De’Aaron Fox scored 15 fourth-quarter points as part of his team-high 32 and sank the game-winning 3-pointer just before the buzzer, and the Sacramento Kings kicked off a four-game road swing with a 117-114 defeat of the host Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

Fox’s big closing stretch began at the 6:25 mark of the fourth when he hit a 3-pointer off a Domantas Sabonis assist. The pass gave Sabonis his second triple-double in as many games and 11th of the season, as he finished with 14 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.

Beginning with that triple, Fox scored 12 points in the final 6:25, including a pull-up jumper with 41.1 seconds remaining that proved crucial down the stretch.

The basket gave Sacramento a six-point lead, and the Kings needed every bit of it as Chicago went on an 8-2 tear in response.

Zach LaVine scored four points, part of his 25 for the contest, while DeMar DeRozan scored on a four-point play with 12.5 seconds remaining to tie the game at 114.

Fox’s fourth-quarter heroics overshadowed a big closing period for DeRozan, who made three of his four 3-pointers for the game in the period and finished with 16 of his game-high 33 points over the last 12 minutes.

Chicago led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter before Sacramento battled back. The second half was hotly contested, and the two teams finished the night with 20 lead changes and 13 ties.

Along with Fox and Sabonis, Sacramento got double-figure scoring performances from reserve Malik Monk (19 points), Harrison Barnes (17) and Kevin Huerter (15). Monk did most of his work from beyond the arc, sinking 5 of 8 3-point attempts.

Nikola Vucevic scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds for Chicago. Patrick Beverley grabbed 11 rebounds to go with three points and two blocked shots.

–Field Level Media

Bam Adebayo scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds, leading the host Miami Heat to a 138-119 win over the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

Tyler Herro added 24 points and six assists for the Heat, who have won five of their past seven games.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler produced 23 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Butler sank 11 of 12 free throws.

It was just the eighth double-digit win for the Heat this season. It was also Miami’s highest-scoring game of the campaign and its best shooting effort (59.8 percent).

Miami improved to 24-13 at home while beating Memphis for just the second time in the past seven matchups.

Memphis fell to 13-22 on the road. The Grizzlies are just 2-12 in their past 14 road contests.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies on Wednesday with 25 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

However, Memphis’ second-leading scorer, Desmond Bane, was ejected with 6:44 left in the third quarter after he hit Kevin Love in the groin as the Miami forward dribbled past him. It was ruled a flagrant foul, penalty two” and Bane finished with 11 points in 22 minutes.

The Grizzlies, whose three-game winning streak ended, already were playing without superstar guard Ja Morant (suspension), starting center Steven Adams (knee) and sixth man Brandon Clarke (Achilles).

Butler had a 14-point first quarter as Miami led 29-27 after the opening 12 minutes. Butler made 8 of 9 free throws in the period, while the entire Memphis team went 0-for-1 from the line.

Jackson, who had a strong first quarter with 12 points, was held to two in the second as the Heat took a 63-51 lead into halftime. Free throws were the biggest story in the first half as Miami got 19 of them, making 17. Memphis got just three foul shots, making two.

Miami essentially clinched the game in the third quarter, taking a 105-77 lead. The Heat shot 76.2 percent in the period, closing the frame on a 14-0 run.

The game was never close in the fourth quarter, with the Heat’s lead topping out at 28 points.

For the game, Miami outscored Memphis 27-9 at the foul line.

–Field Level Media

Joel Embiid had 36 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks to lift the surging Philadelphia 76ers past the host Cleveland Cavaliers 118-109 on Wednesday.

Embiid appeared to foul out with 4:12 remaining, but the Sixers challenged the call and the offensive foul was overturned.

James Harden added 28 points and 12 assists for his 32nd game this season with at least 10 points and 10 assists, setting a franchise record. Maurice Cheeks and Wilt Chamberlain each had 31 in one season.

Tyrese Maxey scored 23 points for the Sixers, who won their sixth in a row.

Harden’s two free throws with 51.7 seconds left gave the visitors a 115-107 advantage and helped seal the victory.

Caris LeVert led the Cavaliers with 24 points and Donovan Mitchell added 21. Darius Garland and Cedi Osman had 15 apiece and Evan Mobley contributed 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The Cavaliers played without Jarrett Allen (eye contusion) for the third straight game.

Osman hit two free throws with 2:37 remaining to bring the Cavaliers within 110-107.

But that’s as close as they would get.

Harden drove to the basket and scored for a 105-98 Sixers lead with 6:13 left and it held up.

The Cavaliers pulled out to a 46-41 lead with 4:42 remaining in the second quarter after a dunk by LeVert. Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris was upset about a non-call and was whistled for a technical foul.

The chippy play continued and LeVert drew a technical foul with 2:49 left.

LeVert converted a rare four-point play with 0.1 seconds left and the Cavaliers led 60-55 at halftime. LeVert led Cleveland with 14 points, all in the second quarter.

Embiid was stellar with 24 points and nine rebounds for the Sixers in the opening half.

The Cavaliers opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run capped by Lamar Stevens’ trey, for a quick 13-point advantage, 68-55.

The Sixers rallied to go ahead 71-70 with 5:19 remaining following Maxey’s 3-pointer from the wing.

Georges Niang knocked down a trey from the corner as the third-quarter buzzer sounded and the Sixers took an 84-83 advantage.

–Field Level Media

With just a few weeks remaining in the NBA regular season, few contending teams are as unsettled as the Phoenix Suns.

Phoenix’s journey continues on Thursday in a matchup against the visiting Orlando Magic, which has lost two straight.

Phoenix has dropped three in a row following a four-game winning streak. The Suns are 1-3 since star Kevin Durant sprained his left ankle during pregame warmups on March 8. The 13-time All-Star will be re-evaluated in about two weeks.

With Durant sidelined, Phoenix has struggled to find consistent scoring outside of Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. The pair combined for 46 points in a 116-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

Phoenix sits in fourth place in the Western Conference at 37-32, but the team’s identity remains unclear minus Durant.

“We’ve dealt with a lot, so it’s hard to assess right now,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “I think we’ll be able to make a better assessment when we get Kevin back. Where we are right now, we’re a team that can adapt. We still play hard. We compete every night. We have the ability to beat anyone in this league. We know that.”

Phoenix has struggled to defend the 3-point shot in its last three games, and also needs more production from role players Josh Okogie, Torrey Craig, Ish Wainright and Terrence Ross. The group scored a combined 22 points in the loss to Milwaukee.

The Bucks closed the game on a 24-9 run with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way. The two-time MVP finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

“He’s coming at you 100 miles an hour, just lowering his shoulder, and any bump is a foul on you,” Craig said. “It’s definitely an advantage for him. He’s just a tough cover.”

Phoenix is looking to avenge a 114-97 loss to Orlando on Nov. 11, when the Suns shot 13 of 42 (31 percent) from 3-point range.

Orlando’s four-game road trip began on Tuesday with a 132-114 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, who had a franchise-high 22 3-pointers and season-high 39 assists in the victory.

“It’s definitely a tough loss,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “You really do have to tip your hat to San Antonio. They played their tails off and they brought it to us. This one stings. This one hurts because it’s one that we let get away from us. But you have to be able to move on to the next game and know what you can improve on and tighten up our defense.”

Paolo Banchero had 27 points and Wendell Carter Jr. added 16 for the Magic, who have lost five of their last seven games. Orlando is four games behind the Washington Wizards for 10th place and a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

The Magic have lost 21 of their last 27 meetings against San Antonio, which shot 56.5 percent from the field and 22 of 41 (53.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

“We were just late on a lot of our rotations,” Banchero said. “I think they did a great job moving the ball, not being stagnant. We were always just a step behind on the defensive end. They were making everything, especially from 3.”

Cole Anthony is averaging 15.4 points in seven games this month for Orlando, which is 12-22 on the road.

After becoming the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot following their win Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks return home Thursday to host the visiting Indiana Pacers, who are chasing a play-in spot.

On the second night of a road back-to-back, the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns 116-104 thanks in large part to a near triple-double from Giannis Antetokounmpo: 36 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

The Bucks are now 9-1 in back-to-back scenarios when Antetokounmpo plays both games. Brook Lopez added 21 points along with 10 rebounds, Jrue Holiday added 12 points and five assists while Bobby Portis and Jae Crowder each scored 11 off the bench.

“Making the playoffs in this league is hard, you should never take anything for granted,” Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We have a special team, our effort and desire to keep getting better. Sometimes I forget about celebrating and appreciating it.”

Indiana is coming off a 117-97 road loss against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night after defeating the Pistons 121-115 on Saturday. Jordan Nwora, in his 11th game with Indiana, led the Pacers with 20 points Monday.

Nwora went from the Bucks to the Pacers in the blockbuster four-team trade on Feb. 9 that sent Crowder from the Phoenix Suns to Milwaukee.

Aaron Nesmith and Andrew Nembhard each had 15 points behind Nwora in a game where the Pacers were without multiple key players, including Tyrese Haliburton (knee), Benedict Mathurin (ankle) and Myles Turner (back).

“We just simply did not match the edge they played with from start to finish,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said. “It’s valuable for our young guys to get this kind of experience, part of this is human nature. After we got a win that was pretty easy, they came out with a level of intensity that made us uncomfortable.”

Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 31.5 points and 11.9 rebounds per game this season. Holiday leads with 7.2 assists and 1.2 steals while Brook Lopez is among the league leaders in blocks with 2.5.

Haliburton leads Indiana in points (20.8), assists (10.4) and steals (1.6), with his assist total tops in the NBA. Myles Turner causes problems down low for Pacers opponents with 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.

The Bucks were without Khris Middleton (knee management) and Grayson Allen (plantar fasciitis) on Tuesday. Goran Dragic (knee) has yet to debut with the team after he was signed as a free agent March 4.

The Pacers have five players listed as day-to-day, including Mathurin who Carlisle said on Monday is “making real positive strides with his rehab.” But Carlisle declined to offer a timeline for return. Turner, Haliburton, Chris Duarte (ankle) and T.J. McConnell (back) are all also listed as day-to-day.

This is the third game of four between these division rivals this season, with Milwaukee looking for its 11th consecutive victory over Indiana. The last time the Pacers won the season series was the 2017-18 season and Milwaukee also holds the all-time series lead 113-91.

–Field Level Media