Nuggets beat Grizzlies 136-119 for 10th straight win as Jokic posts his 34th triple-double

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 14 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his 34th triple-double of the season, and Denver beat the Memphis Grizzlies 136-119 on Wednesday night for the Nuggets’ 10th straight win.

Denver increased its hold on the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with its first double-digit winning streak since getting 15 in a row Feb. 23-March 23, 2013. The Nuggets lead the reeling Los Angeles Lakers by 1 1/2 games and finish the regular season with games against the top two teams in the conference.

Jamal Murray scored 26 points and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points in his 1,000th career game.

The wins during the streak haven’t been easy. Memphis needed to rally from double-digit deficits in the fourth quarter twice, winning both in overtime.

Jokic, who leads the NBA in rebounding and assists, already clinched a triple-double average for the second straight season. His assist on Cameron Johnson’s layup midway through the third gave him the 198th triple-double of his career. He didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

Cedric Coward had 27 points, for the Grizzlies, who have lost six in a row and 18 of 20. Memphis was 19 of 50 from deep two nights after tying an NBA record with 29 made 3-pointers.

MAGIC 132, TIMBERWOLVES 120

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 20 points and eight rebounds, Desmond Bane added 18 points and six assists and Orlando beat Minnesota.

Franz Wagner scored 17 points and Goga Bitadze came off the bench with 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, who have won four straight.

The win pulled the Magic (44-36) up to seventh place in the tight race for playoff/play-in positions. With two road games remaining (Chicago on Friday and Boston on Sunday), they could finish anywhere between six and ninth in the Eastern Conference.

Terrence Shannon Jr. led the Timberwolves with a career-high 33 points. Jaden McDaniels, back in the lineup after missing six games with a left knee injury, added 18 points in 19 minutes.

The Timberwolves, who have lost five of seven, played without Anthony Edwards (right knee injury) and four players who started Tuesday night’s win at Indiana that clinched their Western Conference playoff spot.

Julius Randle missed his first game of the season and Rudy Gobert missed his fifth.

PISTONS 137, BUCKS 111

DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 13 points and 10 assists in his return from injury as Detroit beat Milwaukee in its home finale.

Cunningham hadn’t played since sustaining a collapsed lung in a win against the Washington Wizards on March 17, but appeared comfortable while playing 26 minutes in short stints. He hit six of 11 field goal attempts, including one 3-pointer, and pulled down five rebounds.

Jalen Duren added 21 points and nine rebounds as the Pistons won for the sixth time in eight games. Duncan Robinson scored 20 points on a night where J.B. Bickerstaff kept all five starters under 30 minutes.

Detroit (58-22) can win 60 games for the first time since 2005-06 by winning against the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers in their final two games.

Jericho Sims had a triple-double — 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists — while Ryan Rollins scored 23 points for Milwaukee, which has lost 10 of its last 13 games.

Cunningham played 13 minutes in the first half, putting up six points and five assists as the Pistons built a 75-57 lead. Duren had 11 points, six rebounds and a plus-20 in his 13 minutes.

CAVALIERS 122, HAWKS 116

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points, Evan Mobley had 22 points and tied a career high with 19 rebounds, and Cleveland defeated Atlanta.

James Harden added 21 points for the Cavaliers, who have won four straight and seven of eight. Cleveland (51-29) can finish no lower than fourth place in the Eastern Conference and is 1/2 game behind New York for the third seed.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points and Jonathan Kuminga had 24 off the bench as Atlanta was unable to clinch a playoff berth with the loss. The Hawks (45-35) have dropped their last two after winning four straight. They are one game ahead of Toronto for the fifth seed but only 1 1/2 in front of Orlando to avoid being in the play-in tournament.

It was Mitchell’s 200th regular-season game with at least 20 points in four years with the Cavaliers. He is the fifth player in franchise history to reach that milestone.

Mitchell had his 14th game this season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

SPURS 112, TRAIL BLAZERS 101

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and San Antonio kept rolling even with Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle sidelined by injuries, defeating Portland.

San Antonio (61-19) is 28-3 since Feb. 1 and has its best record since 2017, its last appearance in the Western Conference finals during a 22-year postseason run that included five NBA championships.

Deni Avdija scored 27 points and Scoot Henderson added 20 for the Trail Blazers, who have lost two straight after a three-game winning streak.

Portland (40-40) remains ninth in the West, just 2 1/2 games ahead of Golden State (37-42) heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

San Antonio had six players in double figures to offset the absence of the NBA’s past two Rookie of the Year winners. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points and rookie forward Carter Bryant added a season-high 17.

SUN 112, MAVERICKS 107

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 37 points, Dillon Brooks added 28 and Phoenix edged short-handed Dallas.

The Mavericks pulled within 110-107 on John Poulakidas’ 3-pointer with 1:08 left and had a chance to get even closer on their next possession but Oso Ighodaro blocked Moussa Cisse at the rim to stop the rally.

Brooks made a driving layup with 13.7 seconds to finally put the game away. The Suns clinched the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference playoff race, meaning they get two chances at home to win one game in the play-in tournament.

Poulakidas — a 6-foot-5 undrafted rookie who played at Yale — scored a season-high 23 points. Rookie of the Year front-runner Cooper Flagg had a tough game, scoring 11 points on 4 of 19 shooting.

The Mavericks trailed 71-53 early in the third quarter but used an 18-1 run to get back into the game. Dallas took its first lead of the second half when Max Christie hit a 3-pointer for a 95-93 advantage with 8:16 left.

The Suns responded with a 9-0 run and didn’t trail again. Dallas had just 10 available players because of injuries.

THUNDER 128, CLIPPERS 110

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Chet Holmgren had 30 points and 14 rebounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists, and Oklahoma City clinched the NBA’s best regular-season record with a victory over Los Angeles.

Jalen Williams scored 18 points for the NBA champion Thunder (64-16), who will have homecourt advantage throughout the postseason in their title defense after holding off San Antonio (61-19), which is on an 18-2 run since February. Oklahoma City has won seven straight and 19 of 20 to earn the West’s No. 1 seed for the third straight season.

Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and Brook Lopez added 16 for the eighth-place Clippers, who had won seven of nine. Los Angeles is 35-18 since shortly before Christmas, but still must win one of its final two games to extend this once-moribund franchise’s streak to 15 consecutive winning seasons.

The Clippers head to Portland on Friday for a crucial game. The winner almost certainly will finish eighth in the Western Conference, while the losers will slip to ninth, where they’ll need two wins in the play-in tournament to make the playoffs.