Bam Adebayo scored 24 points and Jimmy Butler had 23 before being ejected early in the fourth quarter and the visiting Miami Heat held off the New Orleans Pelicans 106-95 in an emotional battle Friday night.
Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Kevin Love committed a hard common foul on the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson, leading to a series of skirmishes. Eventually, Butler, teammate Thomas Bryant, who hadn’t played but got involved after leaving the bench area, and the Pelicans’ Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado all were ejected.
Adebayo, who finished with seven rebounds and three blocked shots, scored 12 points in the fourth quarter while the Pelicans scored just 15. Butler returned from a three-game absence due to bereavement leave to help the Heat win for the seventh time in nine games. He added nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Duncan Robinson scored 17 points and Tyler Herro had 15.
Williamson scored 23 points, with nine rebounds and seven assists. Herbert Jones had 19 points, Jordan Hawkins finished with 14, Jonas Valanciunas added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Larry Nance Jr. scored 10 for the Pelicans, who saw their four-game winning streak end. Second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram missed his second consecutive game because of a non-COVID illness.
Thunder 147, Wizards 106
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points as host Oklahoma City beat Washington.
The Thunder set a season high for points scored. Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with nine assists and seven rebounds, had 14 points and five assists in the first quarter to help Oklahoma City jump out to a 41-28 lead. Chet Holmgren finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds to help Oklahoma City win its fourth in a row.
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Jordan Poole, coming off the bench for the second consecutive game, led the Wizards with 21 points. The Wizards, who shot 39.4 percent from the floor, lost their 10th game in a row.
Warriors 97, Hornets 84
Stephen Curry led a balanced attack with 15 points and Golden State set a season low for points allowed in its victory over visiting Charlotte in San Francisco.
Curry shot 5-for-14 from the floor, including 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. Andrew Wiggins, who turned 29 on Friday, chipped in with 14 points. Klay Thompson and Brandin Podziemski had 13 points apiece and Gary Payton II scored 12.
Miles Bridges paced the Hornets with a game-high 19 points and added 11 rebounds. Nick Richards chipped in with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Lakers 123, Spurs 118
LeBron James poured in 30 points and Anthony Davis added 28 points and 13 rebounds as Los Angeles defeated visiting San Antonio.
D’Angelo Russell contributed 22 points for the Lakers while Rui Hachimura had 17 and Austin Reaves scored 10. Los Angeles, with James back in the lineup after missing two games with a sore ankle, won for the fourth time in the past five games.
Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocked shots. Malaki Branham added 17 off the bench, Jeremy Sochan produced 15 points and 13 rebounds and Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson scored 14 each.
76ers 104, Cavaliers 97
Tyrese Maxey scored 24 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lift host Philadelphia past Cleveland.
Cameron Payne added 16 and Tobias Harris had 15 points and nine rebounds. Buddy Hield contributed 13 points and made a 3-pointer with 31.3 seconds left for a 100-92 lead.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 10 points and Paul Reed grabbed 12 rebounds for the Sixers, who snapped a two-game losing streak.
Nuggets 127, Trail Blazers 112
Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-best 34 points and collected 12 rebounds to lead Denver over host Portland.
Nikola Jokic had 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting and added 15 rebounds and 14 assists for his 17th triple-double of the season and 122nd of his career. Collin Gillespie added a career-high 18 points for the Nuggets, who won their second straight game after a three-game skid.
Jerami Grant scored 25 points, Deandre Ayton added 22 points and 10 rebounds and Anfernee Simons had 21 points and eight assists for the Trail Blazers, which lost its seventh straight game.
Rockets 114, Suns 110
Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson all recorded double-doubles as Houston held on to beat visiting Phoenix.
Smith (22 points, 16 rebounds) sank two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining before Sengun (17 points, 12 rebounds) added a free throw with 4.1 seconds left to secure the comeback from a 16-point first-quarter deficit.
Kevin Durant (28 points, 11 rebounds) and Bol Bol (25 points, 14 boards -- both season highs) posted double-doubles for the Suns. Devin Booker scored 25 points but missed 17 of 24 shots.
Clippers 101, Grizzlies 95
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and Terance Mann added a season-high 23 to go along with 12 rebounds as visiting Los Angeles beat Memphis.
Russell Westbrook scored 13 points off the bench and Ivica Zubac contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out.
Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 29 points to go along with five assists and four steals during his return from a one-game absence caused by soreness in his right quadriceps tendon. GG Jackson added 11 points off the bench for the Grizzlies, which saw its modest two-game winning streak come to a halt in its first game after the All-Star break.
Bucks 112, Timberwolves 107
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as Milwaukee held on to defeat Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Damian Lillard recorded 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Brook Lopez added 16 points for the Bucks, who snapped a two-game skid and earned their first win since Feb. 12 as they resumed play after the NBA All-Star break.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points, but he made only 10 of 27 shots from the field. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert scored 12 points to go along with 19 boards as Minnesota had a four-game winning streak end.
Raptors 123, Hawks 121
Scottie Barnes finished with 20 points and 10 assists and made some clutch plays down the stretch as Toronto kept Trae Young in check to beat host Atlanta.
Toronto shot 49 percent from the floor and 15 of 39 from 3-point distance. Immanuel Quickley connected on his first four 3-point attempts and finished 6-for-11 from deep, scoring 24 points. He paced eight Raptors in double-figure scoring, four of whom came off the bench. Gradey Dick’s 18 points led the Toronto reserves, who combined to score 54.
Atlanta went 43.4 percent from the floor, including 12-for-39 from 3-point range. Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 24 points and added 10 rebounds, but shot 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Young finished with a season-low 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
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