ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Desmond Bane had a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final 17.4 seconds to cap a 35-point night and help the Orlando Magic hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers 128-122 on Wednesday for their fifth straight victory.
Paolo Banchero added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic. Tristan da Silva scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter.
James Harden had 30 points and eights assists for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell added 25 points, hitting a 3-pointer that brought the Cavaliers within two after Orlando led by 13 midway through the fourth quarter.
Bane countered with a 3-pointer as he was falling out of bounds with 17.4 seconds left, then added two free throws with eight seconds remaining.
Three 3-pointers by Keon Ellis, who finished with 20 points, keyed the late comeback of the Cavaliers.
Evan Mobley had 18 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland. The Cavaliers have lost five of nine after winning seven straight.
PELICANS 122, RAPTORS 111
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 28 points, Dejounte Murray added 27 and New Orleans beat Toronto, spoiling Brandon Ingram’s return to the city where he played for six seasons.
Murray had his highest-scoring game since his return from a torn right Achilles tendon that sidelined him for more than a year. Zion Williamson added 19 points for the Pelicans, who have won seven of 10.
In his first game at New Orleans since he was traded to Toronto in February of last year, Ingram finished with 22 points. The 10-year veteran also surpassed 11,000 points for his career.
Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points for Toronto, which has lost six of eight. This defeat dropped the Raptors from fifth to seventh in the Eastern Conference, one-half game behind Orlando and Miami.
Murphy shot 8 of 12 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Both teams made 14 3-pointers, but New Orleans did it on 29 attempts (48.3%) and Toronto needed 44 (31.8%).
KNICKS 134, JAZZ 117
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 28 points, Jordan Clarkson had 27 and New York rallied to beat Utah to snap a two-game losing streak.
Brunson also had eight assists and three steals in a game the Knicks trailed 49-31 early in the second quarter. OG Anunoby added 22 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. New York made 17 3-pointers and shot 52% from the field.
Brice Sensabaugh led Utah with 29 points. Ace Bailey added 21, and Keyonte George had 14 points and five assists before leaving midway through the third quarter with a right hamstring injury.
Utah made 11 of its first 13 3-pointers to take the early lead. Brice Sensabaugh, Ace Bailey, and Kevin Love teamed for seven 3s in the first 14 minutes. The Jazz finished 18 of 36 from 3-point range.
The Knicks cut it to single digits before halftime, then took the lead with a 20-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters. Clarkson punctuated the run with back-to-back baskets to put the Knicks up 101-94 less than a minute into the fourth.
NUGGETS 129, ROCKETS 93
DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds for his 25th triple-double of the season, and Denver beat Houston in a Western Conference showdown.
Jamal Murray scored 30 points for Denver, which holds the tiebreaker over the Rockets after winning the season series 3-1. The Nuggets moved within a half-game of Houston in the bunched-up Western Conference standings.
It was the first time since mid-November Denver has won with its opening-night lineup together. The Nuggets had lost six of 10 out of the All-Star break as head coach David Adelman practices caution with workloads as players return to the lineup.
Jokic completed his 187th career triple-double with his 10th rebound with 4:14 left in the third. It is the 15th time this season he has secured a triple-double before the fourth quarter.
The Rockets, who finished 4 of 33 from behind the arc, were outscored 40-22 in the third. Kevin Durant finished with just 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting, his fewest field goal attempts this season.
HORNETS 117, KINGS 109
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — LaMelo Ball scored 20 of his 30 points in the first half and Charlotte beat Sacramento.
Miles Bridges had 26 points as Charlotte won at Sacramento for the first time in more than two years. Standout rookie Kon Knueppel added 24 points and Brandon Miller scored 20.
DeMar DeRozan scored 39 points for the Kings and moved past Hall of Famer Tim Duncan into 18th place on the NBA’s career scoring list with 26,505 points. Duncan, a 15-time All-Star, had 26,496 points in 19 seasons.
Ball shot 10 of 22 and made six 3-pointers. He had six rebounds and five assists.
The Hornets trailed much of the first half but began taking control in the third quarter. Bridges’ alley-oop pass to Miller gave Charlotte an 88-83 lead, and White’s three-point play early in the fourth made it 99-88.
After the Kings got within 108-100 with three minutes remaining, Bridges made a floater. Ball then hit his sixth 3-pointer of the night and added a pair of free throws to help Charlotte close it out.
Nique Clifford had 18 points and seven assists for the Kings, who were attempting to win their third straight for the first time since early January.
CLIPPERS 153, TIMBERWOLVES 128
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points and Los Angeles routed Minnesota, moving above .500 with their third straight victory and sixth in seven games.
Eighth in the Western Conference at 33-32 after opening 6-21, the Clippers had their highest points total of the season. They blew out Minnesota after beating New York on Monday night to open a five-game homestand.
Leonard was 15 of 20 from the the field, 6 of 9 on 3s and made 9 of 10 free throws. Los Angeles made 19 of 37 3s.
Bennedict Mathurin scored 22 points for Los Angeles. Clippers newcomer Darius Garland had 21, hitting five 3-pointers.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 36 points and Naz Reid had 18.
Minnesota dropped to sixth in the tight Western Conference, but only a half-game behind the third-place Lakers. The Timberwolves have lost three in a row after winning five straight. They lost to the Lakers on Tuesday night to open four-game trip.