Anthony Edwards drilled a 3-pointer with 23.2 seconds left to cap a stunning fourth-quarter rally and lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 113-112 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.
The Timberwolves closed the game on a 23-6 run over the last five minutes. The surge featured two 3-pointers from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, nine points from Naz Reid and Edwards’ three-point play with 1:31 left that pulled Minnesota within 110-108.
Edwards put up 24 points for Minnesota, which completed a 2-1 road trip. Randle had 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Donte DiVincenzo chipped in 22 points.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with a season-high 38 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. However, he missed a pair of free throws in the final 69 seconds as Houston had its four-game winning streak snapped.
Cavaliers 149, Nuggets 135
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Jarrett Allen had 22 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, and Cleveland ran its winning streak to six games by beating host Denver.
Nikola Jokic notched his NBA-best 12th triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists, and Jamal Murray also scored 27 points and tied a season high with 11 assists for Denver. Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon missed the game with a right calf strain suffered in Wednesday’s 110-100 loss at Phoenix.
The Cavaliers led by 15 at halftime. Denver got within 12 early in the third, but the lead swelled to 96-77 when Mitchell made two free throws with 7:46 left in the quarter. The Nuggets trimmed the lead back down to 107-93, but Caris LeVert drained two from deep to give Cleveland a 113-93 cushion.
Clippers 102, Warriors 92
Norman Powell scored 26 points and James Harden added 18 as Los Angeles took advantage of Stephen Curry’s absence to hold on for a victory over visiting Golden State at Inglewood, Calif.
Ivica Zubac scored 17 points with 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, Derrick Jones Jr. added 14 points and Kris Dunn had 13 as the Clippers won for the fourth time in their past five games and improved to 3-0 against the Warriors this season.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 15 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 rebounds, and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 15 points with nine rebounds for the Warriors, who gave Curry the night off for knee-injury management.
Celtics 142, Pacers 105
Jaylen Brown poured in a season-high 44 points to help Boston end a two-game losing streak by clobbering visiting Indiana.
Brown was 16 of 24 from the field, including 6 of 11 from 3-point territory. He also had five rebounds, three assists and four steals. Jayson Tatum added 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who were 23 of 57 from 3-point range and scored a season high in points. Payton Pritchard provided 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds off the bench.
Tyrese Haliburton had a team-high 19 points and nine assists for the Pacers, who never led in the game. Indiana received 18 points from Bennedict Mathurin and 14 from Pascal Siakam.
Knicks 108, Magic 85
Jalen Brunson collected 26 points and nine assists and Josh Hart added 23 points and 13 rebounds, lifting New York to a victory at Orlando, the Knicks’ season-best sixth straight win.
Brunson made 11 of 21 shots from the floor to help the Knicks defeat the Magic for the third time this month. The Knicks also held a decisive 60-34 edge in points in the paint and a 21-2 advantage in fastbreak points.
Jalen Suggs scored 27 points and Goga Bitadze collected 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who have lost five of their past seven games.
Mavericks 98, Suns 89
Kyrie Irving made five 3-pointers and scored 20 points as Dallas notched a victory at Phoenix while playing without injured Luka Doncic.
Daniel Gafford tallied 16 points as the Mavericks won for the 15th time in 19 games. Doncic will miss at least a month after sustaining a left calf strain on Christmas.
Kevin Durant scored 35 points for the Suns, who lost for the fourth time in the past five games.
Spurs 96, Nets 87
Victor Wembanyama bundled 19 points with seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists as San Antonio recovered from a difficult opening quarter to beat Brooklyn in New York.
Julian Champagnie put up 10 of his 18 points in the second quarter to help get the Spurs back in the game after they shot 4-for-25 and trailed 22-11 after the opening 12 minutes. Keldon Johnson added 15 points and Jeremy Sochan contributed 12 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio, which allowed its lowest point total this season.
Keon Johnson scored 15 of his career-high 25 points in the fourth quarter for the Nets. Shake Milton added 16 points and 12 assists while Tyrese Martin contributed 13 points for Brooklyn, which allowed 20 points off 18 turnovers.
Grizzlies 132, Pelicans 124
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 33 points and Ja Morant had 25 before injuring his right shoulder as Memphis defeated host New Orleans for its eighth win in 10 games.
Morant went to the locker room for good with 4:13 remaining in the third quarter after colliding with Pelicans center Daniel Theis. Desmond Bane tallied 18 points, Zach Edey had 14 and nine rebounds, Scotty Pippen Jr. added 13 points and Jaylen Wells scored 10 for the Grizzlies.
Trey Murphy III scored a season-high 35 points, CJ McCollum added 32 points and Dejounte Murray netted 15 for New Orleans, which has lost nine straight games and 18 of its last 19. Theis had 11 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
–Field Level Media
