Paolo Banchero banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime off an inbounds pass from Anthony Black as the Orlando Magic eked out a 104-103 victory over the Brooklyn Nets after blowing an 18-point lead Wednesday night in New York.
Rookie Egor Demin banked in a 3 with 5.3 seconds left over Wendell Carter Jr. to put Brooklyn up 103-101 in the extra period after the Nets rallied from a 10-point deficit with 4:02 left in regulation.
Banchero finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds, Carter added 20 for the Magic, who shot 42.7% and were outscored 29-14 in the fourth.
Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with 34 points and hit eight of Brooklyn’s 17 3s. Demin scored all of his 18 points after the third quarter but the Nets shot 41.9% and lost for the fourth time in five games.
Thunder 129, Jazz 125 (OT)
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 46 points to lift host Oklahoma City past Utah and end a brief two-game losing streak.
Gilgeous-Alexander forced overtime with a tying basket at the buzzer to end regulation, then Chet Holmgren made perhaps the biggest play in the extra period, slamming home Gilgeous-Alexander’s miss with 30 seconds left to break a tie. Gilgeous-Alexander then grabbed the rebound off Svi Mykhailiuk’s missed corner 3-pointer and sank both free throws to make it a two-possession game with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Holmgren finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Jalen Williams had 17 points and eight assists. Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 29 points and added 13 rebounds. Keyonte George had 25 points and 11 assists in the loss.
Nuggets 114, Celtics 110
Peyton Watson scored 30 points and Jamal Murray added 22 points, eight rebounds and a career-high 17 assists to lead visiting Denver over Boston for the Nuggets’ NBA-best 15th road victory.
Watson made 6 of his 7 3-point attempts, including a 3-pointer that put Denver up 106-93 with 2:24 to play. Watson has scored at least 20 points in each of his last five games. Denver’s Nikola Jokic missed his fifth straight game with a knee injury. The Nuggets have a 3-2 record without him.
Boston received a game-high 33 points along with seven rebounds and four assists from Jaylen Brown, who also committed seven turnovers. Neemias Queta had six points and a career-high 20 rebounds for the Celtics. Ten of Queta’s 20 rebounds came at the offensive end.
Trail Blazers 103, Rockets 102
Deni Avdija scored 41 points and Portland held off visiting Houston as Tari Eason’s would-be game-winning tip-in was ruled to come after time expired.
Portland led in the final seconds when Houston’s Kevin Durant missed a jumper with 0.8 seconds left. Eason got his hand on the ball and tapped it into the net. But the officials reviewed the call and ruled that Eason’s fingertips were still in contact with the ball when the red light on the backboard came on and waved off the hoop.
Durant matched his season high of 37 points and Amen Thompson added 24 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, as the Rockets lost for just the second time in seven games. Durant needs just 15 points to pass legendary Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) and move into seventh place on the all-time scoring list.
Hawks 117, Pelicans 100
Zaccharie Risacher knocked down seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 25 points to lead Atlanta over visiting New Orleans, ending the Hawks’ two-game losing streak while handing the Pelicans their second nine-game losing streak of the season.
Four-time Atlanta all-star Trae Young was on the bench in street clothes with a right quad contusion when reports surfaced during the fourth quarter that he had been traded to Washington. Young left the area for a few minutes, returned to the bench and stayed there until seconds remained.
With Onyeka Okongwu out with an illness and Kristaps Porzingis on restricted minutes, Atlanta started reserve Mouhamed Gueye at center. Porzingis still wound up with 13 points, while Gueye contributed 10 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, finishing the game at plus-27.
Knicks 123, Clippers 111
Karl-Anthony Towns scored nine points during a decisive 30-13 run spanning the third and fourth quarters as host New York snapped a season-long four-game losing streak with a win over Los Angeles.
Towns finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds while adding seven assists for the Knicks, who avoided their first five-game losing streak since December 2022. Jalen Brunson had 26 points and seven assists while OG Anunoby finished with 20 points.
Ivica Zubac (22 points, 11 rebounds) and John Collins (18 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles for the Clippers, who lost for just the second time in nine games. Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points while James Harden finished with 23 points following a one-game absence due to a shoulder injury.
Raptors 97, Hornets 96
Immanuel Quickley’s 3-point basket at the buzzer lifted Toronto past host Charlotte as the Hornets were unable to build off their win over NBA-best Oklahoma City on Monday.
Quickley’s basket, which was launched just left of the top of the 3-point arc, delivered the final points in a back-and-forth sequence down the stretch. LaMelo Ball’s drive for a basket with 1.6 seconds left broke a tie and gave the Hornets a 96-94 lead. Each team called a timeout before the Raptors inbounded the ball for the last shot, which was the seventh successful 3-pointer of Toronto’s 34 long-range attempts, with Quickley going 3-for-11.
RJ Barrett led the Raptors with 28 points, Quickley finished with 21 and Scottie Barnes scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half. Collin Sexton’s 22 points off the bench led the Hornets while Ball added 15.
Pistons 108, Bulls 93
Isaiah Stewart poured in a career-high 31 points and host Detroit pulled away from Chicago.
Stewart made 14 of 17 field-goal attempts while easily surpassing his previous high of 26 points. Duncan Robinson had 12 points, while Javonte Green, Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson contributed 11 apiece. Daniss Jenkins dished out 15 assists in Detroit’s third straight win.
Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 24 points. Nikola Vucevic had 20 points with 16 rebounds and Matas Buzelis also scored 20 for Chicago.
76ers 131, Wizards 110
Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all scored more than 20 points for the first time in 1 1/2 seasons together, guiding Philadelphia to a comfortable win over visiting Washington.
Embiid (28 points), George (23) and Maxey (22) led seven players in double figures for the Sixers, who used a 16-0 run spanning the final two quarters to post their fourth win in five games. VJ Edgecombe chipped in with 13 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.
Tre Johnson scored 20 points and Bub Carrington made five 3-pointers in an 18-point effort for Washington, which had won five of its previous seven games. The Wizards played without CJ McCollum (quad) and Kyshawn George (hip), among others.
Suns 117, Grizzlies 98
Dillon Brooks scored 21 points and Grayson Allen added 19 off the bench as Phoenix ended a six-game losing streak to host Memphis, winning for the seventh time in nine games.
Brooks, who spent his first six seasons in the NBA with the Grizzlies, had 18 points in the first half. Allen, who spent two seasons with the Grizzlies, was playing in his second game after returning from a nine-game absence because of a knee injury.
The Grizzlies, playing the second game of a back-to-back, lost for the fifth time in six games. Memphis swept the series (4-0) last season and won the only meeting between the two early this season in Phoenix. Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 19 points.
Spurs 107, Lakers 91
Keldon Johnson scored 27 points and San Antonio’s balanced attack overcame Luka Doncic’s individual excellence as the Spurs defeated visiting Los Angeles in the second game of a back-to-back for both teams.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench for the second straight game and racked up 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in 26 minutes of court time for San Antonio. Castle scored 15 points, De’Aaron Fox had 14 and Julian Champagnie added 11.
Doncic amassed 38 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Lakers, who played without LeBron James (out for rest on the second game of a back-to-back). Doncic also had seven turnovers. Jake LaRavia added 16 points and Jaxson Hayes scored 10 for Los Angeles.
Warriors 120, Bucks 113
Stephen Curry had a team-high 31 points, De’Anthony Melton added a season-high 22 and Golden State opened an eight-game homestand with a victory over Milwaukee in San Francisco.
Melton, who hadn’t scored more than 16 points or made more than three 3-pointers in a game this season, bombed in 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. Al Horford came off the bench to contribute eight points, a game-high-tying 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks for the Warriors, while Jimmy Butler III chipped in with 21 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up a 34-point, 10-rebound double-double in just 31 minutes, but it wasn’t enough for the Bucks to pick up a third straight win. Kevin Porter Jr. had 15 points and a game-high nine assists, while Ryan Rollins added 16 points.
