Online Reporter
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to counter his nine turnovers, Jamal Murray finished with 23 points, and the host Denver Nuggets held off the Memphis Grizzlies 122-116 on Wednesday night.
It was Jokic’s 20th triple-double this season and 184th of his career.
Tim Hardaway Jr scored 21 points, Christian Braun had 14 points, Julian Strawther contributed 11 and Bruce Brown had 10 for Denver, which enters the All-Star break third in the Western Conference.
GG Jackson scored a season high with 21 points, Ty Jerome added 19 points, Jaylen Wells scored 17, Olivier-Maxence Prosper had 14 points and Taylor Hendricks 10 for Memphis.
The Grizzlies have lost four in a row.
Memphis forward Cedric Coward was inactive with a knee injury suffered late in the first half of the loss at Golden State on Monday night. Lawson Lovering, who was signed to a 10-day contract Tuesday, scored three points in his NBA debut for the Grizzlies.
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Kawhi Leonard completed a tiebreaking three-point play with two seconds remaining to lift the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to a 105-102 comeback victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Leonard scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead the rally from a 15-point deficit. His spinning fadeaway came despite a foul from Jae’Sean Tate and gave the Clippers their final lead in a back-and-forth closing period. Tari Eason missed a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Rockets.
Kevin Durant led Houston with 21 points while Reed Sheppard added 17 points and five 3-pointers off the bench. Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points, 12 rebounds) chipped in a double-double while Alperen Sengun posted 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Sengun missed a free throw with 7.2 seconds left that would have given the Rockets the lead.
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Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 23 points while Lauri Markkanen added 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 121-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
With their 14th consecutive loss, the Kings equaled the franchise mark set by the Cincinnati Royals in 1959-60 and matched by the Royals in 1971-72.
Isaiah Collier tallied 12 points and 14 assists to help the Jazz win their second straight. Brice Sensabuagh chipped in 19 points off the bench.
Jackson made his home debut after being traded to Utah from Memphis on Feb. 3. He has scored at least 20 points in all three games with the Jazz.
Utah was potent offensively over four quarters. The Jazz shot 54.7% from the field and made 15 3-pointers. They outscored Sacramento 58-42 in the paint and 25-6 on fastbreak points.
DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 20 points and Devin Carter added 19. Sacramento trailed by double digits for 40 minutes and went 7 of 33 from 3-point range.
Markkanen and Sensabaugh combined to score five straight baskets to power a 24-3 run that gave Utah a 39-15 lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
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Bam Adebayo scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the visiting Miami Heat continued their dominance over the New Orleans Pelicans with a 123-111 victory on Wednesday.
Jaime Jaquez Jr scored 23 points off the bench and Kel’el Ware had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, which has won four straight against New Orleans and 11 of the past 12 meetings.
Simone Fontecchio scored 15 points, Kasparas Jakucionis had 11 and Myron Gardner grabbed 10 rebounds as the Heat won for the second time in three games overall.
Trailing by 17 with 6:18 left in the game, New Orleans used a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 112-105.
After the Pelicans scored six straight points to pull within 115-111 with 1:10 remaining, Fontecchio sparked an 8-0 run to close the game with a 3-pointer on Miami’s next possession.
