Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s second career triple-double — 27 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds — led the host Oklahoma City Thunder to a 108-94 win over the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
The Thunder have won three consecutive games, while the Nuggets had won three of their previous four games.
Oklahoma City led for much of the game and stretched its lead to 23 early in the fourth quarter before Denver made a push with its reserves. The Nuggets ripped off a 20-6 run to cut the deficit to single digits with less than five minutes left.
Darius Bazley added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Oklahoma City, while Luguentz Dort had 15 points. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 13 points.
Magic 104, Hawks 98
Rookie Franz Wagner scored in double figures for the 27th time in his 32 games, netting 25 points to lead visiting Orlando over Atlanta.
Gary Harris added 17 points, and Robin Lopez had 10 points and 11 assists for Orlando and BJ Johnson came off the bench to score a career-high 14. It is the first time the Magic have won back-to-back games all season. Orlando broke a five-game losing streak against Atlanta and handed the Hawks their seventh straight home loss.
Both teams were missing players because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The Hawks were without leading scorer Trae Young and leading rebounder Clint Capela, as well as Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and Lou Williams. The Magic were minus Mo Bamba, Ignas Brazdeikis, R.J. Hampton, E’Twaun Moore, Mychal Mulder, Terrence Ross and Moritz Wagner.
Bucks 126, Rockets 106
Khris Middleton eclipsed 20 points for the eighth time in his last nine games as host Milwaukee scored 101 points over the final three quarters in taking down Houston.
Middleton had missed the last three games with a hyperextended left knee but was strong in his return, posting 23 points on 7-of-17 shooting to help snap a two-game losing skid. Jrue Holiday paced the Bucks with 24 points and 10 assists, and DeMarcus Cousins and Jordan Nwora each chipped in 18 points.
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Christian Wood led Houston with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-13 shooting. Eric Gordon had 12 points, six assists and three rebounds, and Kenyon Martin Jr. accounted for 12 points, six assists and five rebounds off the bench.
Celtics 111, Cavaliers 101
Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 34 points, Robert Williams III added 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Boston ran past visiting Cleveland.
Jayson Tatum added 18 points and nine rebounds, while Romeo Langford totalled 11 points and nine boards for the Celtics, who won for the third time in five games.
Darius Garland scored 28 points to lead the Cavaliers. Kevin Love contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Cedi Osman scored 13 for Cleveland, which had won a season-high six straight games.
Clippers 105, Kings 89
Los Angeles continued its mastery of Sacramento in the California capital, riding Eric Bledsoe’s 19 points to its 16th win in its last 17 games there.
Paul George and Serge Ibaka chipped in with 17 points apiece for the Clippers, who were coming off three consecutive losses. Bledsoe also had team-highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (seven), and George contributed six assists and five steals.
Tyrese Haliburton finished with game-highs of 22 points and 13 assists for the Kings, who lost despite outscoring the visitor 36-21 on 3-pointers. Sacramento was without De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley III, Damion Mitchell and four others due to COVID issues.
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