OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Andrew Nembhard scored 27 points and 11 rebounds and Jarrus Walker added a career-high 26 points for the Indiana Pacers, who beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 117-114 on Friday night in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.
Walker, whose previous high score was 21 points, hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help the injury-plagued Indiana team (11-35) end a three-game losing streak. Pascal Siakam scored 21 points.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points for the NBA’s best Thunder, which was also hampered by injuries to Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso, among others. Chet Holmgren contributed 25 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the Pacers and Thunder, whose fortunes have been divided since Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of last season’s NBA Finals. Oklahoma City went on to win its first championship and had the league’s best record (37-9), although the Thunder had slowed after a 24-1 start.
Oklahoma City trailed 113-103 with 2:35 left in the game, but Gilgeous-Alexander hit one of two free throws to make it 115-114 with 7.8 seconds left. After Walker made two free throws, the Thunder’s Isaiah Joe missed a three-pointer with 3 seconds left.
Defending MVP Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of 28 shots, made 12 free throws, and scored 9 points in the final 2 minutes.
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Rockets 111, Pistons 104
DETROIT (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 32 points to help Houston end Detroit’s four-game winning streak with a win.
Durant has averaged 30.6 points in 32 career games against the Pistons, his highest scoring average against any other team. He added seven rebounds and three assists in 40 minutes without committing a turnover.
Alperen Sengun scored 19 points and Reed Shepherd added 18 for the Rockets, who have won four of five games. Amen Thompson scored 15 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists for the Rockets, who have suffered five consecutive away defeats.
Jaylen Duren led Detroit with 18 points and seven rebounds, but Detroit’s other four starters combined for 37 points on 13-of-35 shooting (37.1%).
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Houston outscored Detroit 34-20 in the third quarter to turn a tie into an 86-72 lead. Durant and Shepard scored a combined 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting in this quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Detroit took a four-point advantage to chase the score to 87-80. Cade Cunningham fumbled the ball, but Jae’Sean Tate tackled Ron Holland II while scrambling for the rebound and was called for a foul. Holland made two free throws, and Duren dunked after Cunningham’s lob.
Hawks 110, Phoenix 103
ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 23 points and tied a career-high with 18 rebounds for his 30th NBA double-double, and Atlanta rallied to beat Phoenix after the Suns lost Devin Booker to a right ankle injury.
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Onyeka Okongwu scored 25 points for the Hawks, who trailed 91-84 late in the third quarter but gained momentum after Booker went down. The Suns star scored a team-high 31 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists before leaving.
CJ McCollum extended his double-digit scoring streak to 34 games, scoring 21 points and adding 4 rebounds off the bench. McCollum and Corey Kispert were traded with the Wizards in early January for Trae Young.
The Hawks outscored the Suns 26-12 in the fourth quarter, shooting 43 of 81 from the field, including 13 of 26 from three-point range.
This is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. Earlier this season, Atlanta defeated Phoenix 124-122 in mid-November.
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Cavaliers 123, Kings 118
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Evan Mobley tied a season-high with 29 points and Cleveland showed some more encouraging signs in a win over Sacramento.
The Cavaliers, who have struggled for most of the season, won for the fourth time in five games. They also improved to 16-5 against teams with losing records.
Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson has been hoping for more consistency from a team that might look like a title contender one night but underperform the next. That trend continued against the Kings, who rallied from an 11-point deficit to take a 114-113 lead with four minutes left.
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But Mitchell, who led the Cavaliers through the storm, hit a three-pointer with 2 minutes and 29 seconds left in the game to help the Cavaliers lead 118-114.
The Kings had several chances to get closer, but they missed three consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute before Cavaliers guard Jalen Tyson hit a floater to tie the game with 25.6 seconds left.
Mobley added 13 rebounds and seven assists in one of the defensive forward’s most versatile games.
Pelicans 133, Grizzlies 127
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 19 of his season-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and New Orleans erased a double-digit second-half deficit to beat Memphis.
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Trey Murphy III scored 32 points for New Orleans, Zion Williamson had 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pelicans ended a three-game losing streak.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 26 points and 12 rebounds, and Jock Landale had 24 points and 11 rebounds. Cam Spencer added 21 points for Memphis, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
The Pelicans have lost six consecutive games to Memphis. After Jackson scored inside, the Pelicans fell behind 123-122. But Williams hit a 3-pointer and Bey hit a 3-pointer to preserve New Orleans’ victory.
The Pelicans are last in the Western Conference, while Memphis has lost five of seven games and is just outside of 10th place.
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Memphis built a 13-point lead in the third quarter with accurate shooting, but New Orleans chipped away at the advantage, with Williamson using his size to drive to the rim against smaller Grizzlies guards in the fourth quarter. With the help of Williamson and Bey, the Pelicans surpassed the Grizzlies.
Celtics 130, Nets 126, 2OT
NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds and Boston beat lottery pick Brooklyn in double overtime.
Hugo González’s 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first overtime forced the second overtime. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass that González blocked from the corner.
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The Celtics had won four of five games and never trailed in the second overtime. Anfernee Simmons’ 3-pointer gave Boston the lead for good, and Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 points for the Nets, who nearly defeated the second-place team in the Eastern Conference with a 120-66 victory over the New York Knicks two days later.
Nick Claxton’s putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left sent the game into overtime and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who had lost nine of 10 games.
With 7.9 seconds left in the first overtime, Brooklyn led 117-112. Pritchard hit a three-pointer for Boston and then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to help Gonzalez tie the game at 3.
Brown grabbed three rebounds in the second overtime to complete his fifth career triple-double.
