Nikola Jokic piled up 30 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets snapped a four-game losing streak by pounding the host Detroit Pistons 119-100 on Thursday night.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope supplied 20 points and Jamal Murray had 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds for Denver, which outscored the Pistons 61-36 in the second half and 33-14 in the fourth quarter.

Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon scored 15 points apiece for the Nuggets.

Rodney McGruder led the Pistons, who have lost 13 of their last 14 games, with 20 points. He added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jalen Duren had 15 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals off the bench, while James Wiseman and Jaden Ivey contributed 14 points apiece.

Ivey returned from a three-game absence after exiting COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Cory Joseph added 13 points.

Pistons forwards Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Livers and Marvin Bagley III, along with guard Alec Burks, were sidelined by injuries.

The Pistons had 20 second-chance points in the first half, lifting them to a 64-58 halftime lead. McGruder knocked down four 3-pointers while scoring 14 points. Jokic led Denver with 18 points.

Neither side had a double-digit advantage before the break but Detroit finished the half with a 13-6 spurt, capped by a Joseph 3-pointer.

Denver had an 11-1 run early in the third to take a three-point lead. Detroit regained the advantage midway through the quarter on a McGruder 3-pointer.

Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the quarter and the game was tied at 86 entering the fourth.

The Pistons scored the first five points of the quarter but the Nuggets responded with a 16-0 run.

Murray made a go-ahead shot and Christian Braun (nine points) scored five points during that stretch. Jokic scored the last two baskets before Duren ended Detroit’s drought with a layup. The Pistons went scoreless for more than 5 1/2 minutes.

Caldwell-Pope soon hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Denver’s lead to 20 points.

–Field Level Media

The Indiana Pacers were without guard Tyrese Haliburton on Thursday night because of a right ankle sprain, an injury that could cost the All-Star at least three games, coach Rick Carlisle said before the Pacers played the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Tyrese’s ankle, it’s gonna be a while,” Carlisle said at a pregame press conference before the Pacers won 139-123 in Milwaukee. “Not gonna give a timetable, but he will definitely not play any of the next three games, I’m certain of that.”

Carlisle said Haliburton was injured during practice, and it came at a particularly crucial time for the Pacers, who are fighting to get into the postseason.

Haliburton, who played in his first All-Star Game last month in his third season in the league, leads the Pacers in scoring (20.8 points per game), assists (10.4) and steals (1.6) over 54 games in his first full season with the team. He missed the Pacers’ previous two games with a knee bruise.

Indiana is 28-26 in those games, and just 4-12 in the others for a 32-38 mark, which going into Thursday was 12th in the Eastern Conference standings, one game behind the 10th-place Washington Wizards (32-37).

The top six teams in each conference automatically make the playoffs while the 7-10 seeds go to the play-in tournament.

In addition to averaging a double-double in scoring and assists, Haliburton, 23, is averaging 3.7 rebounds a game and shooting 48.8 percent from the floor, 40.3 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the free-throw line.

The Sacramento Kings selected the 6-foot-5 guard with the 12th overall pick out of Iowa State in 2020. The Kings traded him to Indiana on Feb. 8, 2022.

Haliburton has started 151 of his 189 career games and is averaging 16.2 points, 7.9 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.6 rebounds.

–Field Level Media

Veteran forward Draymond Green will miss the Golden State Warriors’ next game after being suspended by the NBA for exceeding the league’s technical foul limit.

Green, 33, will miss Friday’s matchup against the Atlanta Hawks after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season during the second quarter of Wednesday’s 134-126 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Following a Clippers bucket with 40.8 seconds left in the second quarter, Green tossed a ball that appeared to strike Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook in the head. The ensuing technical foul was Green’s 16th of the season, resulting in an automatic one-game suspension without pay per NBA rules.

There had been speculation the suspension could have been rescinded after further review of the incident by NBA officials, with Green telling reporters after the game, “I think something will change. If that’s a tech, then every word you say on the court is a tech. We’ll see.”

In 11 years in the NBA, Green towed the line of the technical foul limit, twice reaching 15 technical fouls in a season but never crossing the line until now.

In addition to the suspension, any technical foul Green is called for in the Warriors’ final games this season will result in a $5,000 fine. Every two techs will result in another one-game suspension.

The Warriors (36-34) sit in the No. 6 spot in the West following the loss to the Clippers. They have four more games to go on their current five-game road trip, starting with Friday night’s matchup in Atlanta. Green is expected to return when the Warriors visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

–Field Level Media

Having already faced the new-look Dallas Mavericks with Kyrie Irving, the Los Angeles Lakers will get a second look Friday, this time at home.

Waiting to be decided is just how many of the stars for both teams take the court.

In a Feb. 26 matchup at Dallas, the Lakers pulled off a 111-108 victory over the Mavericks that was near the outset of their resurgence. It was the third game in a stretch when the Lakers have won eight of their last 12 games.

The Lakers had the services of LeBron James in that contest as the star delivered 26 points and eight rebounds. But James was injured in the third quarter, and even though he remained in the game, he hasn’t played since with a tendon injury in his right foot.

In the nine games James has missed, the Lakers have gone 5-4 as they hover toward the bottom of playoff-eligible teams in the Western Conference. At the start of NBA play Thursday, the Lakers were ninth in the conference with a 34-36 record.

Los Angeles played without fellow star Anthony Davis on the second game of a back-to-back Wednesday and lost 114-110 against the last-place Houston Rockets.

“They made us feel them, in terms of them attacking the paint, them getting hits, them getting offensive rebounds, giving themselves extra possessions,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said of the Rockets. “We should have been the ones playing with that type of edge.”

Without James and Davis, the Lakers received 24 points off the bench from Austin Reaves and 18 points from D’Angelo Russell, who has returned to the team in a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves at last month’s trade deadline. Jarred Vanderbilt, another addition, had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“We just got to play the game like it’s our last,” Vanderbilt said. “We’re running out of time. We got what, 12 games left? We have no more freebies. We never had none to begin with. But we need all these games.”

The Mavericks are in the same mode, with little to no sympathy for the Lakers’ issues. Dallas was without Luka Doncic (thigh), Irving (foot) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (calf) in Wednesday’s 137-128 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Doncic and Irving participated in practice Thursday.

Christian Wood had 28 points and 13 rebounds off the bench for the Mavericks, while Jaden Hardy and Dwight Powell each had 22 points. Josh Green added 21, while Reggie Bullock had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Dallas was one a game ahead of the Lakers in the West standings on Thursday at 35-35.

“We just have to continue to stay positive, keep coaching, keep putting guys in a position to be successful,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “The game of basketball is about mistakes. You make mistakes at the wrong time, and if you can capitalize on it, then it puts you ahead.”

Friday’s game closes out the season series between the teams. The Mavericks won the first two meetings, 124-115 on Christmas Day at Dallas, and a 119-115 double-overtime thriller on Jan. 12 at Los Angeles. Doncic had 35 points 14 rebounds and 13 assists in the Jan. 12 game.

–Field Level Media

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball likely will miss another year of action, The Athletic reported Thursday, after multiple outlets confirmed the former No. 2 overall draft pick is set for a third knee surgery since last taking the court.

Ball, 25, hasn’t played in an NBA game in more than a year, last playing for the Bulls Jan. 14, 2022. He was close to ramping up the intensity of his rehab in February before having another setback.

A third knee surgery was considered likely early this month, with the upcoming procedure now set to take place, according to reports.

The new surgery is expected to keep the UCLA product from playing for most, if not all, of the 2023-24 season, according to The Athletic.

The Bulls acquired Ball in a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans in August 2021. After signing a four-year, $80 million deal, Ball sparked the Bulls to a 27-13 start before knee issues bumped him to the sideline.

Ball began up-ramp for a possible return in January, progressing to running full speed on a treadmill and even dunking in workouts. But before he was scheduled to advance to group workouts, the Bulls had to shut Ball down in February.

The Chino Hills, Calif., native was a first-round draft pick in 2017 by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers and has played 252 career games, including 35 with the Bulls.

–Field Level Media

The Houston Rockets have found some efficient offense lately, and they hope to extend that into what would be their longest winning streak of the season — three games — on Friday against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans.

On Wednesday, at least seven Rockets scored in double figures for the second time in three games and the fourth time over their last seven, as they beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 114-110. Kevin Porter Jr. posted 27 points to lead Houston, becoming the fourth different player to pace the Rockets in scoring in the seven games since they snapped an 11-game losing streak on March 4.

Houston is 4-3 since ending that skid and will be looking for a third consecutive victory — something the Rockets haven’t achieved since December of 2021.

Rookies Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. have joined Jalen Green and Porter as Rockets’ scoring leaders in a stretch that has revealed a more confident bunch.

“We’ve been watching a ton of film,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “We’ve been talking more about situational type of stuff that leads to good play, and the ball movement has been good.

“Guys have been coming in more confident than they were before. I don’t know what changed as far as confidence is concerned but … yeah, we’re finding some confidence. We’re finding that when we play a certain way, the right way, we can be in games and win some.”

The Rockets still have the worst record in the Western Conference but have rallied to just one game behind the San Antonio Spurs.

The Pelicans, who are fighting for a play-in spot, will stay in Houston for a pair of games, as the teams square off in Houston again on Sunday night.

Houston closed Wednesday 28th among NBA teams in offensive rating but over the past seven games the Rockets rank 10th in the league (116.3 points per 100 possessions).

Unlike Houston, the Pelicans have been unable to generate traction for the stretch run. New Orleans last won consecutive games five weeks ago and is just 4-9 since a three-game winning streak ended on Feb. 10.

Injuries have undermined the Pelicans most of this season, and they remain without All-Star forward Zion Williamson (hamstring) and reserve guard Jose Alvarado (tibia). Still, given the state of the Western Conference playoff picture, the Pelicans can’t afford to wait for optimal health to steady their ship.

To reach the postseason, the Pelicans will have to take a more assertive stance against their adversity and make the best of what remains a challenging situation and just 13 games left on the schedule.

“We’ve got to have more attention to detail,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Our guys know how to do it. They’ve got to go out there and put it together and the attention to detail has to be there. And if a few shots are not falling, mix it up: Get to the paint, get to the free-throw line, throw the ball down to J.V. (Jonas Valanciunas), settle the offense down some.”

–Field Level Media