 117
BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard had 28 points and eight assists, and Boston held off short-handed Toronto.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who won for the fifth time in six games. Boston connected on 14 3-pointers and shot 54% from the field to help pull away in the second half.
The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Raptors. They played without starters Brandon Ingram (sprained right thumb) and Scottie Barnes (sprained right knee). Toronto center Jakob Poeltl also missed his ninth straight game with a sprained back.
RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both had 19 points for Toronto. Immanuel Quickley finished with 17 points and 13 assists.
One game after making just seven 3s during a win at Charlotte, the Raptors knocked down 18 from beyond the arc to keep pace with the Celtics, who led 68-60 at halftime.
Boston found a groove in the third quarter, using a 13-3 run to push its lead to 93-73.
Toronto chipped away and got back within 108-103 with just over six minutes to play. But a 12-3 spurt by the Celtics got the lead back up to double digits.
76ERS 103, MAGIC 91
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tyrese Maxey had 29 points and three steals, Joel Embiid added 22 points and nine rebounds, and Philadelphia beat Orlando in a game in which the teams combined to make 8 of 57 3-point shots.
Paul George scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and added nine rebounds for the 76ers, who won for the fifth time in six games. Philadelphia has won four straight on the road.
Desmond Bane led Orlando with 23 points. Anthony Black added 21 points and Paolo Banchero finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Philadelphia shot 4 for 28 (14.3%) from long range to Orlando’s 4 for 29 (13.8%).
Maxey, the NBA’s third-leading scorer at 30.7 points per game, made only 3 of 12 shots in a 12-point first half and missed all four of his 3-point attempts. He finished 10 for 22 overall and 3 for 8 on threes.
When Maxey hit his second 3-pointer of the game with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter, the 76ers were 3 for 22 from 3-point range and had a seven-point lead. His final 3-pointer came with 3:42 left and gave the 76ers their largest lead, 101-85.
Referee Bill Kennedy left the court in a wheelchair after suffering an apparent leg injury during the first quarter.
CLIPPERS 121, NETS 105
NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden scored 31 points, Kawhi Leonard had 26 and Los Angeles beat Brooklyn.
Reserve guard Jordan Miller made his first six shots and added 21 points. John Collins had 16 for the Clippers, who bounced back from their loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday to win for the eighth time in 10 games. Leonard, questionable earlier in the day with a sprained right ankle, started slowly but had 19 points in the second half.
Rookie guard Egor Demin scored 19 points for the Nets, who lost on a buzzer-beater in overtime against Orlando on Wednesday. But it was quickly clear this one would never be close.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled to 18 points, missing all nine 3-point attempts.
The Clippers scored the first eight points, and after Nic Claxton made two free throws, Harden scored the next six in an 8-0 run that made it 16-2. Demin made a 3-pointer to snap Brooklyn’s 0-for-8 start, but then Leonard and Harden scored to make the Clippers 8 for 9 and give them a 21-5 lead.
The Clippers opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to make it 45-25 on former Nets center Brook Lopez’s three-point play. Los Angeles led by 22 before taking a 63-47 halftime lead.
HAWKS 110, NUGGETS 87
DENVER (AP) — Dyson Daniels had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Atlanta used a big fourth quarter to beat Denver in its first game since trading Trae Young.
Jalen Johnson scored 29 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 22 for Atlanta, which outscored Denver 36-12 in the final 12 minutes to pull away.
Both teams were dealing with significant absences.
In addition to Nikola Jokic (hyperextended left knee) and Jonas Valanciunas (calf) remaining sidelined, Jamal Murray (ankle) and Spencer Jones (ankle) were also sidelined for Denver. Murray, who had a career-high 17 assists in the win at Boston on Wednesday night, has missed two of the last four games.
The injury-ravaged Nuggets couldn’t recapture the magic of their improbable wins at Philadelphia and the Celtics to end their seven-game road trip. Peyton Watson led Denver with 25 points and Aaron Gordon scored 14 off the bench in his third game back after missing 19 with a hamstring injury.
Kristaps Porzingis (Achilles tendon) did not dress for Atlanta and CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert have yet to join the team since being acquired in the trade that sent Young to Washington.
The Associated Press
