Jrue Holiday turned a short jumper into a three-point play with 1:32 to go, then added a driving hoop 33 seconds later Saturday night, allowing the visiting Milwaukee Bucks to stall a Sacramento Kings rally and pull out a 129-128 victory without Most Valuable Player candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Holiday’s personal five-point flurry capped a season-best, 33-point night. The Bucks led 118-105 after a tip-in by Brook Lopez with 6:48 remaining. But despite playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings made an energetic late push, scoring 14 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 119 on a Terence Davis 3-pointer with 2:06 to play.
Davis, who shared Kings scoring honors with De’Aaron Fox with 27 points, had a pair of 3-pointers in Sacramento’s frantic late run. Fox added a three-point play, while Buddy Hield did the rest of the scoring on a dunk and a 3-pointer.
Lopez added 26 points, Bobby Portis 18 and Khris Middleton 16 for the Bucks. Donte complemented a game-high 14 rebounds with 12 points. Buddy Hield finished with 19 points, and Tyrese Haliburton had 12 points and 11 assists for the Kings.
76ers 122, Timberwolves 113
Tobias Harris scored 32 points and Joel Embiid added 24 in his return from a 10-game absence to lift host Philadelphia to a victory over Minnesota.
Embiid added eight rebounds and three blocks in his first game since sustaining a bone bruise in his left knee during Philadelphia’s 127-101 win over the Washington Wizards on March 12.
Shake Milton and Ben Simmons each had 14 points and Seth Curry chipped in 13 for the 76ers, who have won 12 of their last 15 games. Philadelphia shot 50.6 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range to win its eighth straight meeting with Minnesota.
Mavericks 109, Wizards 87
Luka Doncic finished with 26 points, Jalen Brunson came off the bench to score 19 and visiting Dallas wrapped up a five-game road swing with a win at Washington.
All five Mavericks starters scored in double-figures, including Tim Hardaway Jr. with 16 points. He made consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that extended the Dallas lead to 19 points and effectively quashed Washington’s comeback efforts.
Robin Lopez came off the bench to score 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting and Raul Neto added 16 points for the Wizards. NBA-leading scorer Bradley Beal missed his fourth straight game due to a hip contusion.
Pacers 139, Spurs 133 (OT)
T.J. McConnell canned a jumper with the shot clock running out with 17.8 seconds to play in overtime as part of his 18-point performance as Indiana outlasted host San Antonio in overtime.
The overtime was tied at 130 with 3:46 remaining until Indiana pulled away down the stretch, with Turner converting three free throws and McConnell hitting a pair of shots. Caris LeVert led the Pacers with 26 points, with Myles Turner and Aaron Holiday adding 18 each.
DeMar DeRozan had 25 points for San Antonio, which has lost two straight and seven of its past nine games. Keldon Johnson and Dejounte Murray scored 20 each for the Spurs.
Jazz 137, Magic 91
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points and led Utah’s 3-point barrage with six in a rout of short-handed Orlando in Salt Lake City.
Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 17 points, while Jordan Clarkson threw in 15 off the bench as the Jazz won their ninth straight overall and 22nd in a row at home. Utah set an NBA record with 18 3-pointers in the first half, passing the 2018 Golden State Warriors (17).
Wendell Carter Jr. led the Magic with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Chuma Okeke added 16 points. The Magic were without Michael Carter-Williams (non-Covid illness), Otto Porter Jr. (left foot pain), Khem Birch (non-Covid illness) and Karim Mane (right hamstring).
Trail Blazers 133, Thunder 85
CJ McCollum scored 20 points in just 26 minutes as host Portland steamrolled Oklahoma City to win for the eighth time in the past 11 games.
Damian Lillard added 16 points in 25 minutes as the Trail Blazers led by as many as 52 points. The margin of victory is Portland’s largest of the season.
Kenrich Williams scored 18 points and fellow reserve Tony Bradley contributed 14 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City, which lost for the fifth time in the past six games.
Knicks 125, Pistons 81
Julius Randle poured in 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds and visiting New York built a 26-point, first-quarter lead and cruised to a victory over Detroit.
Reggie Bullock fired in 22 points, including six 3-pointers, as the Knicks snapped a three-game losing streak and completed a three-game sweep of the season series.
Jerami Grant’s 16 points led the Pistons. Hamidou Diallo added 14 points and Cory Joseph chipped in 10 in the loss.
Heat 115, Cavaliers 101
Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson each had 18 points to lead a balanced scoring effort by host Miami in a victory over Cleveland.
Adebayo, who also had 11 rebounds and five assists, recorded his 24th double-double of the season as seven Heat players scored in double-figures to help secure their fourth consecutive victory.
Robinson continued his torrid shooting stretch, making 6 of 9 3-pointers. Robinson made at least four 3-pointers for the sixth consecutive game and is shooting 54.5 percent (30-for-55) from long range over that stretch.
–Field Level Media