Jalen Green scored a team-high 28 points, Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. recorded double-doubles and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-105 on Saturday to sweep both games of a home back-to-back.

After rallying from a 16-point deficit in the second half to defeat the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, the Rockets seized control with an 18-2 second-quarter run in cruising past the Thunder. Houston led by as many as 27 points.

Oklahoma City was coming off an overtime win against the visiting Chicago Bulls on Friday.

Green shot 11 of 19 while adding a team-best nine assists. His dynamic play started early and continued throughout, particularly in the second period, when Houston shot 16 of 20 overall.

Sengun produced 21 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists, while Smith paired 15 points with 13 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr. added 16 points and Eric Gordon 15 for the Rockets. Garrison Mathews chipped in 11 off the bench.

The Rockets shot a robust 18 of 36 from behind the arc, with Green leading the way at 6 of 9.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in a game-high 32 points, his 14th 30-point game this season. But the Thunder didn’t produce enough offensively to supplement Gilgeous-Alexander, shooting 39.2 percent overall while missing 34 of 44 3-pointers. Josh Giddey scored 18 points for the Thunder.

After Oklahoma City responded to the Rockets’ 14-4 start with a 9-0 spurt, Houston needed a 3-pointer from Gordon just prior to the first-quarter buzzer to take a 23-22 lead into the second.

Then the Rockets ran away and hid that period, starting with two Mathews 3s and another from Smith in transition that helped extend their lead to 49-29 midway through the quarter.

Six Rockets players scored during the aforementioned 18-2 blitz, with Mathews, Smith and Porter all drilling 3-pointers. The Rockets led 65-44 at the intermission on the strength of their perimeter shooting, going 11 of 19 from deep.

Houston shot 64.1 percent in the first half, boosted by a 42-point second period that featured 7-of-11 3-point shooting.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 18 points at the break, but his teammates hit only 11 of 34 field goals.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to record their second win in three days over the Magic on Sunday night when the undermanned teams reconvene in Orlando, Fla.

Shake Milton came within an eyelash of his first triple-double in the NBA on Friday after collecting 24 points, a career-high 10 assists and nine rebounds in the 76ers’ 107-99 victory over the Magic.

Milton made 7 of 13 shots from the floor — including four 3-pointers — to propel Philadelphia to its fifth win in seven games.

The fifth-year guard is averaging 22.3 points in his last four games on 56.9 percent shooting from the floor and 52.6 percent from 3-point range. He also is averaging 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists over that same span.

Tobias Harris added 23 points and 10 rebounds and Georges Niang stepped up with five 3-pointers for the 76ers, who played without five-time All-Star Joel Embiid for the third straight game due to a left mid-foot sprain. Philadelphia also was without James Harden (right foot strain) for a 10th consecutive contest and Tyrese Maxey (left foot fracture) for a fourth straight outing.

Despite their absences, Philadelphia kept its resolve and fended off Orlando in the late going of the fourth quarter on Friday.

“For us, it’s just an energy thing and it’s contagious,” Milton said. “(Georges) hits a big 3 and then Tobias does too, and it’s a momentum thing. With us being down as many players as we are, we need those loose-ball plays to get us going.”

Like the 76ers, the Magic were missing significant firepower as well. Wendell Carter Jr (right plantar fascia strain), Chuma Okeke (left knee soreness) and Terrence Ross (illness) were spectators as Orlando fell for the fifth time in its last six games.

The Magic welcomed the return of star rookie Paolo Banchero following a seven-game absence due to a sprained left ankle. The top overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft scored 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. He also made 8 of 11 attempts from the free-throw line.

“(He adds) a ton,” Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. “We talk about his ability to get to the rim. His ability to get to the free throw line. His physical stature (which allows him to) punish defenses is going to be big for us. Our switching gets back into play the same way with bigger-sized bodies.”

Franz Wagner recorded a team-high 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Bol Bol added 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, and Moe Wagner chipped in seven points and five boards in 17 minutes while making his season debut.

“His energy, his enthusiasm, those bell plays we talk about — whether that’s taking a charge, making the extra pass, getting under the skin of the defender — he’s great at those things,” Mosley said of Wagner, who returned after spraining his right foot in a preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 14.

“The other side people don’t recognize because of that energy is he has a high basketball IQ.”

–Field Level Media

For the New York Knicks, home is not where their defense is.

But Madison Square Garden is where the high-powered Memphis Grizzlies will be Sunday night when the Knicks are slated to close out a two-game homestand by hosting the Grizzlies.

Both teams were off Saturday after playing at home Friday. The Knicks squandered a 14-point first-half lead and fell to the Portland Trail Blazers, 132-129, in overtime. The Grizzlies never trailed in a 132-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Knicks opened their home schedule with a pair of strong defensive efforts in a 130-106 win over the Detroit Pistons and a 115-102 victory over the Orlando Magic. But New York has given up at least 130 points in four of its last six home games after surrendering at least 130 points just three times — anywhere — in the first two seasons under defensive-minded head coach Tom Thibodeau.

The loss Friday was particularly discouraging for the Knicks, who didn’t have to face Trail Blazers superstar guard Damian Lillard (right calf strain) but were victimized instead by the trio of Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons and Josh Hart.

Grant scored a career-high 44 points while Simons added 38 points, tied for the second-most he’s scored in a single game. Hart pulled down six offensive rebounds, tied for his career-high, on his way to finishing with a career-high 19 rebounds.

“We took a step back,” Knicks center Mitchell Robinson told reporters Friday night. “Our defense, we allowed guys to get in the paint, stuff like that. We got to be better.”

The task could be even tougher on both ends of the floor Sunday night for the Knicks, who announced Saturday that Jalen Brunson is questionable for the game due to a quad contusion. Brunson scored a season-high 34 points in a 129-119 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night before leading New York with 32 points Friday night.

The Grizzlies unveiled a balanced attack Friday, when they finished just shy of their season-high for points in a single game. Memphis, which beat the Brooklyn Nets 134-124 on Oct. 24, entered Saturday averaging 115.1 points per game, eighth-most in the NBA.

Six players scored in double figures Friday for the Grizzlies, led by star guard Ja Morant, who is playing through a Grade 1 left ankle sprain. Morant finished with a double-double (23 points, 11 assists) despite playing just 28 minutes. He missed the Grizzlies’ 127-115 loss to the Nets on Nov. 20 due to the injury but has scored 57 points while shooting 54.1 percent from the field in his last two games.

Steven Adams (15 points, 11 rebounds) also had a double-double for the Grizzlies on Friday night while Dillon Brooks (25 points), Jaren Jackson Jr. (20 points), Brandon Clarke (12 points) and David Roddy (11 points) also reached double figures.

“Definitely a really solid win by our group,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said afterward. “Lot of guys contributed tonight on both ends.”

–Field Level Media

The NBA-leading Boston Celtics start with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

It takes a whole lot more to rise to the top with a 15-4 record and 11 wins in a 12-game span.

Who will step up Sunday night as the Celtics look to continue their run of play against the Washington Wizards? There are plenty of options.

With Brown and Marcus Smart in foul trouble, Boston turned to Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet in Friday’s 122-104 win. The duo combined to score 14 second-half points as the Celtics overcame a third-quarter deficit.

“We talked about it from Day 1. We have a lot of different ways we can do things,” Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Credit to Payton and Luke, what they do on a daily basis to stay ready. That says a lot about where we can go with our team.”

Tatum (30 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including seven during a late 19-0 run) and Brown (25) still led the Boston scorers, but the comeback win would not have been possible without the important contributions from the bench.

“We’re going to be down six in the third quarter sometimes. And that’s OK, it’s supposed to happen,” Mazzulla said. “Right now, everything is going really well for us.”

Brown has scored 25 or more points in four straight games.

The Celtics are playing the third of a six-game homestand that continues with a Monday visit from Charlotte and two games in three nights with Miami.

They won’t have back-to-back off days until the halfway mark of an upcoming six-game road trip, concluding in California.

“We always have to find ways to get guys rest and steal minutes here and there,” Mazzulla said. “I think guys are in a great spot physically and mentally.”

The Wizards finished a rare set of back-to-back games in Miami, losing both by a single possession. Friday was a 110-107 loss, despite Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma each scoring 28 points.

“We did enough throughout the course of the game to put ourselves in position to win,” Beal said. “Just a matter of us getting stops on the defensive end.”

Beal, who has seven consecutive 20-point games and averages 21.5 in his career against Boston, had missed the Wednesday matchup with a thigh contusion.

Rookie guard Johnny Davis (groin), Monte Morris (ankle) and Rui Hachimura (ankle) missed Friday’s game. The latter two have been out for the last three games.

“(Morris has) had some issues in the past. It’s just been more managing,” Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “It flared up a bit, so we’re trying to get that to calm down, get the strength and mobility back.”

The Celtics have won the last three head-to-head meetings, and this will be the second of the season in Boston.

On Oct. 30, Brown logged a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 112-94 win.

Kristaps Porzingis had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wizards. It was one of his team-leading six double-doubles.

–Field Level Media