Malik Monk banked in a tough 13-footer with 7.4 seconds left, Stephen Curry was then harassed into an off-target 37-footer at the buzzer, and the Sacramento Kings won West Group C of the NBA in-season tournament with a 124-123 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
DeAaron Fox scored 29 points as the Kings finished group play 4-0 to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. Sacramento will play host to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.
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Curry and Andrew Wiggins put up 29 points apiece for the Warriors, who could have forged a three-way tie atop the group with a win but instead finished 2-2 after losing Chris Paul and Gary Payton II to leg injuries during the game.
Golden State led by as many as 24 points but got outscored 69-51 in the second half.
Nets 115, Raptors 103
Mikal Bridges scored 22 points, including the tiebreaking three-point play with 4:15 remaining, as Brooklyn pulled away to beat Toronto in the final game of group play in the NBA in-season tournament in New York.
Despite winning their third straight and finishing 3-1 in Group C, the Nets were eliminated from the tournament. Brooklyn, Orlando and Boston finished 3-1, but the Nets lost the point-differential tiebreaker to the Celtics.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 23 points, and Royce O’Neale and Cameron Johnson added 18. Pascal Siakam (17 points, 10 rebounds) and Scottie Barnes (17 points, 11 rebounds) each had a double-double for Toronto.
Celtics 124, Bulls 97
Boston won East Group C by beating visiting Chicago in the final NBA in-season tournament group-play game for each team.
To win Group C, Boston needed to defeat Chicago by at least 23 points and needed Brooklyn to beat Toronto by no more than 18 on Tuesday. The two results allowed the Celtics to win a three-way tiebreaker with Brooklyn and Orlando.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 30 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Jayson Tatum finished with 21 points. Coby White and DeMar DeRozan each tossed in 19 for the Bulls, who have lost their last five games and eight of their last nine. Chicago has also dropped its past seven road games.
Knicks 115, Hornets 91
Julius Randle posted a double-double for host New York, which booked a berth in the knockout round of the NBA in-season tournament with a wire-to-wire win over Charlotte Hornets.
The Knicks finished 3-1 in East Group B and grabbed the East’s wild-card spot. They will visit East Group B winner Milwaukee in a quarterfinal game on Dec. 5. Milwaukee beat the Knicks 110-105 in the tournament opener for both teams on Nov. 3.
Randle had 25 points and 20 rebounds on Tuesday for the Knicks, who have won eight of their past 11 games. Immanuel Quickley scored 23 points and fellow New York reserve Josh Hart added 17 points. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 18 points.
Bucks 131, Heat 124
Damian Lillard scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lead visiting Milwaukee past short-handed Miami, clinching the Bucks a spot in the quarterfinals of the NBA in-season tournament.
Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin (16) goes up for a shot against Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard (0) and forward MarJon Beauchamp (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Miami. | Photo Credit: AP
Lillard also dished a team-high nine assists while Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 and grabbed 10 rebounds as Milwaukee won East Group B with a perfect 4-0 record in group play.
Miami, without Jimmy Butler (ankle) and Tyler Herro (ankle), among others, was led by Bam Adebayo with 31 points and 10 rebounds. The Heat finished 2-2 in tournament play and were eliminated.
Timberwolves 106, Thunder 103
Anthony Edwards scored 21 points before leaving in the second half because of a hip injury as Minnesota held to edge Oklahoma City in Minneapolis.
Rudy Gobert finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota, which won for the 13th time in 17 games to start the season. The Timberwolves improved to 3-1 in Group C of the in-season tournament but failed to advance.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points to lead Oklahoma City, which fell to 1-3 in the tourney after already having been eliminated from advancing. Chet Holmgren, who starred in high school in Minnesota, finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Cavaliers 128, Hawks 105
Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 40 points and added 11 rebounds to help lead Cleveland past visiting Atlanta.
The result left Cleveland with a 3-1 record in East Group A play during the NBA in-season tournament, but it wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers to advance to the quarterfinals. Atlanta finished group play 1-3.
Darius Garland added 19 points and eight assists for Cleveland. Evan Mobley added 17 points and 19 rebounds. The Hawks were paced by Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter, who each had 18 points.
Mavericks 121, Rockets 115
Luka Doncic flirted with a 40-point triple-double while Kyrie Irving scored 22 of his 27 points in the second half as Dallas rallied for a home win over Houston in the group-play finale of the NBA in-season tournament.
Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) smiles as he walks up court during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. | Photo Credit: AP
Doncic posted 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Mavericks, who wound up 2-2 in West Group B, the same as the Rockets.
Alperen Sengun recorded 31 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Jabari Smith Jr. and Dillon Brooks scored 16 points apiece for the Rockets, who would have clinched a spot in the tournament quarterfinals with a win.
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