Nikola Jokic posted his 25th triple-double of the season to help lead the Denver Nuggets to a 142-110 win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Jokic finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a game-high 24 points and Michael Porter Jr. added 20 for the Nuggets, who have won three of their last four and moved a half-game ahead of the second-place Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference.
Reggie Jackson scored 18 off the bench, Jamal Murray had 16 and Peyton Watson added 13 for Denver.
Clint Capela led the Hawks with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while De’Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 18. Jalen Johnson tallied 17 points for Atlanta, which dropped its second straight and holds the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Dejounte Murray scored 14, while Garrison Mathews finished with 11.
Lakers 116, Cavaliers 97
D’Angelo Russell poured in a game-high 28 points and host Los Angeles used a 19-0 third-quarter run to pull away for a victory over Cleveland.
LeBron James (24 points, 12 assists) and Anthony Davis (22 points, 13 rebounds) had double-doubles for Los Angeles, which won for the ninth time in its past 10 games. Taurean Prince chipped in 18 points.
Darius Garland paced Cleveland with 26 points. Caris LeVert supplied 21 to go along with seven boards, and Jarrett Allen finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Georges Niang also had 12 points.
Nets 113, Pistons 103
Cam Thomas scored a game-high 32 points to lead Brooklyn’s comeback victory over Detroit for its fifth win in seven games.
Dennis Schroder scored 24 points and Noah Clowney added 17 for Brooklyn, which trailed by 15 with 7:49 remaining in the fourth quarter but rallied to take a 104-103 lead with 2:54 left after a 3-pointer by Schroder. It was Brooklyn’s first lead since 3-2. It ended up being a 19-0 run for the Nets over the final 4:51 of the game.
Chimezie Metu scored 20 points and Marcus Sasser supplied 18 for Detroit. Jaden Ivey finished with 16 points and 10 assists.
76ers 116, Grizzlies 96
Joel Embiid recorded a double-double by halftime and finished with game highs of 30 points and 12 rebounds as Philadelphia cruised to its fourth consecutive win with a rout of host Memphis.
Embiid finished the first half with a flurry, scoring nine points over the final 1:52. He went into the locker room with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Philadelphia pushed an 11-point lead to 20, 62-42, with Embiid’s surge.
The 76ers led wire-to-wire and faced little resistance in the second half as their advantage swelled to as many as 27 points. Scotty Pippen Jr. recorded a career-high 24 points to lead the Grizzlies.
–Field Level Media