Rookie Knueppel’s 29 points lift Hornets past Cavaliers 119-111 in overtime

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Kon Knueppel scored 29 points, Brandon Miller added 25 and the Charlotte Hornets shut out Cleveland in overtime on their way to a rare road victory, 119-111 over the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Knueppel, the No. 4 overall selection this year in the NBA draft, had his second straight strong performance after scoring a season-high 33 in a loss to Chicago on Friday night. Miller added a career-high 13 rebounds and six assists.

Miles Bridges had 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as Charlotte improved to just 3-10 away from home.

The Cavaliers missed all 10 shots in the five-minute overtime and Cleveland suffered another troubling loss for a team expected to contend for the Eastern Conference title.

Darius Garland scored 26 points and Donovan Mitchell added 17 for the Cavs, who have been plagued by inconsistency in the season’s first two months.

Jaylon Tyson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which has lost six of nine.

The Cavs were down 17 in the third but rallied to tie it in the final seconds of regulation. Mitchell had a chance to win it in the last second, but the All-Star guard, coming off a 48-point game at Washington on Friday, missed a 12-foot jumper.

TRAIL BLAZERS 136, WARRIORS 131

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe scored 35 points apiece and Portland snapped a three-game losing streak with a victory over Golden State.

Stephen Curry had 48 points for the Warriors. He hit a season-high 12 3-pointers, the NBA-leading 28th time he’s had 10 or more in a game.

In a back-and-fourth final quarter, Toumani Camara’s alley oop dunk from Donovan Clingan tied it or the Blazers at 121, but Curry answered with a 3-pointer and a layup.

Portland went up 127-126 but again Curry came back with a 3. Grant’s basket and free throw gave Portland a one-point lead and Deni Avdija added a pair of free throws with 19.9 seconds left to stretch it to 132-129.

Moses Moody dunked to get the Warriors to 134-131 with 13.2 seconds to go but Grant’s free throws pushed the lead to 136-131. Grant finished with a season-high seven 3-pointers.

WIZARDS 108, PACERS 89

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Marvin Bagley III scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and CJ McCollum scored 18 points as Washington beat Indiana for their first road win in nearly two months.

It was Bagley’s second double-double of the season. Justin Champagnie added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Washington.

The Wizards snapped a four-game skid and improved to 2-11 on the road this season, with their only other away win coming Oct. 24 at Dallas.

And they did it with defense. The short-handed Pacers finished with their second-worst shooting percentage of the season (36.9%) and their third-worst mark from 3-point range (25.6%).

Bennedict Mathurin had 15 points to lead Indiana, which has lost two straight and four of six. Jay Huff scored 13 points and Isaiah Jackson added 11 points and 12 rebounds while Indiana’s offense looked completely out of sync.

NETS 127, BUCKS 82

NEW YORK (AP) — Egor Demin scored 17 points, Noah Clowney added 16 and Brooklyn matched the franchise record for margin of victory, never trailing in a romp over the short-handed Milwaukee.

The 45-point victory tied the team record set Jan. 9, 1993, against Washington while the team was playing in New Jersey. The Nets have won four of six after opening 3-13. At home, they have won three of four after starting 0-9.

Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez missed the game due to an illness. Assistant coach Steve Hetzel directed the team.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 20 points and Kyle Kuzma added 13 for the struggling Bucks They have lost three of four since star Giannis Antetokounmpo strained his right calf in the opening minutes of a win over Detroit on Dec. 3.

HAWKS 120, 76ERS 117

ATLANTA (AP) — Dyson Daniels had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Onyeka Okongwu added 20 points and 15 rebounds and Atlanta held off Philadelphia.

Quentin Grimes had a chance to force overtime, but his 3-point attempt at the buzzer went in and out to dramatically give the Hawks their 15th win of the season.

Daniels was 13 of 19 from the field. Vít Krejci added 19 points, and Zaccharie Risacher had 15.

Paul George led Philadelphia with 35 points, VJ Edgecombe had 26 and Joel Embiid finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. The 76ers led only once, at 47-46 in the second quarter.

Edgecombe kept the 76ers in it with 17 points in the third quarter as George and Joel Embiid watched from the bench.

TIMBERWOLVES 117, KINGS 103

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Julius Randle had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead Minnesota past Sacramento in the Timberwolves’ second straight game without star Anthony Edwards.

Jaden McDaniels scored 21 points and Naz Reid added 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Timberwolves (17-9). They have won seven of eight and exacted a measure of revenge for their 117-112 overtime loss at Sacramento on Nov. 24 when they blew a 10-point lead with less than three minutes left in regulation.

Donte DiVincenzo had 18 points, six assists and four steals and Bones Hyland pitched in 18 points in his second straight start for Edwards, the guard sidelined by soreness in his right foot. Point guard Mike Conley also was out with an Achilles injury. Rudy Gobert, who had 12 rebounds in 20 minutes, left in the third quarter because of what the team announced as personal reasons.

DeMar DeRozan, Dennis Schroder and Precious Achiuwa each had 17 points for the Kings (6-20). They have lost 15 of their last 18 and have their worst winning percentage since the 2008-09 season when they finished 17-65.

PELICANS 114, BULLS 104

CHICAGO (AP) — Trey Murphy III scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, rookie Jeremiah Fears added 20 points and New Orleans topped Chicago.

The last-place Pelicans won their second straight following a seven-game losing streak to improve to 5-22. They’ve beaten the Bulls twice this season.

Zion Williamson scored 18 points, including seven down the the stretch, in his return to the lineup to help the Pelicans pull away late. Jordan Poole had 16 for New Orleans, who outrebounded Chicago 53-43 and outscored the Bulls 60-46 in the paint.

Coby White led Chicago with 20 points, and Kevin Huerter connected for 16 off the bench in his return from left adductor strain as the Bulls lost for the eighth time in nine games.

New Orleans led 76-75 after three quarters. The Pelicans had opened a 13-point lead 5:14 into the third, but White started connecting and the Bulls used a 16-2 run to get back into the game.

Chicago took a three-point lead early in the fourth. Then the Pelicans muscled back ahead to take control, punctuated by Williamson’s dunk with 37 seconds left.

LAKERS 116, SUNS 114

PHOENIX (AP) — LeBron James made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left, Luka Doncic scored 29 points and Los Angeles recovered from blowing a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter to top Phoenix.

Phoenix trailed 99-79 with 7:48 left, but took a 114-113 lead with 12.2 seconds left on Dillon Brooks’ 3-pointer over James, who made contact with Brooks after the shot. Brooks bumped James on the way back down the court, earning his second technical foul and an ejection.

More importantly, it gave the Lakers a free throw, but James missed it.

On the ensuing possession, James was fouled on a 3-point attempt by Devin Booker with 3.9 seconds left. The 40-year-old James — who finished with 26 points — missed the first free throw but made the final two to give the Lakers a 115-114 lead.

Phoenix’s Grayson Allen got up an awkward shot at the buzzer, but it was off the mark.