WASHINGTON (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame an uneven performance for their 15th victory in 16 games, a 114-106 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
Evan Mobley added 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting to help the Cavaliers extend their current NBA-best win streak to seven games and move a game ahead of Milwaukee and New York in second place in the Eastern Conference.
Mitchell and Mobley also had eight rebounds apiece as Cleveland survived a game with nine ties and 17 lead changes against the Wizards, who are second-to-last in the East.
Kyle Kuzma scored 28 points for Washington, which closed a four-game homestand without a victory after winning two of its first three games under interim coach Brian Keefe.
WARRIORS 127, 76ERS 104
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Andrew Wiggins had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Jonathan Kuminga scored 18 points to lead Golden State past a Philadelphia team sagging without Joel Embiid.
Stephen Curry scored two points in the first half and finished with nine, just two games after he dropped 60 points on Atlanta. Klay Thompson scored 18 points in 28 minutes after he was benched the final seven minutes in Monday’s win against Brooklyn.
With the NBA trade deadline set for Thursday, coach Steve Kerr said he didn’t expect the Warriors to make a major move. The Warriors moved to 23-25 and are still stuck in 11th in the Western Conference — just outside a spot for the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Ricky Council IV scored 17 points for the 76ers, who may slog through the rest of the season with Embiid out significant time following knee surgery. Without Embiid, the 76ers are an ugly 4-12, and a team just two weeks ago that played like an East contender, now faces a play-in possibility.
PELICANS 117, CLIPPERS 106
LOS ANGELES (AP) — C.J. McCollum scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Zion Williamson added 21 points and 10 assists, and New Orleans slowed Los Angeles’ recent roll.
Brandon Ingram had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pelicans, who opened a four-game road trip with their fourth consecutive victory to match their longest winning streak of the season. Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III added 13 points apiece.
James Harden scored 19 points and Norman Powell had 18 for the Clippers, whose four-game winning streak ended in their first game back from an impressive 6-1 road trip during which they moved to the top of the Western Conference standings. Los Angeles was playing its eighth game in 13 days, and New Orleans capitalized.
Kawhi Leonard scored 15 points and Paul George finished with seven after missing his first nine shots as Los Angeles lost for only the sixth time in 32 games since the start of December.
CELTICS 125, HAWKS 117
BOSTON (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis scored 31 points, Derrick White scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Boston beat Atlanta.
Jayson Tatum finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Celtics improved to 24-3 at home and won their seventh straight over the Hawks. Al Horford added 14 points with eight rebounds and eight assists and Jaylen Brown finished with 15 points.
Brown was the only Boston starter not to hit a 3-pointer as the Celtics went 17 for 49 from beyond the arc, making 9 of 16 in the fourth quarter to put away the pesky Hawks.
Saddiq Bey led Atlanta with 25 points. Trae Young had 20 points and 10 assists and Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu added 19 points apiece for the Hawks.
HEAT 116, SPURS 104
MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler recorded his first triple-double in more than two years, Tyler Herro led the way with 24 points and Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat San Antonio.
Butler — whose most recent triple-double was Jan. 29, 2022 — finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Heat, who led by as many as 19 in the fourth. Bam Adebayo added 20 points for Miami.
Tre Jones and Devin Vassell each scored 19 points and Victor Wembanyana finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs. San Antonio started its day with a shootaround practice at a Miami Beach school, surprising the boys and girls varsity teams there by letting them watch the last few minutes.
Wembanyama got his 25th double-double of the season, by far the most among this season’s rookie class — Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren has 13 for No. 2 on the list — and the most by a first-year player since Deandre Ayton had 39 and Trae Young had 30 in the 2018-19 campaign.
PISTONS 133, KINGS 120
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jaden Ivey scored a career-high 37 points and Detroit, playing without its two top scorers, stunned Sacramento.
Ivey added seven assists and six rebounds as Detroit (7-43) improved to 3-20 on the road this season.
Alec Burks had 25 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Jalen Duren had 20 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
The Pistons were without Cade Cunningham (left knee injury management) and Bojan Bogdanovic (left calf soreness), who both average more than 20 points per game.
Domantas Sabonis led Sacramento with 30 points and 12 rebounds for his 33rd consecutive double-double.
RAPTORS 123, HORNETS 117
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — RJ Barrett scored 23 points, Jakob Poeltl had two big plays in the final minute and Toronto overcame a career-high 45 points from Miles Bridges to hand Charlotte its ninth straight loss.
Scottie Barnes, who will play in his first All-Star Game after being chosen as an alternate, finished with 18 points for the Raptors. Immanuel Quickley also scored 18, and Poeltl finished had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
Bridges had an efficient night, topping his previous career high of 41 points set Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers by shooting 17 of 27 from the field with six 3-pointers. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists.
Bridges is only the fourth Charlotte player to have back-to-back 40-point games, joining Glen Rice (twice), Kemba Walker and Terry Rozier.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
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