CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Darius Garland added 24 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 13-1 at home with a 126-114 victory Thursday night over the Denver Nuggets, who wasted a triple-double by Nikola Jokic.
The Cavs made a season-high 22 3-pointers and extended their streak of making at least 10 3s to a club record 28 games dating to last season.
Cleveland outscored Denver 66-18 from behind the arc.
Jokic had 27 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists, giving him his 139th career triple-double — one more than Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. Jokic only trails Oscar Robertson (181) and teammate Russell Westbrook (200) on the career list.
Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench, Evan Mobley scored 20 and Jarrett Allen had 15 rebounds for Cleveland, which improved to 5-0 against Western Conference teams.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 and Jamal Murray 19 for the Nuggets.
MAVERICKS 137, WIZARDS 101
WASHINGTON (AP) — Luka Doncic had 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving added 25 points to lead Dallas to a victory over Washington, their 16th straight loss.
Washington tied a franchise record for consecutive defeats and fell to 2-18. It’s the second straight season the Wizards have had a 16-game skid.
Dallas made 11 of its first 16 shots from 3-point range and finished 20 of 38 from beyond the arc for its sixth win in a row.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 for the Wizards, who were without Kyle Kuzma (left rib sprain) and Corey Kispert (left ankle sprain).
It was the 78th triple-double for Doncic, moving him into a tie for seventh on the career list with Wilt Chamberlain and James Harden. Next on the list is Dallas coach Jason Kidd at 107.
THUNDER 129, RAPTORS 92
TORONTO (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, Jalen Williams had 20 and Oklahoma City routed Toronto for their sixth win in seven games.
Isaiah Joe scored 16 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 16 rebounds as the Western Conference-leading Thunder improved to 8-3 on the road.
The Thunder had nine blocks and nine steals in the first half and finished with 11 blocks and 14 steals.
RJ Barrett had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Scottie Barnes added 12 points and 12 rebounds but the Raptors lost by their biggest margin this season, eclipsing a 30-point loss to Cleveland on opening night.
Toronto shot 11 for 45 from 3-point range (24.4%), its lowest percentage of the season.
KNICKS 125, HORNETS 101
NEW YORK (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 15 of his 25 points during a third quarter in which he also blocked consecutive 3-point shots on opposite sides of the floor, helping New York pull away to beat Charlotte.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 16 rebounds in the Knicks’ fourth straight victory. Jalen Brunson scored 24 points, 19 in the first quarter.
Anunoby’s scoring broke open what was a one-point game early in the second half, and his back-to-back blocks late in the third had fans chanting “OG! OG!” after a 28-6 spurt gave New York a 93-70 advantage.
Brandon Miller scored 26 points in the Hornets’ seventh straight loss.
PELICANS 126, SUNS 124
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 29 points in his return from a five-game absence, Herb Jones capped off his first game back from a shoulder injury by blocking Devin Booker’s last-second shot, and New Orleans snapped a nine-game losing streak with a victory over Phoenix.
CJ McCollum scored 25 points, but missed a free throw with 3 seconds left, allowing the Suns a final shot for the win or tie. When Booker, who had 28 points, received an inbound pass at the 3-point line, he rose for a shot and had the ball swatted away by Jones, who hadn’t played in 18 games.
Jones had one of this four steals with 2:02 left and made a left corner 3 about 13 seconds later to give New Orleans a 121-117 lead. He finished with 12 points.
Trey Murphy scored 19 points, Dejounte Murray scored 17 and rookie center Yves Missi had 12 rebounds for the Pelicans,
Bradley Beal scored 24 points for Phoenix.
BULLS 139, SPURS 124
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Nikola Vucevic had a season-high 39 points, Ayo Dosunmu had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and Chicago beat San Antonio with Victor Wembanyama sidelined with a back injury.
Dosunmu had season highs in points, assists and rebounds in collecting the first triple-double of his four-year career.
Keldon Johnson had a season-high 28 points and Devin Vassell added 17 points for San Antonio, which lost for the third time in its last four games.
Wembanyama is day-to-day with a sore lower back he suffered in Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix.
Chicago never trailed and had a season-high point total. Chicago matched a season-high with 73 points in the first half in taking a 73-57 lead.
Talen Horton-Tucker had 13 points for Chicago, which had six players score in double figures.
Chris Paul had 12 points and nine assists for San Antonio.
GRIZZLIES 115, KINGS 110
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Marcus Smart scored 18 points — the last two on clinching free throws with 2.9 seconds left — and Memphis beat Sacramento.
Desmond Bane also had 18 points along with seven assists. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Santi Aldama scored 15 points each, with Aldama grabbing 10 rebounds as Memphis won its seventh straight at home.
DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 26 points. Malik Monk had 23 points, De’Aaron Fox added 18 and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds. They have lost seven of nine.
There were 20 lead changes and 11 ties. Memphis took its final lead with 4:29 left on a drive by Jake LaRavia. Sacramento would get within two points in the closing minutes, but never overtook Memphis.
WARRIORS 99, ROCKETS 93
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jonathan Kuminga scored a career-high 33 points and made two crucial layups over the final 1:04, and Golden State snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Houston.
Andrew Wiggins added 23 points and Brandin Podziemski grabbed 12 rebounds for the Warriors in the opening game of a home back-to-back.
Golden State was missing starters Stephen Curry and Draymond Green because of injuries — Curry out to manage his painful knees and Green nursing tightness in his left calf. Both are likely to return Friday.
Wiggins had been questionable with an impingement in his right ankle.
Alperen Sengun had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead Houston.
Warriors nemesis Dillon Brooks started 1 for 6 and missed his initial four 3-point attempts before finishing with 15 points.
The Associated Press
