NBA roundup: Thunder top Magic in battle of 2022 draft talent
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points to lead the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 112-100 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
The game marked the first regular-season matchup between the Magic's Paolo Banchero and the Thunder's Chet Holmgren, the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Banchero finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft who missed last season due to a foot injury, had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Orlando cut what was a 16-point deficit to six on Cole Anthony's pullup jumper with 2:14 left in the game. Jalen Williams answered with a jumper on the next possession, sparking a 7-0 run for Oklahoma City, which has won four consecutive games and nine of its past 11.
Celtics 145, Rockets 113
Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 32 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 27 to help Boston defeat visiting Houston.
Brown made 11 of his 15 field-goal attempts and was 4-for-6 from 3-point territory. Tatum also had eight rebounds and five assists before he was ejected after his second technical foul with 10:17 to play. The Celtics improved to 19-0 at home.
Cam Whitmore came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Jazz 132, Lakers 125
Lauri Markkanen recorded 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Utah posted a season-high fifth straight victory by dispatching Los Angeles in Salt Lake City.
Collin Sexton added 27 points and Jordan Clarkson had 21 off the bench as Utah won for the 11th time in the past 13 games.
D'Angelo Russell scored a season-high 39 points and matched his season best of six 3-pointers but couldn't prevent the Lakers from losing for the 11th time in 15 games. Los Angeles played without LeBron James (ankle). It was his fourth absence of the season.
Wizards 127, Hawks 99
Kyle Kuzma poured in a game-high 29 points to help lead visiting Washington to a win over Atlanta.
Jordan Poole added 20 points for Washington, which snapped a six-game losing streak overall and picked up its first road win since Dec. 21. Deni Avdija chipped in 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
Trae Young led Atlanta with 21 points and 10 assists, while Saddiq Bey added 16 points. The Hawks' streak of 94 consecutive games with at least 100 points ended. It was the third-longest such streak in NBA history.
Bucks 129, Warriors 118
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton combined for 84 points and host Milwaukee overpowered short-handed Golden State.
Antetokounmpo led the way with a game-high 33 points. Lillard had 27 and Middleton finished with 24 points and a game-high 10 assists for the Bucks, whose only game since Monday was a 33-point breeze over the visiting Celtics.
Playing the second night of a road back-to-back and doing so without Stephen Curry (rest), the Warriors also had three players score 20 or more points, led by Jonathan Kuminga with 28. Brandin Podziemski had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Klay Thompson chipped in with 21 points.
Knicks 106, Grizzlies 94
Julius Randle had 24 points and 11 rebounds as visiting New York beat Memphis.
Miles McBride scored a career-high 19 points, OG Anunoby added 18 and Donte DiVincenzo had 13 for New York, which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Isaiah Hartenstein finished with 12 points and matched his career high with 20 rebounds.
Rookie GG Jackson led Memphis with a career-high 20 points off the bench. Vince Williams Jr. scored 17, David Roddy and Luke Kennard added 14 apiece and Xavier Tillman finished with 12 points and a career-high six steals.
Pelicans 118, Mavericks 108
Rookie Jordan Hawkins scored 34 points and six teammates scored in double figures as visiting New Orleans defeated Dallas.
Herbert Jones scored 15 points, Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists and Larry Nance Jr. and Jose Alvarado scored 14 points apiece for the Pelicans.
Kyrie Irving scored 33 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Derrick Jones Jr. each added 24 to lead the Mavericks, who played without Luka Doncic (ankle) and Dante Exum (foot).
Bulls 122, Spurs 116
Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, including a critical 3-pointer with 31.7 seconds to play, as visiting Chicago outlasted San Antonio in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams.
The Bulls, back on the court after a loss at home to Golden State on Friday, led by eight points at halftime and by 18 midway through the third quarter before San Antonio rallied to tie the score at 94 heading into the final period.
Tre Jones led the Spurs with a career-high 30 points while Keldon Johnson had 26, Malaki Branham scored 14 and Jeremy Sochan finished with 11. San Antonio, which was playing for the second straight night after beating Charlotte on Friday, was without rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama (rest).
—Field Level Media