Naji Marshall scored a career-high 26 points, P.J. Washington had 22, and the visiting Dallas Mavericks beat the Denver Nuggets 123-120 on Friday night in the NBA Cup West Group C game.

Kyrie Irving finished with 19 points, Quentin Grimes added 14, Daniel Gafford 13 and Dereck Lively II had 11 and two blocks down the stretch for Dallas, which played without Luka Doncic.

Doncic missed the Mavericks’ win Sunday at Oklahoma City, returned for the win over New Orleans on Tuesday but will now be out for at least four games due to a right wrist injury.

Nikola Jokic had 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in his return after missing three games for the birth of his second child. Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. scored 17 points each, Russell Westbrook added 16, Peyton Watson had 15 and Jamal Murray 14 for Denver.

The Nuggets trailed by 24 points early in the third, but Westbrook hit two 3-pointers and Murray fed DeAndre Jordan on an alley-oop to cut the Mavericks’ lead to 99-97 early in the fourth.

Four free throws gave Dallas a 106-100 lead when Jokic checked back in. Westbrook hit his third 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and Watson hit a corner 3-pointer to give the Nuggets a 108-106 lead, their first of the game.

They were ahead 113-108, but Washington made a driving layup and converted a three-point play to tie the score with 2:08 left. Lively blocked shots by Jokic shot and Westbrook on consecutive possessions, Grimes hit two free throws and Washington a layup with 49.7 seconds left to give Dallas a 117-113 lead.

Murray hit a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left but Irving made two free throws for a 121-118 lead.

The Mavericks led 73-53 at intermission, and Washington and Gafford opened the second half with dunks to put Dallas ahead 77-53, but Denver rallied. Porter dunked and hit a 3-pointer and Watson made two layups during a 15-0 run that cut the deficit to 81-75.

The Mavericks took a 95-89 lead into the fourth.

–Field Level Media

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his second triple-double of the season with 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks led wire-to-wire in a 129-117 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Friday night in an NBA Cup game.

Damian Lillard had 24 points and 12 assists for his third straight double-double to help Milwaukee win its third in a row. The Bucks have won five of their past six since opening the season 2-8.

Six players scored in double figures for Milwaukee. The others were Gary Trent Jr. (18 points), Bobby Portis (17), Taurean Prince (13) and Brook Lopez (11).

Indiana trailed by as many as 25 points in the third quarter and lost for the fifth time in its past six games. The Pacers shot 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) from 3-point range and fell to 0-2 in the NBA Cup.

Trailing 93-79 at the start of the fourth quarter, Indiana used a 16-3 run to cut the deficit to 108-102 with 5:52 remaining. Milwaukee withstood the rally and improved to 2-0 in the NBA Cup.

Antetokounmpo recorded his 47th career triple-double, and the Bucks, who shot 53.3 percent from the field and 17 of 36 (47.2 percent) from 3-point range.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 25 points. Bennedict Mathurin had 20 points, nine rebounds and three steals, Tyrese Haliburton scored 18 points to go with nine assists, Myles Turner had 15 points, and T.J. McConnell chipped in 12 points and eight assists off the bench.

Milwaukee scored the game’s first 10 points and led 34-22 at the end of the first quarter. Antetokounmpo had 13 points in the opening period.

Obi Toppin scored with 1:18 left in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 48-44, but the Bucks closed the half on a 10-0 run to lead 58-44.

Indiana was held to 38.1 percent shooting from the field and 26.7 percent (4 of 15) from beyond the arc in the first half. Portis had 17 points to lead all scorers.

Lillard hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 75-55 with 7:52 left in the third quarter.

–Field Level Media

Dillon Brooks scored a season-high 28 points and Tari Eason added 22 off the bench as the Houston Rockets rolled to a 116-88 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.

Brooks shot 10 of 15 from the floor and finished 6-for-8 on 3-pointers, leading Houston to its seventh win in its past eight games. The Rockets improved to 2-0 and the Trail Blazers are 1-1 in West Group A of the NBA Cup.

Eason added eight rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes. Amen Thompson had 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Jalen Green tallied 17 points and Alperen Sengun totaled 14 points and nine rebounds. All five Houston starters logged 30 minutes or fewer in advance of a back-to-back set with the Trail Blazers on Saturday.

Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija scored 13 points apiece for Portland, which shot 33 percent while committing 21 turnovers, which the Rockets converted into 28 points.

The Trail Blazers took advantage of the Rockets’ ragged start, darting to an 8-0 lead as Houston committed three turnovers in the first two-plus minutes of the game. But when Brooks converted a layup with 4:36 left in the opening period, the Rockets secured their first lead at 11-10. They did not relinquish the lead and extended the margin to 31-20 entering the second by closing the first quarter on an 11-3 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by Green, who made three shots from beyond the arc in the frame.

Houston recorded seven assists on 10 field goals before the start of the second quarter. Sharpe completed a three-point play that sliced the Rockets’ lead to 51-40 with 4:10 to play in the half. Houston closed the half with a 14-5 run, which included a layup and 3-pointer from Brooks and two free throws by Green to take a 65-45 lead at the break.

After Portland sliced a 27-point deficit to 81-66 in the third, Brooks knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and Sengun added a dunk to push the Rockets’ lead to 89-66. Eason made three transition dunks bridging the first third and fourth quarters to help Houston take a 100-73 cushion.

–Field Level Media

Andrew Wiggins poured in a season-best 30 points, Stephen Curry added 19 and the Golden State Warriors clinched first place in West Group C of the NBA Cup with a 112-108 road victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.

Draymond Green chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Warriors, who improved to 3-0 in tournament play. Golden State will play in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Dec. 10 or Dec. 11.

Trey Murphy III went for a season-best 24 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl compiled a 19-point, 12-rebound double-double off the bench for the Pelicans, who fell to 1-2 in Cup play.

In a game in which neither team led by more than 10, the Pelicans closed within 102-99 on a Brandon Boston Jr. 3-pointer with 3:17 remaining. Curry countered with a backdoor layup off a Green feed, and when Wiggins dropped in a pair of free throws with 1:59 to go, suddenly the Golden State lead was seven again.

But the Pelicans weren’t done. Murphy drilled a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch, including one with 14 seconds remaining that closed the gap to 110-108. Boston then stole a Green pass, giving New Orleans a chance to tie or go ahead, but Murphy misfired from 30 feet and Green closed out the scoring with a pair of free throws.

Wiggins, whose point total was one higher than his previous season-best, hit 9 of 14 shots and all nine of his free throw attempts en route to his third straight 20-point performance.

Curry had seven rebounds and a team-high seven assists, while Trayce Jackson-Davis grabbed a team-high-tying eight rebounds to go with nine points. Buddy Hield contributed 12 points and Brandin Podziemski scored 11 for the Warriors, who improved to 7-2 on the road this season.

Playing just his fifth game after opening the season with a hamstring injury, Murphy connected on 5-of-9 3-point attempts. Both teams made 12 threes in the contest.

Brandon Ingram had 18 points, Boston added 16 and Javonte Green tallied 15 for the Pelicans, who lost their fourth straight and are 1-10 since a 3-3 start. Both Ingram and Boston matched Curry’s game-high seven assists.

Golden State led 87-84 entering the fourth quarter after trailing 63-62 coming out of halftime.

–Field Level Media

Zach LaVine scored 26 points and Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White added 20 apiece to spark seven Chicago players in double figures and boost the Bulls to a 136-122 victory against the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Friday in an NBA Cup game.

Nikola Vucevic posted 18 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago. Josh Giddey scored 18 points, while Jalen Smith (13) and Dalen Terry (12) were next.

Chicago reached a season high in points while blocking a season-best 10 shots, led by four from Vucevic, to help offset three Hawks with 20-plus points. The Bulls have won two of three after surrendering at least 143 points in losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets last weekend.

Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Trae Young contributed 25 points and 13 assists and Clint Capela amassed 21 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hawks led by four points in the early going but struggled to establish a rhythm on offense. Atlanta shot 45.8 percent overall from the floor compared to 57 percent for the Bulls, but the visitors were hampered by a 10-for-34 effort (29.4 percent) from 3-point range.

Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic connected on 4-of-8 3-point attempts on the way to 16 points. De’Andre Hunter added 14 points for the Hawks.

White dished nine assists for Chicago.

LaVine and Dosunmu sparked a balanced Bulls attack in the early going, scoring 12 points apiece in the first half to help Chicago to a 58-51 lead at the break.

Johnson (13 points) and Capela (11) led the Hawks in the first half. Atlanta trailed by as many as 12 in the final minute of the second quarter but recovered with a 5-0 run entering the break, including a Young layup on a goaltending violation by Dosunmu.

Chicago improved to 1-1 in East Group C of the NBA Cup while Atlanta fell to 2-1. Group play continues on Tuesdays and Fridays through Dec. 3 to determine an eight-team knockout bracket later in the month.

The Bulls have won both matchups with the Hawks so far this season, having recorded a 12-point victory in Atlanta on Nov. 9.

–Field Level Media

Jared McCain scored 30 points, Tyrese Maxey added 26, and despite playing without Joel Embiid or Paul George, the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing skid on Friday with a 113-98 win over the visiting Brooklyn Nets for their first NBA Cup victory.

The rookie McCain posted his seventh consecutive game scoring 20-plus points, and his second professional game with at least 30, shooting 11-of-20 from the floor and 6-of-11 from 3-point range.

One of McCain’s triples ignited an 18-4 Sixers run in the third quarter, flipping Brooklyn’s biggest lead of the night at nine points to a 77-72 Philadelphia advantage.

Maxey had seven points during the Sixers’ surge and broke out again in the fourth quarter to help Philadelphia blow the game open. After five quick points from McCain, two of which came from one of Maxey’s five assists, Maxey scored on back-to-back drives to the rim and added a step-back 3-pointer for a 101-92 lead with 3:43 to go.

McCain and Maxey accounted for every Philadelphia point in the decisive 12-2 run.

All five Sixers starters scored in double figures, including Guerschon Yabusele, who paired 10 points with 11 rebounds. Yabusele made the start at center with Embiid a late scratch from the lineup due to knee injury management. George is out for at least one more game with a bone bruise in his left knee he suffered during Wednesday’s 117-111 loss at Memphis.

Caleb Martin added another 10 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for the hosts.

Brooklyn’s Cameron Johnson led all scorers with 37 points after putting up 34 in Tuesday’s 116-115 win at Charlotte. Johnson shot 9-of-13 from 3-point range, but the rest of the Nets went just 4-of-24 from beyond the arc.

Cam Thomas scored 18 points and dished seven assists in the loss. Thomas had seven turnovers, part of Brooklyn’s 19 as a team. The Sixers had 12 giveaways and outscored the Nets 28-12 in points off turnovers.

Nic Claxton rounded out Brooklyn’s double-digit scorers with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting off the bench. Claxton also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The 76ers led 53-50 at halftime and carried a 79-77 edge into the fourth quarter.

With Friday’s result, both Philadelphia and Brooklyn moved to 1-2 in NBA Cup East Group A play.

–Field Level Media

Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 108-96 win over the stubborn Washington Wizards in an NBA Cup game Friday night.

Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday added 16 points each for the Celtics, who have won four straight overall and are 2-1 in East Group C Cup play.

Jordan Poole scored 23 points and Kyle Kuzma added 21 for the Wizards, who have lost 10 straight, nine by double digits. Malcolm Brogdon finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which is 0-2 in NBA Cup play.

Tatum was 0-for-10 from three-point range and Boston made 11-of-46 attempts, eight below their season average.

Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Washington.

Sam Hauser’s driving layup gave the Celtics an 87-82 lead with 8:07 remaining, and Tatum’s fadeaway made 89-82 and Washington called time out.

Poole’s 3-pointer pulled the Wizards within 91-87 with 4:14 remaining.

Boston pushed the lead back to eight before Poole’s layup cut the lead to 97-91. After a Brogdon free throw, Brown’s jumper made it 99-92 with 47 seconds left, and the Wizards got no closer than within six before Boston pulled away.

Washington led by two at halftime and neither team gained a larger advantage until Kuzma’s 3-pointer gave Washington a 66-63 lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter. The quarter featured six ties and five lead changes before Boston went on a 10-2 run to take a five-point lead, which was cut to three after three quarters.

The Celtics went cold in the second quarter and Washington went on an 18-5 run led by Brogdon’s seven points, and Kuzma’s jumper gave the Wizards a 45-24 lead with 6:53 left in the half.

Three-pointers by Brown and Holiday soon pulled Boston with 45-41. Brown later hit two free throws to tie it and then a floater with 2:37 left to cap a 13-0 run and give Boston a 47-45 lead.

Brown led all scorers with 14 points in the half. Brogdon scored 13.

–Field Level Media

Two teams headed in opposite directions square off Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City when the Utah Jazz host the New York Knicks.

The Jazz come in on a four-game losing streak, having most recently blown a huge lead at San Antonio on Thursday. They entered the weekend last in the Western Conference with just three wins on the season.

Conversely, the Knicks bring a four-game winning streak to Utah after kicking off a five-game road trip Wednesday night with a victory at Phoenix.

Coach Tom Thibodeau was pleased with how well the Knicks performed together in their 138-122 win over the short-handed Suns, who were missing injured stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

“The guys are starting to get used to playing off of each other,” Thibodeau said. “Each game you can see they’re seeing things. They’re reading the game extremely well. I think they’re creating good spacing. They’re cutting extremely well and what that’s doing is it’s opening up the floor and we’re playing into space. And everyone’s unselfish. We had 30 assists. I think that’s huge.”

In the win at Phoenix, Jalen Brunson scored 23 points in the first half and Karl-Anthony Towns poured in 23 in the second half.

Brunson finished with 36 points and 10 assists. He hit 12 of 21 field goals overall and drained 7 of 11 3-point attempts.

Towns totaled 34 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the floor, adding 10 rebounds to help the Knicks continue their winning ways after two victories over Brooklyn and one against Washington.

The Jazz came unraveled Thursday night after taking a 20-point first-half lead at San Antonio. Lauri Markkanen scored 27 and Keyonte George chipped in with 19 against the Spurs, who were playing without injured star center Victor Wembanyama.

“I thought the first half, the energy, the tempo, the ball movement, the competitive spirit of the team was as good as we’ve seen in a while,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

That wasn’t the case in the second half, however, as Utah gave up 75 points and was outscored by 12 points in both the third and fourth quarters.

Reserve Brice Sensabaugh, who’s seen inconsistent playing time, was a highlight for Utah in the first half, when he totaled 13 of his 18 points.

“He has not complained. He’s not had, like, a ‘woe-is-me’ mentality. He’s just come to work every day and he’s taken some hard coaching,” Hardy said. “He understands what’s expected of him, but to his credit, he was ready, and he deserves all of the credit for that.”

Off to a tough start, the Jazz are hoping to find more consistency. The uneven play was evident against the Spurs, and it’s been an issue at home, too. Utah returns to the Delta Center, usually a difficult venue for opponents, with just a 1-5 home record.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to play two halves,” Collin Sexton said after scoring 18 for Utah. “We’ve got to play 48 minutes. You can’t allow the first half to get you too high or get you too low, you’ve got to always stay consistent and just continue to build off of that.”

–Field Level Media