Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the visiting Dallas Mavericks 126-119 on Thursday.
The Mavericks are without superstar Luka Doncic, who suffered a sore left hamstring in Dallas' win over Golden State on Wednesday. Dallas' winning streak ended at four.
Jaylen Williams is back after missing the Thunder's game against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday with a sprained ankle. Williams finished with 27 points, including a powerful dunk in the final minute of the game.
Without Doncic, the Mavericks had to rely on Kyrie Irving for much of the offense, but he almost brought the team to victory. Irving had 36 points and 12 assists while committing four turnovers. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points off the bench for Dallas, and Gafford had 19 points (8-of-11 shooting) and 15 rebounds.
Rockets 135, Wizards 119
Jaylen Green scored a season-high 37 points and Houston visited Washington looking for its sixth win in seven games.
Green went 15-of-23 from the floor, made five 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds. He became the focal point of a balanced attack that produced six double-digit scorers, including rookie Armen Thompson (20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals) and Fred VanVleet, who had 27 points and nine assists. .
Jordan Poole led Washington with 25 points, including 13 points in the third, and Deni Avdija added 24 points (10-of-13 shooting), nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points.
Celtics 127, Suns 112
Jaylen Brown made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 37 points as Boston extended its winning streak to four games with an away win over Phoenix.
Jayson Tatum added 26 points for Boston, making 25 of 50 3-pointers. Al Horford hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 24 points. The Celtics also got 10 assists and nine points from Jrue Holiday.
The Suns got 22 points from Bradley Beal and 20 points from Kevin Durant and Grayson Allen. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 rebounds, the most in a single game for a Celtics opponent this season.
Bucks 114, 76ers 105
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead Milwaukee over visiting Philadelphia.
Brook Lopez added 19 points for the Bucks, and Damian Lillard had 17 points and a game-high nine assists. AJ Green scored 14 points off the bench. Milwaukee had lost three of their previous four games.
Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 30 points on 12-of-23 shooting. Tobias Harris had 15 points, Cam Payne had 13 points against his old team, and Kyle Lowry had 12 points. The Sixers suffered their fifth loss in six games.
Clippers 126, Bulls 111
Five players scored in double figures, with Paul George adding 28 points and Kawhi Leonard 27 points, lifting visiting Los Angeles to a victory over Chicago.
Los Angeles shot 60 percent while Chicago shot 47.7 percent. George sparked the attack by going 11-of-12 from 3-point range, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range. Leonard missed the final three quarters of Tuesday's game against Minnesota due to back spasms and was questionable before the game, but he had 12 of 17 hits.
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 21 points. Nikola Vucevic had 19 points, followed by Alex Caruso with 17 points, including five treys. Andre Drummond contributed with 15 points and 7 rebounds.
Knicks 105, Trail Blazers 93
Jalen Brunson scored 45 points and New York defeated host Portland for its third win in four games.
Brunson made 14 of 30 field throws and 15 of 17 free throws, scoring 40 points in the regular season for the 10th time in his career. For New York, OG Anunoby had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo also had 12 points.
Deandre Ayton recorded 31 points and 14 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who went 2-4 on a six-game homestand, earning his seventh consecutive double-double. For Portland, Dalano Banton had 16 points and four steals, and Scoot Henderson had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
—Field Level Media
