Memphis, March 1 (US): Ja Morant scored 28 of his 39 points in the third quarter, scored 10 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat Los Angeles 121-109 Tuesday night in the Lakers’ first game since LeBron. James was injured in his right foot.
Xavier Tillman finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, while Garren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bean scored 16 points each, the Associated Press reports.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 28 points and 19 rebounds. Lonnie Walker IV scored 21 points. Austin Reavis scored 17, while matching his season-high four three-pointers.
Morant took over in the third quarter, connecting on 10 of 12 shots. That broke a close game and gave the Grizzlies a 93-84 advantage going into their fourth.
pax 118, nets 104
NEW YORK: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and 15 rebounds as Milwaukee beat Brooklyn for its 15th consecutive victory.
Johnny Holiday had 14 points and eight assists for the Bucks, who went 10-0 in February and passed Boston for the best record in the NBA. They got Antetokounmpo back after missing their home win over Phoenix on Sunday with some bruised right quadriceps.
Michael Bridges led Brooklyn with 31 points. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 26 points and had eight assists.
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HOUSTON: Nikola Jokic hit his 100th career triple-double and Jamal Murray scored 32 points in Denver’s victory over Houston.
Jokic scored 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his NBA-leading 24th triple-win of the season and 15th in his last 20 games.
Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points and put Bruce Brown 15 off the bench to help the Nuggets win their second straight and sixth in their last seven games.
Jalen Green and Terry Eason each scored 17 points for Houston. Missiles shot down tenth in a row.
Spurs 102, Jazz 94
Salt Lake City: Keldon Johnson scored 25 points and San Antonio beat Utah for a 16-game losing streak.
Doug McDermott added 19 points for the Spurs, Jeremy Sochan 13 and Devonte Graham 12. San Antonio improved to 15-47 and won for the first time this season after being late to start the fourth quarter.
Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Utah.
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DALLAS: Therese Haliburton scored 32 points and won the boys’ birthday duel with Luka Doncic, Indiana beat Dallas.
Doncic scored 39 points and grabbed nine rebounds on his 24th birthday but fell to 1-4 in games with Kyrie Irving since the stars were paired up in a deal with Brooklyn just before the trade deadline.
Irving scored 16 points, but his three-pointer before the buzzer was another five downs from depth in the final two minutes with Dallas trailing by two points.
The 23-year-old Halliburton, born on February 29, 2000, was 9-of-18 from the field and 12-of-15 on free throws while adding seven rebounds and six assists.
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San Francisco: Jordan Paul scored 29 points, six assists and five rebounds, Klay Thompson scored 23 points and Golden State passed Damian Lillard and Portland.
Lillard had 25 points and seven assists to follow his franchise-record and career-best 71 points against Houston on Sunday night, when his 13 three-pointers shy of Thompson’s NBA record.
The Warriors took advantage of every opportunity during a crucial 39-point third quarter, taking the lead for good at Thompson’s 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the period on their way to their fourth straight home win and eighth in nine.
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ATLANTA: Washington spoiled Quinn Snyder’s coaching debut for Atlanta, with 37 points from Bradley Bell and 28 from Kyle Kuzma in a win over the Hawks.
Tra Young led Atlanta with 31 points.
Snyder spent eight seasons as Utah’s head coach before resigning last June after the Jazz were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs. Snyder, 56, says he left coaching to spend more time with his family, but the opportunity to lead the talented but enigmatic Hawks lured him back to the sideline sooner than he expected.
TIMBERWOLVES 108, CLIPPERS 101
Los Angeles: Jaden McDaniels scored 20 points, Anthony Edwards added 18, and Minnesota beat Los Angeles to snap a three-game losing streak.
McDaniels scored at least 20 points for the fourth time this season.
Paul George scored 25 points and Kawhi Leonard 23 points for the Clippers, who fell three times in a row. Los Angeles’ last two losses before Tuesday came in overtime, including a 176-175 double overtime loss Friday night against Sacramento in the second-highest-grossing game in NBA history.
Kings 123, Thunder 117
Oklahoma City: Harrison Barnes scored 29 points as Sacramento beat Oklahoma City for their fourth consecutive win.
Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, and Kevin Huerter added 20 points for the Kings. They also hit Thunder on Sunday night.
Thunder rookie Jalen Williams had a season-high 27 points. Dario Saric, a backup forward/center the Thunder acquired in a deal with Phoenix before the All-Star break, had a season-high 21 points. But Oklahoma City shot just 43.9% for its fourth straight loss.
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TORONTO: Pascal Siakam scored 20 points and Gary Trent Jr. scored 19 as Toronto beat Chicago for its eighth victory in 10 games.
OG Anunoby added 17 points and Jakob Poeltl had 14 to help the Raptors win their fourth straight home run.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 23 points, Zack LaVine had 17 and DeMar DeRozan scored 13 against his former team.
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