Zion Williamson had 34 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals and the New Orleans Pelicans held off the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 on Friday night.
Trey Murphy III added 14 points, Brandon Ingram scored 13, Larry Nance Jr. scored 12 and CJ McCollum scored 11 as the Pelicans (40-26) won the season series against the Clippers, 3-1. New Orleans also came within two games of Los Angeles, fourth place (42-24) in the Western Conference standings.
Paul George scored 26, Kawhi Leonard scored 23 and Norman Powell added 15 for Los Angeles, which played without James Harden (strained left shoulder) for a second straight game.
The Clippers got within four points four times before a basket by Williamson and a 3-pointer by Ingram increased the lead to 105-96 with 5:37 to play. Baskets from George and Leonard brought Los Angeles within five before Nance and Williamson put the game out of reach.
Suns 107, Hornets 96
Devin Booker had 21 points to guide Phoenix’s balanced attack in a win over host Charlotte.
Grayson Allen scored 17 points, Bradley Beal 15 points, Eric Gordon provided 14 points off the bench and Jusuf Nurkic (21 rebounds) and Kevin Durant both finished with 13 points for Phoenix (39-28).
Vasilije Micic’s 21 points and Grant Williams’ 20 points led the Hornets (17-50), who have lost eight of their last 10 games. Miles Bridges had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Brandon Miller had 14 points.
Heat 108, Pistons 95
Bam Adebayo produced 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as Miami beat host Detroit to end a four-game losing streak.
Caleb Martin had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Miami (36-30). Terry Rozier also scored 18 points, Duncan Robinson provided 16 points and five assists and Jimmy Butler added 14 points.
Simone Fontecchio scored 24 points for the Pistons (12-54), who had won three of their previous four games. Jalen Duren had 15 points and 17 rebounds, and Jaden Ivey scored 14 points and dished out nine assists.
Nuggets 117, Spurs 106
Nikola Jokic scored 31 points in three quarters of action to help Denver beat San Antonio in Austin, Texas.
The Nuggets (47-20) led by 21 points in the second half, by nine at halftime and by seven after three quarters. Denver dominated the game with a 15-5 lead in the first five minutes of the fourth period, taking a 101-84 lead on a Jamal Murray jumper with 7:20 remaining. The Nuggets earned their fifth straight victory and their 11th in 12 games since the All-Star break.
Jeremy Sochan led San Antonio with 19 points. Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama scored 17 points each, Zach Collins 13 and Julian Champagnie 10 points. The Spurs (14-53) have lost three straight games, all at home.
Magic 113, Raptors 103
Franz Wagner scored 19 points and visiting Orlando beat an undermanned Toronto.
Paolo Banchero added 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Magic, who have won 10 of their last 13 games. The teams play again Sunday in Orlando. The Magic (39-28) won the first two meetings.
Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 31 points for the Raptors, who have lost six in a row. Jordan Nwora added 14 points and Bruce Brown 12. Immanuel Quickley, Kelly Olynyk and Jahmi’us Ramsey each had 10 points for Toronto (23-44).
Jazz 124, Falcons 122
Keyonte George scored 25 points and Collin Sexton added 21 as host Utah ended a three-game losing streak with a win over Atlanta.
The shorthanded Jazz (29-37) started three rookies, including George, Brice Sensabaugh (14 points) and Taylor Hendricks (10 rebounds). Utah got a boost and career-high nights from G-League call-ups Johnny Juzang (19 points) and Micah Potter (11 points).
Veteran John Collins, who played the previous six seasons with Atlanta, contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds against his former team. Dejounte Murray led all scorers with 33 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds.
–Field Media/Reuters
