CHARLOTTE, March 2 (US): Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 10-of-15 in his Suns debut, helping Phoenix snap the Charlotte Hornets in a five-game winning streak with a 105-91 win on Wednesday. a night.
Devin Booker scored 37 points and Deandre Ayton had 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Suns’ seventh win in 10 games. The Associated Press reported that Chris Paul added 11 assists.
Durant, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets on February 9, showed no lingering effects from a right knee sprain that sidelined him for more than seven weeks.
The 34-year-old superstar fit in seamlessly with his new club and also tallied six rebounds and blocked two shots in 27 minutes.
Durant made two sets of three doubles, a bunch of midrange jumpers and showed he still had the strength to get to the hole on a left-handed layup for his first basket with the Suns. He also provided a solid boost on defense, holding off Hornets rookie center Mark Williams twice in the first five minutes.
The Hornets played without LaMelo Ball, who had season-ending surgery on Wednesday to repair a fracture in his right ankle. Kelly Ober Jr. scored 26 points and Terry Rozier added 20 points.
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Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and NBA-leading Milwaukee made 26 three-pointers to defeat Orlando and extend their winning streak to 16 games.
The Bucks’ franchise record for consecutive wins came in the 1970-71 championship season, when they won 20 straight wins.
Orlando’s Cole Anthony scored a season-high 28 points. Markelle Fultz added 21.
76ERS 119, Fever 96
Miami: Therese Maxe scored 27 points, James Harden added 23 and Philadelphia dominated early on the road to victory over Miami.
Tobias Harris scored 18 points, while Paul Reid scored 16 points and 14 rebounds, and was plus 26 in 29 minutes for the 76ers who played without All-Star Joel Embiid, who was knocked out due to soreness in his left foot. The 76ers are 9-4 when Embiid is not playing this season.
Bam Adebayo scored 20 points for T.I. They beat Philadelphia on the road on Monday but fell behind by 25 going into their home rematch.
KNICKS 142, NETS 118
New York: Jalen Bronson scored 30 of his 39 points in the first half, and New York claimed its seventh straight victory, defeating Brooklyn.
The Knicks made nearly 80% of their 47-point first quarter shooting and pulled back to their second win over the Nets since they replaced city rivals Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn has won the previous nine meetings, including the first two this season.
Quentin Grimes scored 22 points and Julius Randle added 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Knicks opened a two-game lead over the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Nets.
Cam Johnson scored a season-high 33 points for the Nets. They have lost four in a row.
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BOSTON: Jason Tatum scored 18 points in a pivotal third quarter and finished with 41 points as Boston held on to win over Cleveland.
Tatum added 11 rebounds and eight assists in Boston’s first win in three games against Cleveland this season. For his 20th career 40-point game, the 24-year-old Tatum surpassed Giannis Antetokounmpo for seventh place on the NBA’s all-time leading scorer for players under 25.
Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 44 points and avoided an injury after falling in the third quarter.
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Oklahoma City: Dennis Schroeder scored 26 points as Los Angeles beat Oklahoma City.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis both had right foot injuries and D’Angelo Russell sat out due to a sprained right ankle.
Troy Brown Jr. scored a season-high 19 points and Austin Reeves added 19 for the Lakers. They have won four out of five.
Jalen Williams scored 24 points for the Thunder. Oklahoma City is 0-5 since the All-Star break.
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PORTLAND: Brandon Ingram hit a season-high 40 points as New Orleans beat Portland in the first showdown between Damian Lillard and former Trail Blazers teammate CJ McCollum.
McCollum added 24 points to help the Pelicans snap a four-game losing streak. Lillard scored 41 points for the Trail Blazers.
The game marked the first time Lillard and McCollum played against each other after nearly nine years together in the Portland backcourt.
McCollum was traded to New Orleans at the trade deadline last season. Lillard was injured at the time and did not play in the two meetings between the two teams after the trade. Lillard also missed Portland’s visit to New Orleans earlier this season due to injury management.
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Detroit: Zach LaVine scored 41 points and Detroit called overtime, helping Chicago hold on for the victory.
The Pistons were trailing by two points with 9.7 seconds left in the game when they called a second straight timeout one more than having to result in a technical foul that awarded LaVine a free throw, which he made.
DeMar DeRozan scored 21 points, including two on an extra possession streak that the Pistons gave the Bulls to help seal their 14th straight win in the series.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 34 for the Pistons. They lost six straight games for the third time this season.
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Houston: Desmond Bane scored 30 points, Ja Morant added 20, and Memphis dispatched Houston for their 11th straight loss.
Morant also recorded seven assists and seven rebounds against the Rockets without playing in the fourth quarter to help the Grizzlies claim their third straight win.
Jalen Green scored 20 points and Kenyon Martin Jr. 19 for Houston.
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