Kyrie Irving scored 24 points and dished out five assists in his Dallas Mavericks debut and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 points to power a 110-104 victory over the host Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
Irving, who was officially acquired from the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, was 9 of 17 from the field with his new team as he helped pick up the slack for an absent Luka Doncic, who missed his third consecutive game with a heel injury.
The Mavericks have won four of their past five games as they await the debut of an Irving-Doncic duo, which could happen as early as Friday or Saturday, when they play a pair of road games against the Sacramento Kings.
Norman Powell scored 24 points and Terance Mann added 21 for the Clippers, who lost in their return home. Los Angeles just completed a 4-2 road trip.
Trail Blazers 125, Warriors 122
Damian Lillard had 33 points as part of his second career triple-double and host Portland spoiled Klay Thompson’s 33rd birthday by edging Golden State.
Jordan Poole had a game-high 38 points for the Warriors, including a 3-pointer that put the visitors up 114-110 with 5:48 to go. Golden State didn’t score again until a Poole interior hoop with 46.0 seconds left, a stretch during which the Trail Blazers scored 11 straight points to take command with a seven-point lead. Thompson added 31 points.
Lillard hit all 16 of his free-throw attempts. He added 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Jeremi Grant finished with 22 points, including a three-point play that broke a 114-all tie with 4:31 to go and give Portland the lead for good.
Wizards 118, Hornets 104
Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 of his 36 points in the third quarter to fuel host Washington to a victory over Charlotte.
Washington’s Deni Avdija collected 20 points and 13 rebounds and Bradley Beal contributed 17 points and 10 assists in his return from a two-game absence due to left foot soreness. Daniel Gafford added 13 points for the Wizards, who shot 50.6 percent from the floor (44 of 87) and 40.5 percent from 3-point range (15 of 37).
Charlotte’s P.J. Washington scored 20 points and Terry Rozier added 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. LaMelo Ball collected 16 points and six rebounds and Gordon Hayward added 15 points for the Hornets, who have lost five in a row.
Kings 130, Rockets 128
De’Aaron Fox sank three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining and Sacramento completed a season sweep of host Houston.
Fox (31 points, 11 assists) scored the final seven points for the Kings, who trailed 128-123 with 1:17 left. Domantas Sabonis added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, while Malik Monk scored 17 off the bench.
Jalen Green scored 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting and Sengun scored 18 points to go with a career-high 11 assists and nine rebounds for Houston. Martin added 15 points — all in the first half — and Jae’Sean Tate added 16 for the Rockets, who committed 13 of their 19 turnovers in the second half. Sacramento scored 27 points off those turnovers.
Cavaliers 113, Pistons 85
Jarrett Allen finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds for his team-leading 23rd double-double of the season to lead Cleveland to a rout of visiting Detroit.
Evan Mobley added 19 points and eight rebounds for Cleveland, which won its fourth straight to continue a charge up the Eastern Conference standings. Bojan Bogdanovic, Detroit’s most prominent trade chip ahead of Thursday’s deadline, led the Pistons with 15 points. Jalen Duren had 14 points and nine rebounds for Detroit, which has lost five of its last six.
For the second time in three meetings with the Pistons this season, the Cavaliers were without their starting backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Taking their place were Raul Neto and Caris LeVert. Neto matched a season high with 14 points to go along with four steals and a season-best eight assists, while LeVert finished with 15 points.
Raptors 112, Spurs 98
Pascal Siakam had 37 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists to lead host Toronto past San Antonio for its third straight win. Chris Boucher added 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Raptors.
The Spurs, who have lost 10 consecutive games, got 22 points from Keldon Johnson and 14 from Josh Richardson.
Siakam did a lot of his damage early, going 7-for-7 from the field and scoring 18 points to help Toronto to a 34-24 lead after 12 minutes. He finished with 20 points in the first half as the Raptors shot 51.1 percent before intermission.
Celtics 106, 76ers 99
Jayson Tatum collected 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds to lead depleted Boston past visiting Philadelphia.
Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon each scored a team-high 19 points for Boston. Blake Griffin (15), Grant Williams (15) and Sam Hauser (14) also scored in double figures for the Celtics, who lost Jaylen Brown late in the first half to a facial contusion. Boston was also without point guard Marcus Smart (ankle), center Al Horford (knee swelling) and center Robert Williams (ankle).
Joel Embiid led the 76ers with a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds. Philadelphia also got 26 points and 11 assists from James Harden.
Heat 116, Pacers 111
Bam Adebayo scored 38 points on 12-for-16 shooting from the floor and a 14-for-14 effort from the foul line as host Miami defeated reeling Indiana.
Jimmy Butler added 25 points and a team-high seven assists as Miami won a season-best seventh straight home game. Caleb Martin added 12 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and four steals.
The Pacers, who were led by Buddy Hield’s 29 points, have lost 13 of their past 15 games. Indiana also has dropped 10 straight road games. Myles Turner added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Timberwolves 143, Jazz 118
Capping a wild few hours on and off the court, Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 30 as Minnesota routed Utah in Salt Lake City, right after the teams reportedly agreed to be part of a major three-way trade.
Collin Sexton scored 22 points and Lauri Markkanen added 21 to lead the Jazz. Both squads played short-handed due to injuries (Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson and Karl-Anthony Towns), a league suspension (the Timberwolves’ Austin Rivers) or players involved in the trade between the Jazz, Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers sitting out.
In the reported transaction, the Lakers receive D’Angelo Russell from Minnesota and Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt; the Timberwolves acquire Jazz guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker along with three second-round picks; and Utah picks up Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a lightly protected 2027 first-round pick from Los Angeles.
–Field Level Media
