HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant had 28 points to become the eighth player in NBA history to score 31,000 career points as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 117-98 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
It was Durant’s first game against his former team since a blockbuster seven-team trade that sent Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns. Durant missed Houston’s 114-92 win at Phoenix on Nov. 24 for personal reasons.
Amen Thompson scored a season-high 31 to help the Rockets to their fifth victory in six games.
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Durant made two free throws for his first points of the night and hit jumper midway through the first quarter that gave the 15-time All-Star to reach the historic milestone. Durant, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter, has 31,024 career points.
The Rockets trailed by as many as nine early but used a 44-point second quarter, powered by 17 points from Durant, to take the lead.
BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and Boston cruised past short-handed Los Angeles, playing without LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
Derrick White had five 3-pointers and added 19 points, and Jordan Walsh finished with 17 points for the Celtics, who have won four straight and six out of seven. Boston hit a season-high 24 3-pointers and had 31 assists.
The Lakers lost for just the second time in 10 games. James sat with sciatica, which kept him sidelined for the first 14 games this season, and left foot joint arthritis. Doncic was out for the second straight game for personal reasons.
Austin Reaves led Los Angeles with 36 points and eight assists. Gabe Vincent added 18 points.
With the game out of hand in the fourth quarter and his father looking on from the bench in street clothes, Bronny James checked in with 6:38 to play. He finished 2 of 3 from the field with five points and an assist in TD Garden debut. He didn’t make the trip for the Lakers’ visit to Boston last season.
Boston never trailed and led by 29 points in the second quarter.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 32 points, Jalen Suggs added 22 and Orlando beat Mimi when Bam Adebayo missed a jumper at the buzzer.
The teams will meet again in Orlando on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup quarterfinal. The Magic have won seven of nine. The Heat have lost three of four following a six-game winning streak.
Paolo Banchero was back for Orlando after missing 10 games because of strained left groin. He had nine points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
Norman Powel had 28 points for Miami, making two layups for the game’s final points, keeping the Heat in the game after Suggs’ layup had given the Magic a 106-101 lead. Adebayo had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Heat.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 28 points and eight assists, Jaylon Tyson scored 16 of his 24 points in the third quarter and Cleveland rallied to beat San Antonio.
Evan Mobley had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Dean Wade added 12 points and eight rebounds for Cleveland, which won for the second time in its last six games and snapped a two-game skid at Rocket Arena. Mobley and Wade also each had five assists.
The Cavaliers, who trailed by 10 throughout the first half, used a 23-4 run in the third quarter to pull in front 98-81. Tyson scored 11 points during the 5 1/2-minute surge that fueled a 44-point period, giving Cleveland a 108-91 lead.
Devin Vassell had 25 of his 28 points and made seven 3-pointers in the first half for the Spurs. De’Aaron Fox had 25 points and nine assists, and Keldon Johnson added 14 points off the bench.
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 33 points, including a 3-pointer that capped New York’s opening 23-point run — the largest in the NBA since detailed play-by-play for all four quarters began in 1997 — in a rout of Utah.
Deuce McBride was 7 for 10 from 3-point range and added 22 points for the Knicks, who didn’t allow a point until the first quarter was more than half over. Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and nine rebounds in the Knicks’ highest-scoring game of the season.
The Knicks got starting forward OG Anunoby back from a nine-game absence due to a left hamstring injury, then made sure he or any other starter wouldn’t need to play too many minutes.
Anunoby, wearing a black sleeve on his left leg, finished with 11 points in 22 minutes. Jordan Clarkson, who won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award while playing for Utah, had 16 points in a game the Knicks led by as many as 41 points.
ATLANTA (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 39 points and Denver rallied from 23 points down with a big fourth quarter to beat Atlanta.
Jamal Murray had 23 points and 12 assists, and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 17 points for the Nuggets, who have won nine straight road games.
The Hawks had a chance for a tying 3-pointer on their final possession, but Murray blocked the attempt by Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The loose ball led to a layup by Alexander-Walker with 2 seconds left, and the Nuggets quickly inbounded the ball and ran out the clock.
Jalen Johnson had 21 points, 18 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists for the Hawks, who have lost three straight. Johnson, who missed Wednesday’s game with a strained calf, became the first Hawks player in the play-by-play era to record a triple-double by halftime. He had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists at the break.
Alexander-Walker finished with 30 points and Kristaps Porzingas had 25.
TORONTO (AP) — Kon Knueppel hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points and Charlotte beat Toronto to end a two-game losing streak.
Knueppel added eight assists, and Miles Bridges had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Hornets guard LaMelo Ball had 11 points, two rebounds and three assists in 12 minutes before leaving the game with left ankle soreness.
Immanuel Quickley scored a season-high 31 points for Toronto. The Raptors lost at home to the Los Angeles Lakers 123-120 the night before.
Scottie Barnes had 13 points and five assists. Raptors reserve forward Jamison Battle left the game with 11 minutes left after spraining his left ankle.
GRIZZLIES 107, CLIPPERS 98
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Rookie Cedric Coward had 23 points and 14 rebounds, part of five Memphis players reaching double figures in a win over Los Angeles.
Cam Spencer and Jaylen Wells had 17 points each and Jaren Jackson Jr. finished with 13 points as Memphis won for the sixth time in eight games. Zach Edey had 10 points and eight rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points and eight rebounds. James Harden had 18 points and seven assists, and John Collins scored 16 points. Los Angeles lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Quentin Grimes scored 22 points to lead a productive performance from Philadelphia’s bench in a win over Milwaukee.
Paul George added 20 points and Jabari Walker had a season-high 18 off the bench as the 76ers won for a second straight night after beating the Golden State Warriors 99-98 on Thursday.
Philadelphia’s reserves scored 61 points to make up for the fact Milwaukee limited Tyrese Maxey to a season-low 12 points.
Neither team had its former league MVP on the floor.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was out after straining his right calf in the first few minutes of a 113-109 victory over Detroit on Wednesday. With the 76ers playing for a second straight night, Philadelphia rested Joel Embiid.
Bucks coach Doc Rivers said before Friday’s game that he anticipates Antetokounmpo will miss about four weeks.
Milwaukee’s AJ Green left with a bruised shoulder in the second quarter.
Bobby Portis scored 22 points, Kevin Porter Jr. 20 and Myles Turner 19 for the Bucks.
PISTONS 122, TRAIL BLAZERS 116
DETROIT (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Detroit rallied to beat Portland.
Cunningham also had three assists in the quarter and finishedwith nine. Jalen Duren added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Detroit allowed 22 points off turnovers. The Pistons averaged only 15.0 points off turnovers in their 15-2 start, but have been over 20 in seven straight games while going 4-3.
Deni Avdjia had 35 points for Portland. Jeremi Grant had 29, and Shaedon Sharpe 28 — and the rest of the team had 24.
Detroit took a 112-110 lead on Cunningham’s steal and layup with 2:22 to play, and Duncan Robinson scored five points in the next two possessions to make it a seven-point game.
CHICAGO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 36 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 28 and Indiana beat struggling Chicago.
The Pacers improved to 5-18, looking more like the team that advanced to the NBA Finals last season than the injury-ravaged crew that began the night with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They went on a big run early in the third quarter and withstood a big push by Chicago in picking up their first win in 11 road games this season.
Siakam heated up after a scoreless first quarter. The three-time All-Star made five 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds. Mathurin hit six 3s.
Andrew Nembhard added 15 points and seven assists. Jay Huff had five blocks, helping the Pacers beat Chicago for the second time in seven days. They won 103-101 in Indianapolis on Saturday, when Siakam sank a 14-foot jumper with a second left.
THUNDER 132, MAVERICKS 111
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 in three quarters, and Oklahoma City defeated Dallas to claim their 14th straight win.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 10 of 12 field goals and 11 of 12 free throws to help the Thunder improve to 22-1 overall. He scored at least 20 points for the 95th straight game, the second-longest streak in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 126 straight from 1961-1963.
Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams each scored 15 points for the Thunder, who rolled without injured starters Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein. Oklahoma City shot 56% from the field and made 26 of 28 free throws.
Dallas, though also dealing with several injuries, had won three straight. Star rookie Cooper Flagg, who averaged 27 points during the win streak, scored 16 on Friday.
Jaden Hardy led Dallas with 23 points. He made 8 of 13 field goals, including 5 of 9 3-pointers. Naji Marshall added 18 points for the Mavericks.