Franz Wagner leads hot-shooting Magic over Knicks
Franz Wagner had 37 points, Desmond Bane scored 27, and the Orlando Magic beat the New York Knicks 133-121 on Saturday night for their sixth win in their past seven games.
Wagner scored seven of his season-high 37 points during a 13-0 fourth quarter run that helped the Magic pull away to their second win in 11 days over the Knicks. Bane and Jalen Suggs, with 26 points, also had seasons scoring highs.
Bane’s 3-pointer late in the third quarter broke a 93-93 tie and put Orlando in front for good.
Anthony Black came off the bench with 11 points, four assists, and three steals for Orlando.
Jalen Brunson had 33 points and 11 assists for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points and eight rebounds and Mikal Bridges had 18 points.
CLIPPERS 131, HORNETS 116
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — James Harden made 10 3-pointers and scored a season-high 55 points, and Los Angeles beat Charlotte hours after 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul released a video on social media hinting at retirement after the season ends.
Ivica Zubac added 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Clippers, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Rookie Kon Knueppel had 26 points to lead the Hornets, who have lost five straight. Brandon Miller returned from a 13-game absence because of a shoulder injury and finished with 21 points.
HAWKS 115, PELICANS 98
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 29 points and Vit Krejci added 21 off the bench on seven 3-pointers to propel Atlanta to a victory over the skidding New Orleans.
Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Hawks, who stopped a two-game skid and won for the eighth time in 11 road games. Dyson Daniels, drafted in the first round by the Pelicans in 2022, provided 14 points and eight rebounds.
Playing its fifth game in seven nights, New Orleans lost its ninth straight overall and fell to 2-15 this season.
Porzingis shot 11 of 17 from the field and Krejci went 7 for 10 from 3-point range.
BULLS 121, WIZARDS 120
CHICAGO (AP) — Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Chicago handed Washington its 14th consecutive loss with a victory over the Wizards.
Josh Giddey had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for Chicago, which won for the third time in four games. Coby White scored 20 points, and Matas Buzelis finished with 13.
Washington inbounded the ball with 5.5 seconds left, but Kyshawn George rolled an errant pass out of bounds. Chicago then ran out the clock.
Cam Whitmore and Corey Kispert each scored 20 points for the NBA-worst Wizards, who remained winless against Eastern Conference opponents. CJ McCollum had 18 points, and George added 17.
PISTONS 129, BUCKS 116
MILWAUKEE (AP ) — Cade Cunningham had 29 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as Detroit capitalized on sizzling shooting to beat Milwaukee for their 12th straight victory.
Detroit’s Jaden Ivey played 15 minutes and scored 10 points in his first game since breaking his left fibula on Jan. 1. Tobias Harris scored 18 points while playing for the first time since Nov. 1 after dealing with a sprained right ankle.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a second straight game due to an adductor strain.
The Pistons are one victory away from matching the longest winning streak in franchise history. Detroit won 13 straight games in 1989-90 and 2003-04, and the Pistons went on to win the NBA title both seasons.
GRIZZLIES 102, MAVERICKS 96
DALLAS (AP) — Santi Aldama scored 20 points, including a left-handed driving shot that began a tiebreaking 6-0 run for Memphis in the final minute, and Cam Spencer added 15 of his 17 points off the bench in the second half as the Grizzlies beat Dallas.
Zach Edey had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds for his first double-double in four games since returning from offseason ankle surgery for the Grizzlies (6-11), who have won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Klay Thompson scored a season-high 22 off the bench and matched a season best with six 3-pointers for the Mavericks (5-13), who split a home back-to-back and have yet to win consecutive games this season.
KINGS 128, NUGGETS 123
DENVER (AP) — Russell Westbrook scored 15 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter against his former team, and Sacramento withstood 44 points from Nikola Jokic to beat Denver, ending an eight-game slide.
Dennis Schroder also had 21 points for Sacramento, which lost every game during the streak by double digits — the last by 41 points at Memphis on Thursday night.
The Kings appeared on their way to a ninth straight defeat after falling behind by 13 in the third quarter, but they rallied to take the last of three games against Denver this season.
Keegan Murray had 19 points in his second game back from offseason surgery on his left thumb. DeMar DeRozan added 17, including a three-point play with 12 seconds left that sealed it.
Jokic had 19 points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Jamal Murray scored 23 points and Cam Johnson had 20 for the Nuggets, who were without Aaron Gordon. The forward injured his right hamstring early in Friday night’s win at Houston.
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