TORONTO (AP) — AJ Lawson scored 28 points, Jared Rhoden set career highs with 25 points and 12 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-105 on Wednesday night in a matchup of short-handed teams.
Orlando Robinson scored a career-high 25 points and matched his career high with 12 rebounds to help the Raptors win for the fifth time in six games.
Andre Drummond returned after sitting out Monday night in a loss at Atlanta due to illness but the 76ers were without eight players including Joel Embiid (left knee), leading scorer Tyrese Maxey (back/finger), Paul George (left groin) and former Raptors star Kyle Lowry (right hip).
Quentin Grimes scored 29 points and Jeff Dowtin Jr. had a career-high 20 against his former team, but the 76ers lost for the fifth time in seven games following a nine-game losing streak.
HAWKS 123, HORNETS 110
ATLANTA (AP) — Trae Young made all of his 21 free throws and scored 35 points to lead Atlanta to their fourth straight victory, over Charlotte.
Young added 12 assists on a poor shooting night from the field. He was 7 of 20 and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
The Hawks are seventh in the Eastern Conference and moved within five games of idle sixth-place Detroit as they seek to avoid the play-in tournament.
Miles Bridges had 31 points and 11 rebounds, and LaMelo Ball added 25 points and nine assists for the Hornets, who are second-to-last in the East. DaQuan Jeffries contributed 20 points and Mark Williams had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
THUNDER 118, CELTICS 112
BOSTON (AP) —Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 and Chet Holmgren had 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead Oklahoma City to a victory over Boston in a much-anticipated potential NBA Finals preview.
The Western Conference-leading Thunder withstood a barrage of Boston 3-pointers — a franchise record 63 attempts in all — to sweep the defending NBA champions in the two-game season series and win for the 17th time in their last 18 games.
Jayson Tatum scored 33 for Boston, which had won five straight and 15 of its last 18 games. Al Horford added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Derrick White scored 22.
CLIPPERS 119, HEAT 104
MIAMI (AP) — Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 30 points and Ivica Zubac added 26 points and 14 rebounds, helping Los Angeles beat Miami.
James Harden had 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the fourth time in five games and pulled within 1 1/2 games of idle Golden State for the No. 6 — and last guaranteed — playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Tyler Herro scored 31 points and Andrew Wiggins added 22 for the Heat, who fell 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the race for the No. 7 spot and most advantageous play-in position in the Eastern Conference.
ROCKETS 111, SUNS 104
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green had 29 points to lead Houston to a victory over Phoenix in a game where Houston’s Steven Adams and Phoenix’s Mason Plumlee were ejected for fighting.
Alperen Sengun scored 20 points and Dillon Brooks added 19 to help the Rockets extend their winning streak to four.
Bradley Beal’s two free throws got the Suns within eight with about 9 1/2 minutes to go before Houston used a 9-2 run to make it 99-84 with about seven minutes remaining. Jock Landale opened the run with a 3-point play and Brooks capped it with a layup after a turnover by Devin Booker.
Beal had 25 points and Booker and Kevin Durant added 19 each as the Suns lost for the third time in four games.
GRIZZLIES 122, JAZZ 115
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Luke Kennard scored 30 points and Ja Morant had 28, helping Memphis top Utah.
Kennard went 7 for 9 from 3-point range, and Morant was 4 for 7 from deep. Desmond Bane added 17 points as Memphis posted its fourth straight win.
Utah lost its seventh consecutive game. Collin Sexton had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and John Collins also scored 22 points.
Sexton scored to give the Jazz a 115-114 lead with 1:16 left, but Kennard responded with a 3 for the Grizzlies. Morant then hit another 3 to make it 120-115 with 12 seconds remaining.
SPURS 126, MAVERICKS 116
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds and San Antonio snapped a three-game skid, beating injury-depleted Dallas.
Dallas (33-34) remained 10th in the Western Conference, holding the final spot for the play-in tournament by 2 1/2 games over Phoenix.
Fox was 12 for 25 from the field in his highest-scoring game since joining San Antonio in a trade with Sacramento on Feb. 5.
Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan each had 18 points off the bench for San Antonio. Devin Vassell added 16.
Brandon Williams returned from a one-game absence to lead Dallas with 19 points. Dante Exum added 17 and Naji Marshall and Kessler Edwards had 15 each.
TIMBERWOLVES 115, NUGGETS 95
DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 29 points, Julius Randle added 25 and Minnesota extended their winning streak to six games by routing Denver.
Rudy Gobert finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who improved to 3-0 against the Nuggets this season. The last game between these two Northwest Division foes is April 1 in Denver.
Donte DiVincenzo had 10 points as Minnesota’s bench outscored Denver’s reserves by a 26-14 margin.
Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 34 points and eight rebounds. He and the rest of Denver’s starters were taken out with 5:05 remaining and Minnesota up 109-84.
KNICKS 114, TRAIL BLAZERS 113, OT
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Mikal Bridges hit a 25-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to give New York an overtime win over Portland.
Bridges finished with 33 points and AG Anunoby had 23 as New York won its second in a row and improved to 2-2 on its five-game West Coast trip with one game remaning.
Scoot Henderson led Portland with 30 points, while Deni Avdija had 27 points — including a three-point play with three seconds left in overtime to give the Trail Blazers a brief 113-111 lead — but Portland lost its fifth in a row. Avdija also had 15 rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns shot 8 of 12 from the field, including two 3-pointers late in regulation, to finish with 21 points for the Knicks.
The Associated Press
