Evan Mobley had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Darius Garland added 20 points and nine assists to lead the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers to their franchise-record 16th consecutive victory, a 133-124 win Friday over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Cavaliers, the NBA’s best team with a 56-10 record, also won their 11th straight road game. De’Andre Hunter contributed 18 points and five rebounds and Jarrett Allen had 16 points and six boards for Cleveland. Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell missed his second game in a row due to a groin injury. Ja Morant finished with a season-high 44 points for the Grizzlies, who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Jaren Jackson Jr. returned after missing five games with a sprained left ankle and had 13 points. Timberwolves 118, Magic 111
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points on 9-for-19 shooting as Minnesota held on for a win over Orlando in Minneapolis.
Julius Randle added 22 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota, which won its seventh game in a row. Donte DiVincenzo contributed 14 points off the bench. The Timberwolves outscored the Magic 40-24 in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.
Paolo Banchero scored 43 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Orlando. Caleb Houstan scored 18 points and made 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range while Franz Wagner scored 16.
Nuggets 131, Lakers 126
Jamal Murray hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 6.2 seconds left, and host Denver beat a depleted Los Angeles.
Murray finished with 26 points, Nikola Jokic had 28 points, Christian Braun scored 22, Aaron Gordon and Russell Westbrook each had 17 points and Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 points for Denver, which struggled against a Los Angeles team playing without six players.
The Lakers were missing LeBron James (hamstring), Jaxon Hayes (knee) and Rui Hachimura (knee) along with Luka Doncic, who was on injury management for his left calf. Austin Reaves (37 points, 13 assists) and Dalton Knecht (32 points) led the way for Los Angeles, which has lost four in a row.
Celtics 103, Heat 91
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 28 points, leading visiting Boston to a win over slumping Miami.
Boston also got 25 points from Jrue Holiday, who made 10 of 15 shots, including shooting 5-of-8 on 3-pointers. Derrick White was key for the Celtics as he scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, making 3-of-5 shots from deep.
The Heat, who are 9-25 versus teams with a record of .500 or more, have lost a season-high six straight games. Andrew Wiggins led Miami with 23 points, and the Heat got 19 points and a game-high six assists from Tyler Herro.
Pacers 112, 76ers 100 Pascal Siakam led the way with 27 points as Indiana notched a road victory over short-handed Philadelphia. Tyrese Haliburton chipped in 14 points and 10 assists for Indiana, which has won two games in a row following a three-game slide. Jeff Dowtin Jr. scored a career-high 24 points for Philadelphia, which had only eight available players due to a lengthy list of injuries. Jared Butler pitched in with 17 points, while Adem Bona added 16. The 76ers lost for the sixth time in seven games and for the 15th time in 17 games.
Rockets 133, Mavericks 96 Tari Eason scored a career-high 30 points, Jalen Green added 23 as Houston cruised past Dallas. Alperen Sengun paired 16 points with 15 rebounds as the Rockets extended their winning streak to five games and improved to 4-0 on their six-game homestand. Houston dominated the glass, recording a 67-34 rebounding margin. Brandon Williams tallied 25 points for the Mavericks, who have dropped seven of eight. Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 and 20 points, respectively. Hornets 145, Spurs 134
LaMelo Ball racked up 27 points and 15 assists and Nick Smith Jr. scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half as visiting Charlotte rolled to an easy victory over San Antonio.
The Hornets, who hit 26 3-pointers, led by 26 points at halftime and cruised to their third win in their past four games. Miles Bridges added 21 points, with Josh Green hitting for 20, Mark Williams producing 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jusuf Nurkic scoring 14.
San Antonio lost for the fourth time in its past five games while playing its first game in a month without star guard De’Aaron Fox, who was ruled out for the rest of the season on Thursday with a torn ligament in his left pinkie finger. Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 26 points while Devin Vassell scored 22.
Clippers 121, Hawks 98 James Harden and Kawhi Leonard both scored 25 points to lead Los Angeles past host Atlanta for its fifth victory in six games. Harden shot 8-for-14 from the floor, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range, while adding eight rebounds and seven assists. Leonard, who sat out the Clippers’ Wednesday game due to load management, hit 11 of 21 from the field and contributed six rebounds and five steals. The Hawks had their four-game winning streak end while completing a 4-2 homestand. They were led by Onyeka Okongwu, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 19th double-double of the season. Trae Young had 17 points and seven assists, but committed seven turnovers.
Suns 122, Kings 106
Devin Booker recorded 22 points and 13 assists and Kevin Durant had 22 points and six helpers as Phoenix produced a solid victory over visiting Sacramento.
Phoenix’s Tyus Jones added 20 points off the bench and was 6-for-6 from 3-point range on a night in which the Suns sank a season-high 24 treys (on 43 attempts). Phoenix moved within 1 1/2 games of the Dallas Mavericks in the battle for the final Western Conference play-in berth.
DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and Zach LaVine added 21 for the Kings, who lost their fourth consecutive contest and are just 2 1/2 games ahead of Phoenix. Domantas Sabonis returned from a six-game absence caused by a hamstring injury to record his ninth triple-double of the season.
