NBA: Hornets beat Cavaliers as rookie Brandon Miller scores 31 points

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Rookie Brandon Miller made a career-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 31 points, and Charlotte Hornets beat Cleveland Cavaliers 118-111 in the NBA on Wednesday night to avenge a 23-point loss earlier in the week.

Miles Bridges and Tre Mann added 17 points and Grant Williams had 16 for the Hornets, who shot 58% from the field to snap a five-game losing streak. Vasa Micic had 11 points and 12 assists, and Nick Richards added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

But it was Miller who provided the boost — and the knockout blow with a 3 with 25 seconds left — for the Hornets.

Jarrett Allen scored 24 points and Sam Merrill added 17 for the Cavs, who have lost four of their last five games. Allen became the first Cleveland player in four games to top 20 points.

WARRIORS 101, MAGIC 93

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Andrew Wiggins scored 23 points, Stephen Curry made the final two baskets of the game on an off shooting night and Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s early ejection to beat Orlando Magic.

Green, who missed 16 games after being suspended by the NBA in December, was ejected 3:36 in for disputing a foul call on Wiggins. It was Green’s fourth ejection of the season.

Curry made a driving hook shot with 1:09 to go to make it 98-93 and added a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left for the final points. He had 17 points — going 6 of 18 from the field — and 10 assists.

Cole Anthony led Orlando with 26 points and eight rebounds. Paolo Banchero had 15 points and eight rebounds. Anthony’s turnaround jumper brought the Magic within a point with 2:41 left.

The Warriors, holding the 10th spot in the Western Conference, won for the 20th time in 35 road games. They are 18-19 at home, and could become only the second team in NBA history to finish with a winning record overall, and a losing record at home.

NETS 122, WIZARDS 119, OT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cam Thomas scored 38 points, including a pair of jumpers in overtime, and Brooklyn Nets held off Washington Wizards, snapping the Wizards’ modest three-game winning streak.

Jordan Poole scored a season-high 38 points for Washington, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game late in overtime. Dorian Finney-Smith had a chance to ice the game for Brooklyn with 4.3 seconds left, but he missed two free throws. The Wizards, however, were out of timeouts, and after securing the rebound, Washington’s Deni Avdija lost control of the ball when he tried to dribble quickly up court.

The game began moments after Wizards owner Ted Leonsis spoke at a news conference touting the new agreement keeping his NBA team and the NHL’s Capitals in the District of Columbia. A plan to move them to Virginia had fallen part.

HAWKS 120, TRAIL BLAZERS 106

ATLANTA (AP) — Dejounte Murray had 30 points and seven assists and Atlanta Hawks won their third in a row and handed Portland Trail Blazers their eighth straight loss.

The Hawks won their third straight game and maintained a hold on 10th place in the Eastern Conference. The Trail Blazers lost their eighth in a row.

Garrison Mathews hit five 3-points and scored a season-high 21 points to help the Hawks remain 10th in the Eastern Conference and avenge a 106-102 loss in Portland on March 13. Matthews led the Atlanta backups to 41 points.

Bogdon Bogdonovich had 16 points and five assists and Clint Capela had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Dalano Banton led Portland with a career-high 31 points off the bench. Toumani Camara had 17 points, and Scoot Henderson added 15 points and six assists.

CLIPPERS 108, 76ERS 107

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kawhi Leonard completed two 3-point plays late in the game then made a block at the rim on the final possession to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a win over Philadelphia 76ers.

Paul George had 22 points for Los Angeles while Leonard added 17. James Harden, in his return to Wells Fargo Center, had 16 points and 14 assists for the Clippers, who had lost six of nine.

Tyrese Maxey had 26 points for the 76ers while Kelly Oubre Jr. added 17 points, but was stuffed at the rim by Leonard on a play that Sixers head coach Nick Nurse felt should have resulted in a foul.

Nurse stormed onto the court after the game to dispute the ending with officials and had to be restrained by his assistants.

Leonard scored with 44 seconds left, was fouled by Tobias Harris and hit the free throw to give Los Angeles a 105-104 lead. Sixers guard Buddy Hield responded with a long 3-pointer to give Philadelphia a 107-105 lead with 23 seconds to play.

KNICKS 145, RAPTORS 101

TORONTO (AP) — Miles McBride scored 29 points, Jalen Brunson had 26 and New York Knicks never trailed in a win over slumping Toronto, New York’s biggest margin of victory this season.

Precious Achiuwa had 19 points and 12 rebounds against his former team as the Knicks won for the seventh time in eight games, set a season-high for points and swept the four-game season series with Toronto.

Knicks center Mitchell Robinson played for the first time since a left ankle injury in December that sidelined him for 50 games. The 7-footer had not played since he was injured in a Dec. 8 loss at Boston, later undergoing surgery.

Robinson came off the bench and scored eight points in 12 minutes.

Gradey Dick scored a career-high 23 points for Toronto and Gary Trent Jr. had 18 but the short-handed Raptors lost their 12th in a row and fell to 1-13 against Atlantic Division opponents.

BULLS 125, PACERS 99

CHICAGO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points and Nikola Vucevic added 22 with 12 rebounds to lead Chicago Bulls past Indiana Pacers to snap a three-game skid.

Coby White had 18 points to help Chicago take the season series from Indiana 3-1.

Andrew Nembhard scored 18 points for the Pacers, who concluded a five-game trip at 3-2 and remained in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago limited Pascal Siakam to 14 points after the two-time All-Star had scored 25 or more in four straight games and 36 and 31 in his last two, respectively. The Pacers were held to 40% shooting, while the Bulls shot 50% in an often sloppy game.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 17 on 7-for-11 shooting, including 3 for 5 on 3-pointers. Andre Drummond added 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Chicago, ninth in the East.

LAKERS 136, GRIZZLIES 124

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — LeBron James had a triple-double with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, Rui Hachimura scored 32 points and the Los Angeles Lakers built a big lead in the third quarter and beat Memphis Grizzlies.

Coming off a 128-124 double-overtime victory in Milwaukee without James on Tuesday night, the Lakers won their fifth straight to pull within 2 1/2 games of idle Dallas for the sixth spot in the Western Conference, a spot that would avoid a play-in game.

Anthony Davis sat out against Memphis after having 34 points and 23 rebounds in a career-high 52 minutes against Milwaukee. He hyperextended his left knee late against the Bucks.

D’Angelo Russell added 23 points for Los Angeles, and Taurean Prince had 15.

Desmond Bane led Memphis with 26 points and 16 assists. Jake LaRavia scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and Jaren Jackson added 17. The Grizzlies have lost six of seven.

TIMBERWOLVES 106, PISTONS 91

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Naz Reid had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Jaden McDaniels added 20 points to help Minnesota Timberwolves overcome a sluggish start Wednesday night to beat NBA-worst Detroit Pistons.

Kyle Anderson scored 14 points off the bench to help offset a quiet nine points by All-Star Anthony Edwards for the Wolves (50-22), who entered the night in third place in the Western Conference with one more loss than Denver and Oklahoma City. Both the Nuggets and Thunder played later Wednesday.

The Wolves hit the 50-win mark for just the fifth time in their 35 seasons, matching the franchise’s third-highest total with 10 games to go. Minnesota’s all-time best record was 58-24 in 2003-04.

Cade Cunningham scored 32 points for the Pistons (12-61), who lost their eighth straight. With nine games to go, they’ve got the fourth-most losses in the franchise’s 76-year history. The ignominious record (16-66) was set in 1979-80.

ROCKETS 132, THUNDER 126, OT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jalen Green scored 37 points and Houston Rockets won their 10th straight game, defeating Oklahoma City Thunder in overtime.

Amen Thompson had 25 points and 15 rebounds and Dillon Brooks added 20 points for the Rockets. Houston entered the night a game behind the Golden State Warriors for the final play-In tournament spot in the Western Conference.

Josh Giddey matched a career-high with 31 points for the Thunder, one night after scoring a season-high 25 in a win at New Orleans. Jalen Williams added 23 points and 10 assists for Oklahoma City, which entered the night a half game behind the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets.

Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sat out with a bruised right thigh. He is the league’s No. 3 scorer, averaging 30.4 points.

The final minutes of regulation were hectic. Giddey hustled to the ball and got a shot to bounce in while sitting on the floor a few feet in front of the free-throw line, putting the Thunder ahead 103-102 with just under four minutes remaining.

SPURS 118, JAZZ 111

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devin Vassell scored 31 points, Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and five blocks and San Antonio Spurs ran past Utah Jazz.

The Spurs, second in the league in assists behind Indiana, had a season-high 40 on 44 field goals. San Antonio also shot 51.8% from the field and were well above .500 from 3-point range until missing their final four attempts and finishing 16 of 33.

Jeremy Sochan, Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham all scored 17 points for San Antonio.

Collin Sexton had 26 points and nine assists, while Lauri Markkanen scored 25 points for the Jazz, who lost their seventh in a row.

The Jazz led just once and trailed by double-digits most of the game.

SUNS 104, NUGGETS 97

DENVER (AP) — Kevin Durant had 30 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks and Phoenix Suns won in Denver for the second time this month, beating the defending champion Denver Nuggets.

The Suns, with the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, moved a half-game ahead of Sacramento for the seventh spot in the Western Conference as they try to move up to sixth to avoid a play-in game. Dallas are No. 6, a half-game ahead of Phoenix.

The Western Conference-leading Nuggets struggled without starting point guard Jamal Murray, who missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.

Nikola Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists as he fought through lower back pain and left hip soreness.