Denver’s three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic sustained a left knee injury as the Miami Heat defeated the visiting Nuggets 147-123 on Monday.
Jokic got hurt when teammate Spencer Jones accidentally trod on his left foot while being forced backwards by Jaime Jaquez Jr. under the Heat’s basket near the end of the second quarter. Postgame, the Nuggets confirmed that Jokic would undergo an MRI on Tuesday.
The Serbian big man finished with 21 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Jamal Murray posted 20 points and 11 assists as Denver fell for the third time in four games.
Norman Powell scored 25 points for the Heat, while Nikola Jovic added 22 and Jaquez paired 20 points with 11 assists. Miami won its third straight game in a span of four days.
Warriors 120, Nets 107
Stephen Curry scored 27 points and Golden State recovered from a slow start to earn a victory over Brooklyn in New York.
Jimmy Butler added 21 points as the Warriors won for the fourth time in five games and rallied from an early 15-point deficit. They shot 53.2% from the floor.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 27 and rookie Egor Demin tied a career high with 23 as Brooklyn saw a three-game winning streak end.
Bucks 123, Hornets 113
Bobby Portis scored 25 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 24 to lead visiting Milwaukee to a victory over Charlotte.
Antetokounmpo added seven assists in just 25 minutes as he sees limited action while coming back from a calf strain. Myles Turner added 23 points and Kevin Porter Jr. scored 15 with 11 assists as the Bucks recorded consecutive wins for the first time since the end of October.
Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 31 points and eight rebounds, while LaMelo Ball scored 26 with seven assists. Charlotte lost Miles Bridges to a right ankle injury in the first quarter as the team saw its two-game win streak end.
Raptors 107, Magic 106
Reserve Jamal Shead scored a career-high 19 points as Toronto overcame a 21-point deficit to defeat visiting Orlando.
Brandon Ingram added 17 points for the Raptors, who have won two straight. Scottie Barnes had 13 points and 11 rebounds and made the decisive free throws with 1:27 to play.
Anthony Black scored 16 of his 27 points in the third quarter for the Magic, who opened a three-game road trip by taking their fifth loss in eight games. Paolo Banchero added 23 points, 10 assists and 15 rebounds.
Knicks 130, Pelicans 125
OG Anunoby scored the go-ahead basket on a dunk with 1:48 left for visiting New York, which overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit to edge New Orleans.
Anunoby dribbled around Zion Williamson, drove into the lane past Derik Queen and delivered an emphatic one-handed dunk to give the Knicks a lead they never relinquished. He finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson (28 points, 10 assists) and Karl Anthony-Towns (12 points, 12 rebounds) each registered a double-double.
Williamson scored a season-high 32 points, while Saddiq Bey recorded 23 of his 26 points in the first quarter for the Pelicans.
Suns 115, Wizards 101
Dillon Brooks scored 26 points, Collin Gillespie added 25 points while sinking five 3-pointers and Phoenix beat host Washington to extend its winning streak to four games.
Devin Booker produced 22 points and Royce O’Neale scored all 15 of his points on five treys for the Suns, who at 19-13 are six games over .500 for the first time this season.
Rookie Tre Johnson had career highs of 24 points and five 3-pointers and CJ McCollum added 17 points for the Wizards, whose season-high two-game winning streak ended.
Rockets 126, Pacers 119
Kevin Durant scored a game-high 30 points and Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. combined for 41 as Houston claimed a win over visiting Indiana.
Durant added six rebounds and five assists, while Thompson (20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and Smith (21 points, 10 rebounds) shot a combined 14 for 25 from the floor. The Rockets lost Stevens Adams to a sprained right ankle.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points to lead the Pacers, who scored 37 points off 19 Houston turnovers but lost their ninth game in a row.
Timberwolves 136, Bulls 101
Naz Reid scored a season-high 33 points and Anthony Edwards added 23 to lift Minnesota to a victory at Chicago.
The Timberwolves outscored the Bulls 81-51 after halftime and had six players in double figures to stop a two-game losing streak. Chicago lost its second straight on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
The Bulls’ Coby White re-injured his right calf in the first quarter and didn’t return, and Josh Giddey exited with a left hamstring injury in the third quarter. Nikola Vucevic paced Chicago with 23 points.
Thunder 140, Hawks 129
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting from the field while adding six assists, six rebounds and a pair of steals to lead Oklahoma City to a home victory over Atlanta.
Chet Holmgren contributed 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks while Jalen Williams added 20 points to help the Thunder win their 24th consecutive regular-season game against Eastern Conference opponents.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks in scoring with 30 points, while Onyeka Okongwu added 26 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Atlanta was missing Kristaps Porzingis (illness), Trae Young (right quad contusion) and Jalen Johnson (illness).
Cavaliers 113, Spurs 101
Jarrett Allen amassed 27 points and 10 rebounds and helped key a decisive fourth-quarter run as visiting Cleveland emerged with a win over San Antonio.
San Antonio led by a bucket heading into the final period but unraveled during a stretch when the Cavaliers turned a three-point deficit into a 101-89 lead with 5:05 left. Jaylon Tyson sank back-to-back 3-pointers early in the pivotal run while Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell scored five points each.
Evan Mobley added 16 points for Cavaliers, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Garland racked up 15 points and 11 assists. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Trail Blazers 125, Mavericks 122
Deni Avdija recorded 27 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to help Portland notch a victory over visiting Dallas.
Caleb Love made the go-ahead free throws in the final minute, sank six 3-pointers and scored 24 points off the bench as Portland won its second straight game. Shaedon Sharpe also scored 24 points while Donovan Clingan added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Dallas’ Klay Thompson had a 3-point bid to force overtime bounce off the rim just before time expired. Max Christie made five 3-pointers while scoring 25 points and Brandon Williams added 22 off the bench for the Mavericks, who lost for the fifth time in six games.
–Field Level Media
