Nikola Jokic scored 31 factors and dished out 11 assists, Jamal Murray completed with 26 factors and 9 assists, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Milwaukee Bucks 129-106 on Saturday evening.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 factors and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown had 11 factors every for the Nuggets, who gained their fiftieth recreation of the season in a battle between the highest groups in every convention.
Giannis Antetokounmpo matched Jokic with 31 factors and grabbed 9 rebounds, Khris Middleton, Grayson Allen and Brook Lopez scored 13 every, and Bobby Portis Jr. added 11 factors for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo was aggressive from the beginning, with 13 factors within the first quarter and 24 at halftime. However the Bucks went 4:10 with out a level within the fourth interval because the Nuggets constructed a 20-point lead. Antetokounmpo was hit with a technical foul with 6:41 left — Milwaukee’s fourth of the sport — and went to the bench for the remainder of the evening with 5:54 remaining.
Suns 125, 76ers 105
Devin Booker scored 29 factors and T.J. Warren, Terrence Ross and Cameron Payne mixed for 45 factors off the bench as host Phoenix ended a three-game skid by beating Philadelphia.
Phoenix shot 50.5 % from the ground as a staff and used its balanced scoring to take management within the second half. The Suns went on a 13-3 run early within the fourth quarter that successfully put the sport away.
Booker led six Suns scoring not less than 13 factors. Fellow starters Chris Paul and Bismack Biyombo completed with 13 and 17, respectively. Biyombo additionally grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. The 76ers acquired a game-high 37 factors from Tyrese Maxey, whereas Most Worthwhile Participant candidate Joel Embiid added 28 factors and 10 rebounds.
Hawks 143, Pacers 130
John Collins scored 21 factors and Dejounte Murray added 20 as Atlanta overcame an ejection to main scorer Trae Younger and took a win over visiting Indiana.
Younger was given a technical foul and ejected for throwing the ball harshly again to the referee. The sport was tied 84-84 with 7:25 left within the third quarter when the incident occurred. Younger was nonetheless pissed off about having a 3-pointer taken away and was an offensive foul. He completed with 14 factors and 5 assists.
Indiana was led by reserve Jordan Nwora with 33 factors, one shy of his profession excessive. Tyrese Haliburton added 19 factors and 13 assists. The Pacers led 74-72 at halftime because of Nwora, who set a regular-season franchise report with 25 factors within the second quarter.
Nets 129, Warmth 100
Mikal Bridges scored 27 factors and Brooklyn snapped a season-worst, five-game shedding streak by placing collectively a dominant second half in a victory over host Miami.
Brooklyn turned a 14-point deficit right into a blowout after halftime. The Nets outscored Miami 39-18 within the third quarter and 64-31 within the last 24 minutes. Cameron Johnson added 23 factors and hit 5 of Brooklyn’s 18 threes. Brooklyn shot 49.4 % total and a blistering 59.3 % within the decisive third quarter.
Tyler Herro and Max Strus scored 23 factors apiece to guide the Warmth, who shot 47.5 % however had been a dreadful 6 of 19 within the third. Strus scored all of his factors by halftime, capturing 9-for-10.
Kings 121, Jazz 113
Kevin Huerter poured in a team-high 27 factors, Harrison Barnes led a third-quarter surge and Sacramento moved inside one win of clinching its first playoff berth in 17 years with a victory over visiting Utah.
Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 factors and Barnes had 18. Domantas Sabonis recorded 16 to go together with a game-high 15 rebounds and team-high seven assists for the Kings (45-29).
The loss was a pricey one for the Jazz (35-39), who started the evening tied with the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and Dallas Mavericks within the loss column of their duel for the ultimate play-in spot within the Western Convention.
Pelicans 131, Clippers 110
Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas had double-doubles and visiting New Orleans dominated Los Angeles.
Ingram, coming off his first profession triple-double, had 32 factors and a career-high 13 assists, and Valanciunas had 17 factors and 13 rebounds because the Pelicans (37-37) gained their fourth consecutive recreation to begin an important four-game highway journey.
Bones Hyland scored 18 factors to guide the Clippers (39-36). Eric Gordon had 15, Russell Westbrook had 14, Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum had 13 every, Kawhi Leonard added 12 and Robert Covington 11.