NBA ROUND-UP: Nets notch victory over the Pelicans to win 13 of the last 14 as Hornets beat Bucks

The Brooklyn Nets outlasted the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 108-102 on Friday night.

Kevin Durant had 33 points and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 19 points, hitting a deep 3 with 44 seconds left to give the Nets a 106-100 lead and doom New Orleans to just its fifth home loss this season.

T.J. Warren scored 15 points for Brooklyn and Royce O’Neale added 14, including a 3-pointer with 2:27 left.

The Brooklyn Nets outlasted the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans 108-102 on Friday night

CJ McCollum scored 28 points and Naji Marshall had a career-high 23 points for the Pelicans in their second game since losing Zion Williamson for what is expected to be about three weeks with a right hamstring strain.

Jose Alvarado added 17 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 12 points and 10 rebounds for New Orleans, which hasn’t had high-scoring forward Brandon Ingram (left great toe contusion) in the lineup for 20 games.

The Pelicans led for much of the game but struggled to hit shots in the second half, finishing at 39.8 percent shooting (35 of 88). New Orleans made just two of 12 3s in the second half after making 10 of 17 in the first.

Brooklyn shot 43.5 percent (37- of 85), including 15 of 33 from deep.

Kyrie Irving scored 19 points, hitting a deep 3 with 44 seconds left to give the Nets the lead

After trailing by as many as 15 in the second quarter and 11 at halftime, the Nets opened the third quarter with a 17-5 run, capped by O’Neale’s second-chance 3, to take a 70-69 lead. The game remained tight from there into the final minutes.

Marshall helped the Pelicans get off to a fast start with 10 first-quarter points, highlighted by three 3-pointers, the last of those giving New Orleans a 24-14 lead.

After missing his first five shots, Durant made three of his next four, including a 3 that cut it to 28-27 at the end of the opening period.

Alvarado’s 3 and driving layup sparked an 11-0 run that gave the Pelicans a 43-28 lead in the second quarter, and New Orleans led 64-53 at halftime.

NEW YORK KNICKS 112-108 TORONTO RAPTORS

Julius Randle had 32 points and 11 rebounds, Mitchell Robinson had 10 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out and New York beat Toronto for its fourth straight victory.

Jalen Brunson scored 26 points, Quentin Grimes had 16 and Immanuel Quickley 13 as the Knicks won north of the border for the first time in more than seven years, snapping an 11-game road losing streak against the Raptors.

New York´s previous win in Toronto was a 111-109 victory on Nov. 10, 2015. After that game, the referees acknowledged missing Knicks star Carmelo Anthony step out of bounds on a pivotal play late in the fourth quarter.

Fred VanVleet scored 28 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 27 for the struggling Raptors. Toronto has lost seven of its past eight at home and 11 of 14 overall.

Julius Randle had 32 points and 11 rebounds as Knicks beat Toronto for fourth straight victory

CHICAGO BULLS 126-112 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Zach LaVine made 11 of 13 3-pointers and scored 41 points and the Chicago Bulls beat Philadelphia 126-112 on Friday night to end the 76ers´ home winning streak at 11.

LaVine made three 3-pointers in less than a minute and a half of play to give Chicago an 88-74 lead with 3:33 left in the third quarter. He was two short of his career high for 3-pointers.

Nikola Vucevic had a triple-double for the Bulls with 19 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists. Chicago shot 57.1% from the field and was 20 of 34 from 3-point range.

Zach LaVine made 11 of 13 3-pointers and scored 41 points in the Bulls’ win over the 76ers

Vucevic took advantage of Philadelphia´s undersized center tandem of PJ Tucker and Montrezl Harrell with Joel Embiid missing his second straight game because of soreness in his left foot.

Tyrese Maxey had 26 points and six assists for the 76ers, his best performance since returning to the lineup on December 30. 

Maxey averaged 12.7 points and shot 37.5 percent from the field in his previous three games since returning from a fractured foot that sidelined him six weeks.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS 99-108 INDIANA PACERS

The surprising Pacers have won five straight home games and seven of their last nine overall with a 108-99 win over the Trailblazers.

Portland was led by Anfernee Simons with 20 points. Lillard had 19 points and eight assists, and Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and 19 rebounds – not enough for the Trail Blazers to avoid their third loss in four games.

Instead, it was the Pacers who took advantage after Portland overcame an eight-point deficit in the third quarter to take an 82-81 lead into the fourth. The Trail Blazers started that period fast, too, jumping ahead 88-83.

And when the Pacers tied the score at 93 on Mathurin’s layup with 7:54 to go, Portland answered with four straight points.

That’s when Indiana turned up the pressure, allowing just two free throws and no baskets over the final six minutes. Haliburton broke a 97-all tie with a short runner and, after Lillard’s free throws tied it, Nesmith’s basket with 2:06 to go gave Indiana the lead for good.

The Pacers have won seven of their last nine overall with a 108-99 win over the Trailblazers

CHARLOTTE HORNETS 138-109 MILWUAKEE BUCKS

Terry Rozier scored a season-high 39 points and Charlotte Hornets matched an NBA record with a 51-point first quarter in a rout of Milwaukee,

Charlotte´s 51-point outburst tied the NBA mark for a first quarter set by Golden State against Denver in 2019. It also was a franchise record for points in a period.

Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who entered third in the league in scoring at 32.7 points per game, had a season-low nine in 22 minutes. He shot 2 of 7 from the field and 5 for 11 at the foul line.

Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo had a season-low nine in 22 minutes Friday 

DETROIT PISTONS 109-121 SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Tre Jones had 25 points and San Antonio overcame injuries to its two leading scorers to beat Detroit and snap a three-game skid.

Spurs forward Keldon Johnson did not return after injuring his left hamstring with four minutes left in the first half. Devin Vassell was inactive with a knee injury.

Coming off a 122-119 victory at defending NBA champion Golden State on Wednesday night, Detroit trailed throughout the final three quarters in a battle between two of league´s worst records. Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points.

Spurs guard Tre Jones dropped 25 points in a win for an injured San Antonio team over Detroit

WASHINGTON WIZARDS 110-127 OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points and Oklahoma City completed a regular-season sweep of Washington.

Josh Giddey added 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds for Oklahoma City.

Kyle Kuzma scored 23 points for Washington.

Kyle Kuzma (L) put up 23 points for the Wizards, but couldn’t get past Oklahoma City

DENVER NUGGETS 121-108 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, Jamal Murray scored 18 points in his first back-to-back games since knee surgery, and the Denver Nuggets took advantage of Donovan Mitchell’s absence

Caris LeVert scored 22 points and Darius Garland returned from a three-game absence to score 21 points for the Cavaliers, who had their three-game win streak snapped. 

Mitchell sat out to rest four days after scoring 71 points in an overtime win over Chicago. 

Nikola Jokic put up 28 points, 15 rebounds, and ten assists for the Denver Nuggets in a win

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 128-115 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

Rudy Gobert had 25 points and 21 rebounds, D´Angelo Russell also scored 25 and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 128-115 win against the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Los Angeles was playing without stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the second night of a back-to-back.

Reserve forward Norman Powell had a team-high 21 points for Los Angeles, which lost its fifth game in a row. 

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert logged 25 points and 21 rebounds in Friday’s win