Kevin Durant scored 35 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 128-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday in Oklahoma City.

Durant scored 13 of his points in the fourth quarter, helping the Suns hold off a Thunder rally.

Phoenix (43-35) has won five consecutive games, its longest winning streak since November.

Oklahoma City (38-41) has lost five of its last seven but remained a game up on Dallas for the 10th spot in the Western Conference – the final spot in the play-in tournament — thanks to the Mavericks’ loss to Atlanta earlier Sunday.

Oklahoma City cut what was a 16-point Suns lead to three on Isaiah Joe’s 3-pointer with just more than five minutes remaining.

But Durant answered Joe’s three with one of his own and Deandre Ayton grabbed a rebound and hit a shot on the other end moments later to put the Suns back in control.

Chris Paul assisted on both Durant’s and Ayton’s baskets.

Devin Booker finished with 22 points and 10 assists for the Suns while Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Paul had 16 points and eight assists — five in the fourth quarter.

The Suns led by as many as 15 in the third quarter before Oklahoma City cut the deficit to six with an 11-2 run in less than two minutes midway through the quarter.

Phoenix stretched the lead to 11 before the Thunder made their fourth-quarter push.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 39 points, making all 17 free throws he attempted.

Josh Giddey added 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The game was tied entering the second quarter but the Suns came alive in the second.

Phoenix hit 14 of 20 from the floor, scoring 42 points in the quarter to take a 14-point lead into halftime.

The Thunder kept a seat open for the late wife of Suns coach Monty Williams.

Ingrid Williams died in a car accident in Oklahoma City in 2016 when Monty Williams was an assistant coach for the Thunder.

–Field Level Media

Anthony Davis recorded his third 40-point game of the season, LeBron James posted his second triple-double and Rui Hachimura scored 20 points off the bench as the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 134-109 victory over the host Houston Rockets on Sunday, their sixth in seven games.

Davis tallied 27 of his game-high 40 points in a dominant first half, shooting 11-of-16 from the floor prior to the intermission while grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots. It marked Davis’ fourth game eclipsing 30 points in his last five starts, and his early thrust provided the Lakers (40-38) the momentum needed to explode out of the gate.

Davis finished 15-of-20 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. He also snagged nine rebounds.

James facilitated with aplomb, producing a team-leading 11 assists in addition to his 18 points and 10 rebounds. Hachimura added his highest point total since joining the Lakers prior to the trade deadline, shooting 10-of-14 from the floor while delivering 12 rebounds and three blocks.

With the Rockets (19-60) providing little resistance defensively, the Lakers shot 55.9 percent despite missing 21 of 30 3-pointers and losing guard D’Angelo Russell to left foot soreness at halftime.

The Rockets’ starting backcourt of Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green combined for 44 points with Green adding seven assists. Alperen Sengun posted his 26th double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Sengun added three blocks and two steals.

The Lakers assisted on 10 of their 15 first-quarter field goals, scored 24 points in the paint and six in transition while racing to a 35-21 lead by the end of the opening period. Davis had 13 points in the frame and added 14 more in the second quarter, although the Rockets proved up to the challenge with their 39-point second.

Houston trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half but sliced that margin to 68-60 on Porter’s 3-pointer with 32.0 seconds remaining.

But Davis converted a layup that provided the Lakers a 10-point halftime lead, and when Hachimura slalomed through the Houston defense in the final five seconds of the third, his buzzer-beating layup pushed the Lakers’ lead to 101-83.

–Field Level Media

Doug McDermott poured in nine of his season-best 30 points in overtime as the visiting San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Sacramento Kings 142-134 on Sunday to snap a six-game losing streak.

Julian Champagnie added a career-high 26 points for the Spurs (20-58). Tre Jones racked up 17 points and 11 assists and 10 rebounds for San Antonio.

De’Aaron Fox led the Kings (47-31) with 28 points while Domantas Sabonis had 26 points and eight rebounds.

The Spurs were up 121-118 after a short jumper by Zach Collins with 1:41 to play in regulation. Fox cut the Kings’ deficit to a point with a bucket with 1:27 left and Sabonis tied the game with a free throw with 59.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

Two free throws by San Antonio’s Dominick Barlow with 44.6 seconds to play were answered by a jumper by Fox that tied the game with 36.9 seconds left in regulation. Sacramento’s Kevin Huerter missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, and the contest went to overtime.

The Spurs never trailed in the extra period, riding five straight team points from McDermott to go up 134-130 with 2:32 to play. After a layup by Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes cut the lead to two points, McDermott hit another short jumper and Jones followed with a driving layup to push the San Antonio lead to six points.

For the Spurs, Collins scored 16 points, Malaki Branham hit for 15 and Barlow scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Keegan Murray scored 18 points and Barnes and Terence Davis hit for 15 points apiece for the Kings.

Barlow hit a late jumper to give San Antonio a 32-30 lead at the end of the first period.

The game went back and forth in the second period, with the Kings going up by as many as five points after a three-point play by Huerter with 8:16 to play in the quarter. San Antonio answered to take a 45-43 lead on Collins’ 3-pointer at the 5:05 mark and Barlow’s buzzer-beating dunk produced a 63-58 lead for the Spurs at the break.

Champagnie led all scorers with 22 points (10 more than his previous career-high for a whole game) before halftime. Murray paced the Kings with 13 points in the half with Huerter and Davis adding 10 points each.

–Field Level Media

Jalen Suggs led eight Orlando players in double figures with 18 points as the host Magic handed the Detroit Pistons their ninth straight loss, 128-102, on Sunday night.

Cole Anthony had 17 points and six rebounds for Orlando, which tied its season high with 17 3-pointers and shot 57.3 percent from the field. Franz Wagner had 16 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals while Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. each had 14 points and nine rebounds.

Markelle Fultz and Moritz Wagner each added 11 points for Orlando (34-44), which has won six of its last eight games and its last five home games.

The Pistons (16-62) have lost 23 of their last 25 games. They were led by Killian Hayes, who had 20 points and seven assists. Eugene Omoruyi supplied 19 points and Jaden Ivey had 14 points with six assists. James Wiseman added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Livers chipped in 10 points.

Detroit had a one-point lead two minutes into the game. Carter then knocked down a 3-pointer and the Magic never trailed again.

The Magic led 34-29 after the first quarter, then blew the game open by outscoring the Pistons 29-15 in the second quarter.

Orlando began the second with an 11-1 run that included five points and two assists from Anthony.

A 12-0 run gave Orlando its biggest lead of the first half at 57-33. Suggs had five points during that spurt, including a pair of free throws after Ivey was assessed with a flagrant foul. Franz Wagner finished it off with a jumper.

The Pistons’ last six points of the half came on free throws. They shot just 32.5 percent from the field before the break, while the Magic made 56.1 percent of their field-goal attempts.

After Detroit pulled within 15 points during the first two minutes of the second half, Orlando went on an 8-0 run. Fultz capped it off with a 3-pointer to make it 76-53.

Orlando ended the quarter with a 91-68 advantage.

Detroit shot just 41 percent for the game.

–Field Level Media

Quentin Grimes and Jalen Brunson scored 27 points apiece to lead a balanced scoring attack Sunday night for the New York Knicks, who clinched a playoff spot by pulling away from the visiting Washington Wizards and earning a 118-109 victory.

The Knicks (46-33), who have won four straight and seven of 10, are headed for the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons — the first time New York has made the postseason at least twice in a three-year span since qualifying three straight times from 2010-11 through 2012-13.

The Knicks are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and three games behind the fourth-place Cleveland Cavaliers.

Immanuel Quickley scored 22 points and Obi Toppin had a season-high 21 points for the Knicks, who had four players score at least 20 points for the first time since a 136-134 overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 1, 2018.

Corey Kispert scored a career-high 29 points for the undermanned Wizards (34-44), who were eliminated from play-in contention with the win by the Atlanta Hawks against the Dallas Mavericks later Sunday night.

Johnny Davis had 16 points while Taj Gibson (14 points), Jordan Goodwin (11) and Kendrick Nunn (11) all got into double figures off the bench for the Wizards, who were without starters Bradley Beal (left knee), Kyle Kuzma (right ankle), Monte Morris (right ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).

The Knicks led 34-31 at the end of the first quarter before eight different players scored in the second for the Wizards, who outscored New York 30-19 and led by as many as 10 before carrying a 61-53 lead into the half.

Kispert hit a 3-pointer with 9:38 left in the third to extend the Wizards’ lead to 64-55 before the Knicks began inching back. Grimes’ 3-pointer with 4:33 left gave New York the lead for good at 72-69 and began a quarter-ending 17-10 run in which Grimes and Brunson combined for the first 15 points.

Toppin opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Knicks their first double-digit lead at 89-79. New York led by no fewer than eight and by as many as 20 the rest of the way.

–Field Level Media

Trae Young scored 24 points and hit a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds left in overtime to give the Atlanta Hawks a 132-130 win against the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

The Mavericks had a chance to win the game, but Luka Doncic missed a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining, and Dallas dropped its third straight game and seventh in its last eight.

Young was 8-for-8 from the line and had 12 assists for his 38th double-double of the season to help the Hawks (39-39) remain No. 8 in the Eastern Conference.

The Mavericks had a chance to win the game with 1.2 seconds left in regulation, but Christian Wood missed the second of two free throws to leave Dallas one point behind. Dallas got the offensive rebound and called timeout with 0.4 seconds left.

JaVale McGee was fouled on the inbounds play, missed the first free throw but made the second to send the game to overtime at 123-123.

Atlanta got 25 points from Dejounte Murray, 18 points and 10 rebounds from John Collins and 14 points and 11 boards from Clint Capela.

Kyrie Irving collected 41 points — his most since joining the Mavericks (37-42). They also got 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from Doncic and 18 points from Wood.

Atlanta led by as many as nine points in the second quarter and took a 70-66 lead at intermission. The Hawks were 8-for-14 on 3-pointers in the half, including three from Bogdan Bogdanovic, who scored 13 in the half. Irving scored 20 and Doncic scored 16 in the half, including a 3-pointer at the horn to cut the lead to four points.

The Hawks began to pull away in the third quarter thanks to a 14-2 run, when a 3-pointer by Saddiq Bey gave Atlanta a 15-point lead midway through the period. But Dallas outscored Atlanta 15-3 the rest of the way and cut the Hawks lead to 94-91 entering the final quarter.

The Hawks scored 100-plus points in their 53rd consecutive game, matching a franchise record established in the 1969-70 season. Atlanta has failed to score 100 points only twice this season.

–Field Level Media

Shaedon Sharpe scored 27 points, including a hook shot with 24 seconds left, and the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 107-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday in Minneapolis.

After Sharpe’s basket put Portland ahead 106-103, Anthony Edwards scored on the next possession before Drew Eubanks made one of two foul shots with 14.4 seconds remaining. Kyle Anderson missed a layup in the final second that would have forced overtime.

Kevin Knox II scored 19 points for Portland (33-45), which had lost 11 of its previous 12 games. Trendon Watford added 15 points, Skylar Mays had 13 points and a career-high nine assists, and Eubanks scored 12.

Edwards led Minnesota (39-40) with 37 points, while Anderson added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Mike Conley scored 11 points, Jaden McDaniels had 10, and Rudy Gobert tallied 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Minnesota, which committed 18 turnovers, has lost three straight following a four-game winning streak. The Wolves are in ninth place in the Western Conference, and have three games left to play.

Portland played without injured starters Damian Lillard (right calf), Jusuf Nurkic (right knee), Anfernee Simons (right foot) and Jerami Grant (left quad).

The Wolves stumbled out of the starting gate and trailed 31-29 after the Blazers shot 13 of 26 (50 percent) from the floor.

Edwards converted a three-point play with 1:20 left in the first half to cap a 22-10 run and put Minnesota ahead 62-52. The Wolves held a six-point advantage at the break after shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 7 of 13 (53.8 percent) from 3-point range.

Edwards, who was listed as questionable prior to the game due to illness, had 22 points in the half to lead all scorers.

After Minnesota stretched its lead to 12 points late in the third quarter, Portland closed on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 86-82.

Jeenathan Williams scored seven points during a 9-0 run to give Portland a 91-88 lead with just under eight minutes left in the contest. The Blazers maintained their lead until Edwards hit a 3-pointer to put Minnesota ahead 99-98 with just under three minutes left.

Minnesota, which played without Naz Reid (wrist), Jaylen Nowell (knee) and Austin Rivers (illness), lost despite shooting 48.1 percent from the field, including 11 of 26 (42.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

–Field Level Media

Zach LaVine scored a game-high 36 points and had nine assists, DeMar DeRozan added 31 points and seven assists and the Chicago Bulls engineered a big second-half comeback to knock off the visiting Memphis Grizzlies 128-107 on Sunday.

Chicago (38-40) rallied from down 23 points in the first half with a dominant third quarter on both ends of the court. The Bulls held the Grizzlies to just 16 points in the period on 5-of-18 shooting, while knocking down 17 of 27 for 40 points on the other end.

Runs of 19-6 and 19-2 flipped a 17-point Memphis advantage in the opening minute of the third to a nine-point Chicago lead by the end of the period.

Memphis (49-29) cut the deficit to three midway through the final period on Jaren Jackson Jr.’s 3-pointer, part of his team-high 31 points, but Chicago responded with an immediate 11 unanswered points. LaVine was responsible for seven in a row during the surge.

The Bulls’ 11-0 spurt was part of a larger, 24-6 run to close out the game.

Nikola Vucevic recorded his 48th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Reserves Coby White and Patrick Williams added 19 and 12 points, respectively, part of Chicago’s 41-18 edge in bench points.

The Bulls also leveraged a staggering 18 Grizzlies turnovers into 31 points. Chicago committed just three total turnovers.

The second half was a mirror opposite of a first half that Memphis dominated with runs of 17-4 from the late first into the second quarter, and a 16-2 burst midway through the second.

Four Grizzlies scored at least 11 points by intermission, but the same quartet finished as Memphis’ only double-figure scorers for the game. Desmond Bane scored 21 points, Ja Morant notched 17 — part of a triple-double along with his 10 rebounds and 10 assists — and Dillon Brooks scored 14 points.

The loss marked just the Grizzlies’ second in its last 10 games.

–Field Level Media

Mikal Bridges scored 30 points and the Brooklyn Nets survived a late scare from the visiting Utah Jazz for a 111-110 victory on Sunday afternoon.

Cameron Johnson finished with 18 points, including a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining, and Spencer Dinwiddie totaled 17 points and 12 assists to help the Nets win their third straight.

Talen Horton-Tucker sparked a huge Jazz comeback, scoring 32 points and dishing out eight assists, but Utah’s rally from down 23 points in the fourth quarter came up just shy.

Kelly Olynyk, who only scored seven points but hauled in 15 rebounds, missed a game-winning attempt at the buzzer. Lauri Markkanen returned to action, scoring 23 points with nine rebounds.

Brooklyn (43-35) won for the fourth time in five games and inched closer toward clinching one of the six secured playoff spots in the Eastern Conference with four games left.

Utah (36-42) lost for the sixth time in seven outings and stands 1 1/2 games out of a postseason position.

Brooklyn led comfortably, 103-84, with under six minutes remaining when things got crazy.

Utah went on a 15-0 tear over the next four minutes to get within 103-99 after a Horton-Tucker bucket with 1:41 remaining.

Dinwiddie ended Brooklyn’s scoring drought, but the Jazz kept up the pressure. A Horton-Tucker layup with 46.8 remaining made it 106-103.

After Bridges and Horton-Tucker exchanged layups, Johnson hit two free throws with 14.1 seconds left for a five-point Brooklyn lead.

Ochai Agbaji (19 points) drained a 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds to go to cut the lead to two. Utah got the ball back down three with 10.3 seconds left after Dinwiddie split a pair of foul shots.

Horton-Tucker made two free throws with 7.9 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game, and Seth Curry missed a pair from the charity stripe with 5.8 seconds left to give Utah one last chance.

Bridges scored 17 points in the pivotal third quarter when the Nets built a 19-point lead after the Jazz pulled within seven.

The Nets took a 30-17 lead into the second quarter and went into the locker room up by double digits, 53-42.

Bridges spearheaded a 9-0 streak to put the Nets up 74-55 in the third, and Brooklyn built its lead to 23 early in the fourth before the frenetic finish.

–Field Level Media

New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett won’t play Sunday night against the visiting Washington Wizards, the team said about three hours before tip-off.

The Knicks did not reveal whether Barrett had COVID-19 or a “non-COVID” illness.

Barrett, 22, had played 71 of the Knicks’ first 78 games of the season, all starts. The 2019 third overall draft pick has averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest in 2022-23, and owns career averages of 18.0 points, 5.4 boards and 2.8 assists.

New York already was without Julius Randle due to a sprained left ankle sustained last week.

The Knicks (45-33) can clinch a playoff berth by beating the Wizards. New York is fifth in the Eastern Conference.

–Field Level Media