NBA Capsules (February 28, 2018)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Kevin Durant had 27 points in his return to the lineup and the Golden State Warriors overcame the worst 3-point shooting performance of Stephen Curry’s career in a 119-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Curry was 0 for 11 from 3-point range. That topped his previous worst outing without making a 3 when he went 0 for 10 from distance on Nov. 4 against the Lakers. The two-time reigning MVP entered leading the league by a wide margin with 231 3-pointers this season.

Curry still had 19 points, making 7 of 12 2-point attempts and all five of his free-throw tries.

Klay Thompson scored 21 points and Draymond Green had 14 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals for the Warriors, who opened a five-game East Coast trip by winning their fourth straight and boosting their NBA-best record to 50-9. Durant returned after missing a game with a right hand injury.

Dario Saric had 21 points for Philadelphia, which once again played without big man Joel Embiid. The 76ers announced earlier Monday that Embiid would be out indefinitely after experiencing swelling and soreness in his left knee following recent practices.

CAVALIERS 102, BUCKS 95

CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James returned from a bout with strep throat and scored 24 points, Kyrie Irving added 25 and Cleveland held off Milwaukee.

James missed Saturday’s loss to Chicago – the Cavs fell to 0-4 this season without their superstar – and was listed as questionable before arriving at Quicken Loans Arena. He looked fit from the start, delivering an early dunk and adding one in the fourth that he capped by screaming, ”That’s and one!” at MiIwaukee’s John Henson, who fouled him.

James’ dunk triggered an 11-0 run that helped put away the Bucks, who were within 86-85 midway through the fourth.

Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 to lead Milwaukee, and Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored just nine on 4-of-13 shooting.

The Bucks may have sustained a costly injury as forward Michael Beasley sprained his left knee in the first half.

RAPTORS 92, KNICKS 91

NEW YORK (AP) – DeMar DeRozan made a turnaround jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining, finishing with 37 points and leading Toronto over New York.

The Raptors won their fourth in a row, doing it with DeRozan and defense after learning earlier in the day that All-Star Kyle Lowry will have right wrist surgery that could sideline him the rest of the regular season.

Carmelo Anthony scored 24 points for the Knicks but finished a 9-for-26 night when he missed a long jumper as time expired.

Newcomers Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker were on the floor down the stretch as the Raptors clawed back from a 17-point first-half deficit. Ibaka finished with 15 points.

HAWKS 114, CELTICS 98

BOSTON (AP) – Dennis Schroder had 21 points to help Atlanta snap a three-game losing streak with a chippy win over Boston.

Paul Millsap and Dwight Howard each added 17 points. The Hawks led by 13 entering the fourth quarter and increased the edge to 24 despite playing the final 16 minutes without Howard, who was ejected in the third quarter after receiving his second technical foul.

Isaiah Thomas had 19 points as the Celtics ended a seven-game home winning streak.

Boston was off all night offensively, despite the return of guard Avery Bradley to the starting lineup after missing 22 of the previous 23 games with a right Achilles tendon injury.

Bradley was on a minutes’ restriction, logging 15 while scoring six points.

PACERS 117, ROCKETS 108

HOUSTON (AP) – Jeff Teague scored 25 points and Indiana overcame a huge first-half deficit and withstood a late rally by Houston.

C.J. Miles made a 3-pointer with 40.8 seconds left to make it 113-108, and Teague made a pair of free throws after that to put the game out of reach. It was just the second win in nine games for the Pacers and only their 10th road win of the season.

The Pacers rallied from 17 down in the first half and were up by 14 with about four minutes left. The Rockets used a 12-2 run to get within two with less than a minute remaining. Lou Williams was fouled while making an off-balance 3 to cap the run, but missed the ensuing free throw. Miles followed with his 3.

Williams had 28 points to lead the Rockets. James Harden added 25 points with 12 assists.

TIMBERWOLVES 102, KINGS 88

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points and 17 rebounds, Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Minnesota beat Sacramento.

Ricky Rubio had nine points and 11 assists to help the Timberwolves move within one game of the Kings as both teams try to catch Denver for the eighth spot in the West.

Kosta Koufos had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Sacramento. The Kings are 1-2 since trading All-Star DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans during the All-Star break.

MAVERICKS 96, HEAT 89

DALLAS (AP) – Seth Curry scored 29 points, Harrison Barnes added 24 and Dallas handed Miami its third loss in 19 games.

The Mavericks rallied from 14 points down in the first quarter and let an 11-point third-quarter lead get away.

Two games after scoring a career-high 31 points in a loss at Minnesota, Curry was 5 of 7 from long range to help the Mavericks improve to 2-0 with forward-center Nerlens Noel, who came from Philadelphia before the trade deadline.

Goran Dragic scored 24 points for the Heat, who went scoreless over the final 4:37 as a three-game winning streak ended.

Wolves’ 1-2 punch rolling ahead of visit to Sacramento

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rather quietly, Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins is becoming so consistent with his scoring that he is passing the franchise’s greatest player on some of the Minnesota record lists.

Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns may soon play copycat.

Wiggins and Towns will try to continue their scoring craze Monday night when the Timberwolves face the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center. The home team sure wouldn’t mind finding somebody to take on that duty for them.

The dynamic duo has not yet lifted the Timberwolves (23-36) to playoff heights, but the one-two punch has been playoff-caliber. Wiggins scored at least 20 points for the 17th consecutive game in the Timberwolves’ 142-130 loss in Houston on Saturday, breaking the previous mark set by Minnesota legend Kevin Garnett.

Towns made that effort look small by scoring a career-high 37 and adding 22 rebounds. He has 59 rebounds in his past three games.

“We’ve got the best chemistry we’ve ever had right now,” Towns said after the game. “And that’s just working with each other and learning with each other. There are things I wish I could do that Andrew Wiggins can do. When you’re passing and watching him do his work, it’s an amazing sight.”

The two steadily have come a more potent duo. Wiggins is averaging 27.8 points during his 17-game streak and hasn’t been held below 27 points in his past eight games. Towns was held below 25 only twice in the past nine and is averaging 29.1 points in that stretch. He has scored at least 20 points in 14 straight.

Together, they have combined to average 59 points in nine games since guard Zach LaVine was lost for the season due to a left knee injury that required surgery.

Compare that with the Kings. who in their second game without DeMarcus Cousins on Saturday lost to the Charlotte Hornets 99-85 and didn’t have one player put up 20 points.

“One thing we don’t have (anymore) is that big guy that’s going to score 30 every night,” Kings forward Anthony Tolliver said. “So we know it’s going to have to be a collective effort.”

The Kings have split their two games since trading Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans. They opened with a 116-point effort against the defensively challenged Denver Nuggets, but they missed their first seven shots against Charlotte en route to a 37 percent shooting day.

Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said his team’s mission is to find consistency and “get better every day.” To that end, the Kings are looking closely at big men Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere.

Cauley-Stein, a second-year player, followed a 29-point effort, 10-rebound effort against Denver with a two-point, two-rebound performance against Charlotte.

Labissiere, a rookie, has totaled 20 points and 16 rebounds in the two games since the trade. He scored a career-high 12 vs. the Nuggets.

Sacramento beat Minnesota 109-105 in the teams’ first meeting this season, on Dec. 23 in Minneapolis, but 57 of the Kings’ points came from Cousins and forward Rudy Gay (out for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon).

The Monday game is the second of 16 road games Minnesota will play over its final 24 contests. The Timberwolves don’t play at home again until March 6.

Pacers, George face Rockets’ offensive juggernaut

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HOUSTON — It was easy to sympathize with Pacers forward Paul George in the heat of the moment on Saturday night as his temper raged and his emotions led to his ejection early in the third quarter during a loss to the Miami Heat.

George had been the focal point of rampant trade rumors in the days preceding the NBA trading deadline last week, and while that speculation formed a cloud over George and the organization, the Pacers’ losing ways yielded more angst.

Indiana (30-29) lost for the seventh time in eight games with the 113-95 setback, and will continue a five-game road trip in Houston on Monday night against the Rockets at Toyota Center looking to avoid falling back to .500 for the first time since Jan. 23. If George was running hot, he had several reasons to be.

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t contrite in the aftermath of his ejection.

“I’ve got to be better,” George told the Indianapolis Star. “That’s the only thing I can say about that. I’ve got to be better.”

The same could be said of the Pacers from both a micro and macro perspective. Indiana trailed 64-58 when George departed and rallied to take the lead later in the period only to come undone in the fourth quarter. Save for a 10-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies coming out of the All-Star break, the Pacers’ defense has been nonexistent during their recent slide, allowing a league-worst 118.7 points per 100 possessions during the losing stretch.

Their post-George collapse against Miami was a microcosm of their recent level of play.

“We’ve got to keep our head in that situation,” Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. “Certainly when he left the game they had momentum. I thought they gained momentum in that second quarter when they made that huge run and it continued throughout the game. You’ve just got to settle down, calm down.”

The Rockets (42-18) have showcased a supercharged offense following the acquisition of guard Lou Williams, averaging 135.5 points with a 59.5 effective field goal percentage and 123.2 offensive rating. But what rankled Houston coach Mike D’Antoni on Saturday night was a defense that surrendered 130 points in a 12-point win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets were outrebounded by 27 and allowed Minnesota to shoot a robust 52.1 percent from the floor.

So, despite their season-high scoring output and despite setting a new NBA single-season record with their eighth game of 20-plus 3-pointers – Houston shot 22 of 58 from deep in the victory – the Rockets were talking defense a day later.

“Nobody is going to complain with a win,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza said. “But doing the things that we want to do is the big thing. We feel defensively we didn’t give our best effort, we didn’t do our schemes to perfection the way we like, and giving up 130 points is a lot of points to give up no matter if you score 140 or 131 points. Giving up 130 is too many.”

Mavs’ Noel ready for next big challenge — Miami’s Whiteside

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Big men are coming fast and furious for Nerlens Noel. He doesn’t seem to mind.

One game after facing fellow Kentucky products Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, the newly-acquired Dallas Mavericks center doesn’t lack for confidence with Hassan Whiteside and the Miami Heat coming to American Airlines Center on Monday night.

“I’ve played against him a few times and this was definitely a good first task in my Maverick career,” Noel said after the Mavs bested New Orleans on Saturday. “We’ll pick it up with a Miami win and we’ll try to keep this train going.”

Noel played 30 minutes off the bench in Dallas’ 96-83 win over the Pelicans, scoring nine and pulling down 10 rebounds. New Orleans’ twin towers did put up big numbers, but the final score was Noel’s focus.

“I thought I played OK, but I was more proud of how I tried to contribute to the winning efforts,” he said. “The more I learn the offensive system, the more effective I’ll be with the timing and learning guys’ tendencies. I think I have to improve on that.”

Whiteside went for 22 points and 17 rebounds for the red-hot Heat in Saturday’s 113-95 rout of Indiana. Winners of 16 of its last 18, Miami (27-32) is closing in on the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Whiteside, a free-agent target for the Mavs during the offseason, is a big reason. The self-perceived All-Star snub has 37 double-doubles this season and needs just two more to match LeBron James (102) for fifth most in franchise history.

Whiteside made 6 of 12 shots against the Pacers after being 1 for 9 the night before.

“I was just out there playing,” he said. “I got some lucky bounces for the rebound and my teammates gave me the ball on some great passes from them. They made it a lot easier for me.”

Noel’s all-around game was definitely on display against New Orleans. His ability to move in the post, recover quickly and run the pick-and-roll is a skill set the Mavericks haven’t had since the days of Tyson Chandler.

“That’s an important weapon to have,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ve got some guys that roll well, but we don’t have that kind of elevation. He’s is going to help us there.

“Defensively, I like the way he mixes it up in the post; he’s got the quickness to front and still get back around. He got his hands on a lot of balls. The last play of the game where he steals it and goes down and dunks it shows you the kind of quickness he has.”

Noel not starting in his Dallas debut isn’t an issue. It’ll eventually happen, Carlisle has said.

“The minutes are going to be there whether he starts or doesn’t start,” he said. “The guys really loved playing with him (Saturday) and really took to him. That was great to see. It’s one game, but it’s a good start.”

Dallas (23-35) was busy Sunday signing a pair of D-Leaguers to 10-day contracts, forward Ben Bentil and guard Quinn Cook to fill out the roster.

The Heat beat the Mavs 99-95 last month in Miami to extend their winning streak over Dallas to three.

Celtics return home after road split to face Hawks

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BOSTON — After avoiding what would have been a fourth three-game losing streak on Sunday in Detroit, the Boston Celtics aim for their seventh straight home victory with the Atlanta Hawks in town on Monday night.

The Celtics (38-21) blew a 17-point lead and lost at Toronto in their first game back from the All-Star break on Friday night, then failed to hold a 15-point advantage (because of turnovers) against the Pistons before winning Sunday.

“It was a back-and-forth, tough game,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after his team’s 12th victory in the last 15 games. “They made big plays. It’s a hard team for us to play against.”

Isaiah Thomas scored 33 points — his 43rd straight 20 point game — and Jae Crowder added 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the victory.

Rookie Jaylen Brown, not known for his outside shot, nailed a big 3-pointer that actually triggered a five-point possession with the team down one with 37.6 seconds left.

“I’ve worked on my shot because that’s what people have been critiquing me on my whole life,” said Brown, who finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. “And I think I’ve gotten better at it.”

The Hawks have lost three in a row and four of their last five to fall to 32-26. They lost by 19 at Orlando on Saturday night.

Atlanta is 10-10 in its last 20 games and 23-24 after opening the season on a 9-2 run.

“We don’t want to be a .500 team,” coach Mike Budenholzer said Saturday night. “You have to go out on the court and execute on both ends of the court. At the end of the day, if it’s 20 games and we are .500 we have to be honest with ourselves and find ways to improve whether it be small things or big things.”

Hawks guard Dennis Schroder said, “First off, we have to get together with the team. We are not there. Everybody has to be together. We have to play together as a team. We are going to see.”

Schroder didn’t start Saturday night’s game after showing up late for the team bus. He entered the game after 7:03.

The last time the Celtics and Hawks met, Thomas won the game with a jumper with two seconds left and Schroder later accused Thomas of saying bad things about his mother — a charge Thomas denied. Monday night is the second of three games in the regular season between the teams. The Hawks knocked the Celtics out of last year’s playoffs in the first round.

That first meeting marked the first game for Boston’s Al Horford against his former team and he was upset when the Atlanta crowd booed him.

In the last three games, Horford, who signed a huge free agent deal with the Celtics during the summer, has scored just 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, going 8 of 26 from the floor.

On Sunday, the Hawks waived bench player Lamar Patterson, who was allowed to leave the team to attend to a personal matter. He signed two 10-day contracts earlier this season and recently signed a two-year deal.

On Sunday night, the Atlantic Division-leading Celtics benefited from the Pistons going just 16 of 35 from the foul line. On Monday night, they face a team that is 38 of 62 from the line in the last two games.

Boston, which hosts the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night, has been without Avery Bradley for 22 of the last 23 games because of an Achilles strain. But he is getting close.

“Avery’s going to go through his stuff today, and I think we’re any day now,” Stevens said before Sunday’s game. “He will not play tonight, but, yeah, we’re excited about Avery’s progress.”

Bucks-Cavaliers Preview

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CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are pretty bad without LeBron James.

But they could be really shorthanded Monday night when they host the Milwaukee Bucks in the finale of a four-game homestand and the last of what’s been a great month of games for Cleveland.

James has strep throat. Kyle Korver bruised his knee Saturday night. Kevin Love and J.R. Smith are already out recovering from surgeries.

James missed the morning shootaround and the Cavs listed him as questionable against the Bucks. Korver is also listed as questionable, but he participated in the shootaround and said he expects to play.

And while free agent point guard Deron Williams will sign with the Cavs on Monday, he might not be available for the evening’s game against the Bucks.

Enter Kyrie Irving, who’s coming off a 34-point game in Cleveland’s loss to the Chicago Bulls Saturday night and is averaging a career-high 24.6 points per game this season.

“My mindset doesn’t change too much,” Irving said, when asked about playing without James. “I understand there’s a few extra shots I have to take, but I also have to create a lot more plays for my teammates. … The start of the game, throughout the game, understanding I’m going to need other guys in position to play at an even higher level, especially when we have a gap like ‘Bron not playing. You just take it as that and try to put guys in great position to succeed.”

Irving nearly notched a triple-double with a season-high nine rebounds and seven assists in a 117-99 loss to the Bulls. He has scored at least 20 points in his last eight games, and needs one more assist to become the eighth player in team history with 2,000 career assists.

But when James doesn’t play — his status is to be determined, as is Korver’s — Irving’s presence makes almost no difference. The Cavs are 4-19 without James since the start of the 2014 season and zero for their last seven. Irving was out for at least a couple of those games, but the point remains the same.

The Bucks, meanwhile, lost forward Jabari Parker for the season Feb. 8 to a torn ACL. They improved to 4-3 without him Sunday by beating the Phoenix Suns 100-96. Giannis Antetokounmpo led all players with 28 points and shot 11 of 13 from the field.

Antetokounmpo and Cleveland’s James are two of only five players in the NBA this season to be averaging at least 20 points and shooting better than 50 percent from the field.

Michael Beasley scored 17 points off the bench. Malcolm Brogdon scored 15 points to go with seven assists in a reserve role. Former Cavs’ sixth man Matthew Dellavedova struggled mightily, failing to score on 0-of-6 shooting.

Tony Snell (13 points, 3 of 6 3-pointers) and Korver are the NBA’s top two 3-point shooters since Jan. 1 — they are both shooting better than 51 percent.

“Lot of good stuff,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “Thought we were growing up, this is a growing up game. We’re growing, we’re going in the right direction.”

Khris Middleton, who made his first start this season and finished with eight points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes, will not travel to Cleveland for the game, Kidd said. Middleton missed the first 50 games this season with a torn left hamstring.

Raptors-Knicks Preview

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NEW YORK — The Toronto Raptors appear to be out of their malaise and for DeMar DeRozan little doubt exists that the defensive presence of Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker is the difference.

“I think it’s obvious,” DeRozan said in his postgame on-court interview with Sportsnet after Sunday’s 112-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. “What P.J. brings and what Serge brings, it makes a big difference.”

After losing their grip on first place in the Atlantic Division, the Raptors take a three-game winning streak into Monday’s visit to the New York Knicks.

From Jan. 18 to Feb. 14, the Raptors lost 11 of 15 games, prompting the urgency to acquire rugged frontcourt help. Help came in the form of Ibaka on Feb. 14, and although he did not play the next night, Toronto squeaked out a 90-85 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Not satisfied with one defensive-minded forward, the Raptors then added to their depth by getting Tucker from the Phoenix Suns before Thursday’s trade deadline.

The results of the pairing appeared during the fourth quarters of home wins over the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers. In Friday’s 107-97 win, the Raptors held the Celtics to 20 points on 36.8 percent from the floor and Sunday the defense finished with a 16-10 spurt in the final 4 1/2 minutes.

DeRozan scored 33 points on Sunday and 43 on Friday to help offset the absence of Kyle Lowry (right wrist), who will undergo surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss at least the remainder of the regular season.

DeRozan’s prolific scoring also was aided by Ibaka and Tucker being on the court at the same time down the stretch.

They played the final 7:05 on Sunday and Toronto held Portland without a basket for nearly three minutes. Two nights earlier, the duo played the final 9:03 when the Raptors turned an 85-79 deficit into a win.

Ibaka also has contributed offensively. In his first two games, Ibaka scored 33 points, including two mid-range jumpers after Portland cut the deficit to two points.

“It takes a lot of pressure off,” DeRozan said. “The teams just have to understand that you have to pick and choose. You know we have another weapon out there for teams to worry about.”

With Lowry out, the good news for the Raptors is their point guard play was steady over the weekend. Cory Joseph scored 25 points for Lowry in two games and Delon Wright added 11 points on Sunday.

“Those guys did a good job,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “Not having our queen bee in there and our top guy to hand the ball off to offensively, defensively, 3-point shooting, we miss that part of it.”

Toronto (35-24) is three games behind Boston. The Raptors (.593) are also percentage points between the Washington Wizards (.596), who visit Toronto on Wednesday.

“We got 23 games left,” DeRozan said. “We got to leave it all out there. Before we know it, playoffs will be here.”

New York (24-35) sits in 12th and four games behind Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Knicks are looking to get consecutive wins for the first time since Dec. 20-22.

New York is 8-22 since those home wins over the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic with several losses coming by five points or less.

The Knicks nearly experienced another one Saturday night but escaped with a 110-109 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers when Carmelo Anthony hit the go-ahead 11-footer baseline jumper over Robert Covington with three-tenths of a second remaining.

Anthony scored 37 points, marking the 15th time he topped 30 this season. In his last 13 games since Jan. 25, he is averaging 26.9 points on 47.1 percent shooting from the floor.

Anthony’s game-winner occurred after the Knicks nearly wasted a 12-point lead down the stretch.

“The way we closed the game out, we can’t let that happen,” Anthony said. “This is not new to us. We’ve been in this situation before. We got to figure this out. That’s what we have to get better at as a team. Sometimes we do it right, and sometimes we don’t.”

Before Anthony’s game-winner, the Knicks missed five of seven shots, committed three turnovers in a span of five-plus minutes and gave up an 18-5 spurt.

“It’s a tough game,” New York coach Jeff Hornacek said. “Swings can go quickly. And the biggest thing for us is we have to play the last five minutes of the game almost like it’s the middle of the first quarter with the execution, with the quick movements, instead of just walking it up.”

The Knicks nearly collapsed while Joakim Noah and Kristaps Porzingis sat out. Noah missed his seventh straight game with a left hamstring injury and Porzingis sat with a sprained right ankle. Porzingis hopes to play Monday, but Noah reportedly was scheduled for season-ending knee surgery on Monday.

New York made a pair of roster moves Monday, signing free agent guard Chasson Randle and waiving guard Brandon Jennings.

Toronto is on a five-game winning streak against the Knicks with four of those wins coming by double digits. A win on Monday would equal their longest winning streak in the series set Feb. 15, 2000, to March 4, 2001.

Warriors set to open five-game road trip vs. Sixers

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The Golden State Warriors reached the first of their goals on Saturday night, clinching a playoff berth with a 112-95 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Warriors, who begin a five-game road trip Monday night in Philadelphia, became the first team to qualify for the postseason. It is the fifth straight season they have done so, and in the process they improved their league-best record to 49-9.

Certainly they have loftier goals after frittering away a 3-1 lead and losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, and winning a title the year before. All-Star guard Stephen Curry, nonetheless, savored Saturday’s milestone.

“I remember those days (when we weren’t going to the postseason),” he told the San Francisco Examiner. “Not a lot of guys in that locker room remember or have experienced not being on a playoff team. So, I appreciate it a lot. You never take for granted the situation we’re in.”

Curry scored 27 points and Klay Thompson added 24 against the Nets, as Golden State won their third straight game and their sixth in the last seven.

Forward Kevin Durant, the Warriors’ leading scorer (25.7), did not play because of a bruised left hand. He is day to day.

Curry believes Golden State will have to put its best foot forward on this trip, which also includes stops in Washington, Chicago, New York and Atlanta.

“We’re playing five really competitive teams in their home arenas,” he told the Examiner. “So, we’ve got to pack our defense in our suitcase and hopefully that shows up every night.”

The Sixers lost 110-109 on Saturday night to the New York Knicks, as Carmelo Anthony nailed a baseline jumper with three-tenths of a second remaining for the last of his 37 points.

Philadelphia (22-36) continues to be without rookie center Joel Embiid, its leading scorer (20.2) and rebounder (7.8), who has missed the last 13 games and 16 of 17 with a bone bruise and meniscus tear in his left knee. Team officials previously announced that he will be out until at least Friday, when the Sixers host the Knicks.

General manager Bryan Colangelo also announced last Friday that forward Ben Simmons, the top pick in the 2016 draft, will miss the rest of the season with a broken right foot.

The Sixers have nonetheless won four of six, and against the Knicks all three of their frontcourt starters had double-doubles. Center Jahlil Okafor, who had been the subject of trade rumors heading into last Thursday’s deadline, posted a season-high 28 points and 10 rebounds.

Forward Robert Covington had 20 points and 10 boards, and rookie forward Dario Saric contributed 19 and 15, respectively. His rebound total was a career high, and it came in his fourth straight double-double.

Second-year forward Justin Anderson, acquired in the trade that sent Nerlens Noel to Dallas last Thursday, made his Sixers debut against the Knicks. He went scoreless while playing 3:47 off the bench.

The Warriors announced after their game against Brooklyn that they were not going to re-sign guard Briante Weber, who was at the end of his second 10-day contract. Coach Steve Kerr told reporters that the team intends to add a point guard, and ESPN.com reported that the Warriors are the favorites to sign veteran Jose Calderon if his contract is bought out by the Lakers.

That same outlet reported that Dave Bauman, agent for center Andrew Bogut, is in negotiations with the Sixers to buy out Bogut’s contract. He was also part of the Noel trade.

NBA Capsules (February 27, 2017)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Russell Westbrook scored 41 points in his 29th triple-double of the season to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 118-110 on Sunday night.

Westbrook had 21 points in the fourth quarter. He shot 7 for 19 from the field the first three quarters and was 7 for 10 in the fourth. He also had 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the 66th triple-double of his career.

Enes Kanter had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Steven Adams added 13 points and 10 boards for the Thunder, who won their third straight.

Anthony Davis scored 38 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 31 points and 10 rebounds, but he played just 22 minutes and fouled out while getting dunked on by Westbrook. The Pelicans fell to 0-3 since acquiring Cousins in a trade with Sacramento.

CLIPPERS 124, HORNETS 121, OT

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Blake Griffin scored a season-high 43 points and Chris Paul had 15 points and 17 assists as Los Angeles held off Charlotte in overtime.

The Hornets lost despite getting 34 points from Kemba Walker and 31 from Nicolas Batum, who shot 8 of 13 on 3-pointers.

Charlotte had a chance to win at the end, trailing by one late in overtime, but a poor pass by Walker was picked off by center DeAndre Jordan with six seconds to go. He followed Paul’s miss on the other end with a dunk that all but sealed the victory.

J.J. Redick had 22 points for the Clippers.

SPURS 119, LAKERS 98

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and San Antonio routed the Lakers in Los Angeles’ first home game since Magic Johnson took over the franchise’s basketball operations.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points for the Spurs, who have won four straight and nine of 11.

Pau Gasol added 15 points against his former team, and the Southwest Division leaders had little trouble with the Lakers, who have lost four straight and 15 of 19.

Five days after owner Jeanie Buss put Johnson in charge of basketball operations, the Lakers’ dismal season still hasn’t changed much, although new Lakers acquisitions Corey Brewer and Tyler Ennis got limited playing time.

Rookie Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 22 points as the Lakers fell to 19-41, ensuring their fourth consecutive non-winning season.

JAZZ 102, WIZARDS 92

WASHINGTON (AP) – Gordon Hayward scored 30 points, Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 20 rebounds, and Utah beat Washington for its third straight victory.

Northwest Division-leading Utah led by as many as 24 points before Washington got within six with just over 2 minutes left. Hayward hit a pair of jumpers to seal the win.

George Hill added 21 points for Utah.

Washington, the Southeast Division leader, has lost two in a row for the first time since early January. John Wall led the Wizards with 23 points and 11 assists. Bradley Beal, who was scoreless in the first half, added 22 points.

Utah converted 23 of 32 free throws, while Washington made 10 of 13. The Jazz outrebounded the Wizards 52-27.

CELTICS 104, PISTONS 98

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Jaylen Brown sank a 3-pointer from the right corner while being fouled with 37.6 seconds remaining, part of a five-point possession for Boston that lifted the Celtics over Detroit.

The Celtics were down 96-95 when Brown connected while being fouled by Marcus Morris. Brown missed the ensuing free throw, but Detroit couldn’t come up with the rebound, and Tobias Harris was called for a loose-ball foul. Marcus Smart added two free throws to put Boston up 100-96.

Isaiah Thomas led the Celtics with 33 points. Andre Drummond had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Pistons, but he went 1 of 11 on free throws and was taken out for some key possessions toward the end to prevent Boston from fouling him.

GRIZZLIES 105, NUGGETS 98

DENVER (AP) – Mike Conley scored 31 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and Memphis held off Denver.

Zach Randolph finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Memphis, which snapped a two-game skid. Marc Gasol chipped in 23 points and found his mark from long range by hitting three 3-pointers.

The Grizzlies have now won four straight in Denver – an intriguing run, considering they’re just 9-32 all-time in the Mile High City.

Danilo Gallinari had 24 points as Denver dropped to 0-12 this season when failing to reach the 100-point plateau.

The Grizzlies outscored the Nuggets 21-13 in second-chance points and outrebounded them by a 49-39 margin. What’s more, Memphis finished 22 of 25 from the free throw line.

RAPTORS 112, TRAIL BLAZERS 106

TORONTO (AP) – DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, Serge Ibaka added 18 and Toronto beat Portland.

The Raptors won their third in a row and wrapped up a second straight season sweep of Portland. They previously had beaten the Trail Blazers 95-91 in Portland on Dec. 26.

Damian Lillard scored 28 points for the Trail Blazers, who got 18 from Maurice Harkless.

Up 98-96 with 4:41 remaining, the Raptors scored the next six points, with back-to-back jump shots from Ibaka and a pair of free throws from DeRozan putting them up by eight with 3:16 remaining.

BUCKS 100, SUNS 96

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, Tony Snell made a clinching 3-pointer from the corner in the closing seconds and Milwaukee held on to beat Phoenix.

Michael Beasley added 17 points and Malcolm Brogdon had 15 as the Bucks swept the two-game season series with the Suns. Greg Monroe finished with 14 points and Snell had 13.

TJ Warren led the Suns with 23 points. Alan Williams scored a career-high 17 points and tied his career high with 15 rebounds, while Devin Booker added 15 points and Eric Bledsoe had 11.

Clinging to a one-point lead, the Bucks came out of timeout with Monroe inbounding the ball to Antetokounmpo. He dribbled the clock down before passing to Brogdon, who whipped the ball to Snell in the corner. Snell hit a 3 with a defender flying at him.

NBA Capsules (February 26, 2017)

CLEVELAND (AP) – Dwyane Wade scored 20 points and Jimmy Butler recorded a triple-double, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 117-99 victory Saturday night over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who played without LeBron James.

James missed the game with strep throat, and coach Tyronn Lue said he wasn’t sure how long the Cavaliers would be without the four-time MVP. Cleveland struggled as it often does without its star – they are 4-19 without him since he returned to Cleveland in 2014, including 0-4 this season.

Chicago has won all three games against Cleveland this season. It took advantage of James’ absence to win its fourth straight overall.

Wade was 9 of 18 from the field and had 10 assists with eight rebounds. Butler had 18 points, including 13 in the third quarter, to go along with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 34 points, hitting 13 of 25 from the field. Kyle Korver scored 14 points before limping to the locker room after taking a hard fall late in the fourth quarter.

WARRIORS 112, NETS 95

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Stephen Curry scored 27 points on a night Kevin Durant missed his first game of the season with a hand injury, and Golden State beat Brooklyn to clinch a playoff berth.

Klay Thompson added 24 points. Curry converted a four-point play just before halftime to put his team up 62-51 at the break. The two-time reigning MVP had five 3-pointers and five assists.

This is just a first step for these star-studded, NBA-best Warriors (49-9): They want the No. 1 seed in the West. Oh, and a championship.

Durant sat out with a bruised left hand. He injured his pinkie in the first quarter of a 123-113 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night, and X-rays were negative. He practiced Friday with his left hand heavily taped and still had some discomfort Saturday.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 16 points in the Nets’ 16th straight defeat.

HEAT 113, PACERS 95

MIAMI (AP) – Hassan Whiteside scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, Dion Waiters added 22 points and red-hot Miami pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Indiana.

Goran Dragic added 21 points and James Johnson had 15 for Miami, which outscored Indiana 30-16 in the fourth. The Pacers played most of the second half without All-Star forward Paul George, who was ejected after getting two technicals on separate plays early in the third quarter.

Myles Turner scored 18 points and Jeff Teague added 16 for Indiana. George had 10 points in 19 minutes.

It was the 16th win in the last 18 games for the surging Heat, who moved within 1 1/2 games of idle Detroit for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami also topped 100 points for the 16th consecutive game, extending the franchise record.

ROCKETS 142, TIMBERWOLVES 130

HOUSTON (AP) – James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists to lead Houston to a victory over Minnesota as both teams set season scoring highs.

Houston won for the sixth time in seven games, handing the Timberwolves their first road loss in more than three weeks.

Minnesota committed a season-high 25 turnovers that led to 38 points for the Rockets.

Playing against Houston’s guard-heavy rotation, Minnesota went inside all night and outscored the Rockets 68-44 in the paint. Karl-Anthony Towns had 37 points and 22 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins added 30 points.

Still, the Timberwolves were ultimately outpaced by the hot-shooting Rockets.

KNICKS 110, 76ERS 109

NEW YORK (AP) – Carmelo Anthony made a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give New York a victory over Philadelphia 76ers.

The Knicks blew a 17-point lead and fell behind by one when Jahlil Okafor scored with 9 seconds remaining. But Anthony dribbled left after a timeout, pulling up over Robert Covington to cap his 37-point performance.

The Knicks then intercepted the 76ers’ inbounds pass to hold on and snap their two-game losing streak.

Derrick Rose added 18 points and Justin Holiday had 14 for the Knicks, who won for just the third time in 11 games. They played without starters Kristaps Porzingis (sprained right ankle) and Joakim Noah (sore left hamstring).

Okafor had a season-high 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the 76ers nearly pulled out the victory after beating Washington on Friday. Dario Saric had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Covington finished with 20 points and 10 boards.

MAGIC 105, HAWKS 86

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Terrence Ross scored 24 points, Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Orlando beat Atlanta to snap a two-game skid.

Ross played his second game with Orlando after coming over from Toronto in a trade for Serge Ibaka and gave Orlando the shooting touch it has lacked all season. He hit 10 of 15 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

Orlando also got double-digit production from Aaron Gordon (18 points) and Elfrid Payton (15). Payton was just short for his fourth career triple-double with nine rebounds and nine assists despite not playing at all in the fourth quarter.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led five Hawks in double figures with 15 points. Atlanta was playing the back-end of a back-to-back and dropped its third straight. The Hawks are trying to remain in the top five in the Eastern Conference.

HORNETS 99, KINGS 85

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Frank Kaminsky had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Charlotte beat Sacramento to end a five-game losing streak.

The Hornets went ahead late in the first quarter and led the rest of the way for their second win in 14 games. The Kings never got going offensively, and Charlotte led by 23 points in the second half while ending their 12-game road skid.

Marvin Williams scored 16 points and Nicolas Batum had 15 for the Hornets.

Ben McLemore led the Kings with 18 points and Buddy Hield had 15 in his second game since being acquired from New Orleans in a trade for DeMarcus Cousins. Anthony Tolliver and Tyreke Evans had 11 points each.

MAVERICKS 96, PELICANS 83

DALLAS (AP) – Harrison Barnes scored 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points and nine rebounds as Dallas ended a three-game losing streak by beating New Orleans.

The Pelicans fell to 0-2 since trading for DeMarcus Cousins and pairing him with Anthony Davis.

Davis had 39 points and 14 rebounds but scored only 12 in the second half. Cousins finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Seth Curry scored 10 of his 13 in the fourth quarter to help Dallas pull away. His 3-pointer with 4:49 to play gave the Mavericks an 84-72 lead, and the Pelicans never got closer than six after that.

NBA Capsules (February 25, 2017)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Russell Westbrook scored 17 points in his 28th triple-double of the season, and his new teammates fit in seamlessly as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 110-93 on Friday night.

Westbrook also had 18 rebounds and 17 assists for the 65th triple-double of his career.

It was the first game for new Thunder players Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, acquired Thursday in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. Gibson scored 12 points and McDermott added eight, even though they arrived Thursday night and weren’t even available for shootaround on Friday.

Alex Abrines and Andre Roberson each set a career high with 19 points, and Steven Adams added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.

D’Angelo Russell scored 29 for the Lakers.

RAPTORS 107, CELTICS 97

TORONTO (AP) – DeMar DeRozan scored a career-high 43 points and Toronto rallied from 17 down to beat Boston.

DeRozan shot 15 of 28 from the floor as he surpassed his 42-point effort against Houston on March 30, 2015. That helped the Raptors overcome the absence of fellow All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, who sat out with a right wrist injury.

Serge Ibaka, acquired from Orlando last week, scored 15 points in his Raptors debut. Fellow newcomer P.J. Tucker, obtained from Phoenix on Thursday, had a game-high 10 rebounds and nine points in his first game for his new team.

Isaiah Thomas scored 20 for Boston, which also got 19 points apiece from Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart.

Down 91-88 with 4:11 to play, the Raptors went on a 9-1 run to lead by five with 2:01 to go.

SPURS 105, CLIPPERS 97

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points despite foul trouble, and San Antonio shook off the rust from a nine-day layoff to beat Los Angeles for its third straight win.

Pau Gasol added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in his return from a 15-game absence because of a fractured finger. LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dewayne Dedmon grabbed 12 rebounds.

Blake Griffin scored 29 points for the Clippers, who have dropped consecutive games to the NBA’s two winningest teams since the All-Star break ended. They lost by 10 at Golden State a night earlier. The Spurs have the league’s second-best record at 44-13.

Chris Paul added 17 points in his return after missing five weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb.

HEAT 108, HAWKS 90

ATLANTA (AP) – Tyler Johnson scored 23 points and resurgent Miami helped its playoff hopes by beating Atlanta.

Miami has won 15 of 17 to move within six games of .500. The Heat were a season-low 19 games under .500 at 11-30 following a loss to Milwaukee on Jan. 13. Miami began the night 10th in the East, 2+ games behind eighth-place Detroit.

The Heat made 17 of 37 3-pointers to dominate the short-handed Hawks.

Atlanta was without starting point guard Dennis Schroder, suspended one game after failing to return on time from a visit to his native Germany during the All-Star break.

Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 21 points. Ersan Ilyasova, acquired from the 76ers on Wednesday, had nine points in his Atlanta debut.

76ERS 120, WIZARDS 112

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Robert Covington had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Dario Saric added 20 points and 11 boards, and the depleted Philadelphia 76ers beat Washington.

Bradley Beal had 40 points and John Wall scored 29 for the Southeast Division-leading Wizards.

On a day the Sixers announced No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons will not play this season, their other young players made up for the absence of star center Joel Embiid following the trades of center Nerlens Noel and forward Ersan Ilyasova. Noel and Ilyasova were dealt before Thursday’s trade deadline, and Embiid missed his 12th straight game with a bruised left knee.

Richaun Holmes had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for Philadelphia.

PACERS 102, GRIZZLIES 92

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – CJ Miles made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, Paul George had nine points and nine rebounds after remaining with Indiana following the trade deadline, and the Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over Memphis.

Monta Ellis finished with 16 points and Myles Turner scored 12 for the Pacers.

George was one of the biggest names involved in trade speculation Thursday and Pacers fans showed they were happy he wasn’t dealt, giving the All-Star forward perhaps the loudest ovation he’s received all season during player introductions. They hope a contract extension will be worked out before George becomes a free agent after the 2017-18 season.

George shot just 3 for 12 but the Pacers led by as many as 27 in the second half. Troy Daniels had 13 points for the Grizzlies.

JAZZ 109, BUCKS 95

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Gordon Hayward scored 29 points, Derrick Favors added 19 and Utah beat Milwaukee by dominating the paint area in its first game back from the All-Star break.

Hayward finished 11 of 17 from the field, breaking free for short, open jumpers or dunks. The 6-foot-10 Favors shot 9 of 14, often going strong to the hoop.

Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 16 rebounds for Utah, which held a 52-34 edge in the paint.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 12 rebounds for the Bucks, who had won three straight.

TIMBERWOLVES 97, MAVERICKS 84

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 18 rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins scored 27 to help Minnesota defeat Dallas.

Ricky Rubio added 13 points and 14 assists a day after the Timberwolves declined an opportunity to trade him to the New York Knicks for Derrick Rose. The Wolves shot 52.6 percent to pull within 2 1/2 games of Denver for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

Towns had seven turnovers, but scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to turn back the Mavericks.

Seth Curry had a career-high 31 points and Harrison Barnes added 20 points for Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki was just 4 for 14 and Wes Matthews was 2 for 9 as the Mavs dropped three games behind the Nuggets.

BULLS 128, SUNS 121, OT

CHICAGO (AP) – Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 22 and Chicago rallied to beat Phoenix in overtime.

Devin Booker scored 27 points for Phoenix, but missed a chance to win it in regulation after Wade fouled him on a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left. Booker hit the first two free throws to tie it, then missed the third.

Wade and Butler led the Bulls as they rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Western Conference’s last-place team. Both players scored 14 points after the third quarter to help the Bulls win their third straight.

Nikola Mirotic scored 20 points and hit four 3s for the Bulls, who scored 20 points in overtime. Robin Lopez added 19 points.

Eric Bledsoe had 17 points and 10 assists for the Suns, who lost for the sixth time in eight games.

NUGGETS 129, NETS 109

DENVER (AP) – Gary Harris scored a career-high 25 points and Denver bounced back from successive losses to hand Brooklyn its 15th loss in a row.

Wilson Chandler had 24 points and Danilo Gallinari added 20 for the Nuggets, who snapped a six-game losing streak to the Nets.

Jeremy Lin was back in the starting lineup for the Nets after missing the previous 26 games because of a strained left hamstring. He played just under 15 minutes and scored seven points with five assists.

Brook Lopez had 17 points to lead the Nets.

Denver shot 14 of 31 on 3-pointers. It was the 18th time this season the Nuggets scored at least 120 points.

NBA Capsules (February 24, 2017)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Reserve Lou Williams hit seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points in his Rockets debut after a trade from the Lakers, and Houston crushed New Orleans 129-99 on Thursday night in DeMarcus Cousins’ first game with Anthony Davis.

Davis had 29 points, and Cousins finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds after he was acquired from Sacramento during the break. But New Orleans turned the ball over 20 times couldn’t keep pace with the firepower of the Rockets, who hit 20 3-pointers.

Eric Gordon scored 19 points and Ryan Anderson added 17 in both players’ first game in New Orleans since leaving the Pelicans. James Harden had 13 points and 14 assists.

Houston led by as many as 35 points when Gordon’s free throws made it 100-65 late in the third quarter.

CAVALIERS 119, KNICKS 104

CLEVELAND (AP) – LeBron James recorded his 48th career triple-double and Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, leading Cleveland over New York after the hung on to superstar Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose at the trade deadline.

James scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds with 15 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season.

Anthony, the subject of trade rumors because of a strained relationship with Knicks President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson, scored 20 points, going 9 of 25 from the field.

Kyle Korver scored 20 points for Cleveland, which is 8-1 in February and has beaten New York 10 straight times.

Courtney Lee had 25 points for New York, which has lost six of seven and is 12th in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

WARRIORS 123, CLIPPERS 113

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 35 points in a 3-point flurry over the final 3:37 of the third quarter, and the two-time reigning MVP also had seven rebounds, five assists and four steals as the Warriors used a big second half to beat the Los Angeles Clippers.

Curry’s four-point play with 30.7 seconds left in the third and buzzer-beating 3 to punctuate the one-sided period propelled Golden State. Curry and Kevin Durant combined for eight of their team’s nine 3-pointers in the third.

The Warriors scored 50 points in the quarter after trailing 61-49 at halftime. It was the NBA’s first 50-point quarter since the Lakers had 51 against the Knicks on March 25, 2014.

Durant scored 15 of his 25 points in the third and also contributed 15 rebounds and seven assists as the NBA-best Warriors (48-9) began the stretch run with a downright dominant second half.

PISTONS 114, HORNETS 108, OT

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 33 points, including three 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter during a pulsating Detroit rally, and the Pistons outlasted Charlotte.

Caldwell-Pope scored Detroit’s last 11 points of regulation, and his 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds to play tied the game at 100. Kemba Walker scored Charlotte’s final nine points of the fourth, but the Pistons forced him to give up the ball on the last possession, and Marco Belinelli missed a 3-pointer that could have won it.

Detroit, which was behind by 18 in the third quarter, never trailed in the overtime. Caldwell-Pope’s 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining put the Pistons up 110-102.

Charlotte led 85-70 at the start of the fourth but missed 14 of its first 15 shots in the period, enabling Detroit to cut into the lead.

Walker scored 34 points. Tobias Harris had 25 for the Pistons.

TRAIL BLAZERS 112, MAGIC 103

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – Damian Lillard scored 33 points, C.J. McCollum added 22 and Portland beat Orlando to snap a three-game losing streak.

After trailing for much of the game, the Trail Blazers rallied in the fourth quarter behind Lillard’s 17 points. Recently acquired center Jusuf Nurkic also had 12 points and 12 rebounds during the much-needed win for the Portland.

The Trail Blazers spoiled Terrence Ross’ debut with the Magic after being traded last week for Serge Ibaka. Ross, who is supposed to added athleticism and a scoring punch, managed just 13 points on 4-of-17 shooting with his new team.

Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points and Evan Fournier added 20 as the Magic lost for the sixth time in seven games.

KINGS 116, NUGGETS 100

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Willie Cauley-Stein had a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds to help Sacramento, playing for the first time since trading DeMarcus Cousins, beat Denver.

The Kings made a blockbuster deal Sunday, trading the all-Star Cousins to New Orleans. The controversial, often petulant star spent seven seasons with the Kings, who haven’t had a winning record or made the playoffs since 2005-06.

Newcomers Buddy Hield scored 16 points and Tyreke Evans had 15 for the Kings, Darren Collison had 15 points and 10 assists. Seldom-used rookie Skal Labissiere had a season-high 12 points and Ben McLemore 10.

Gary Harris made five 3-pointers and had 23 points for Denver. Wilson Chandler had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Will Barton scored 16, Danilo Gallinari had 15, and Jameer Nelson 12.

Mavericks get Nerlens Noel from 76ers for 2017 1st-rounder, Justin Andefson, Andrew Bogut

The Dallas Mavericks reached agreement on a deal to acquire Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel, league sources told Yahoo!'s The Vertical on Thursday.

The Mavericks will send a protected 2017 first-round pick, forward Justin Anderson and center Andrew Bogut to the 76ers for Noel, league sources said.

NBA Trade Deadline Rumors & Notes

1:09pm ET (Update #1)

• Celtics are interested in Bogut from 76ers if he's not bought out by the end of the day.

• 76ers indeed working on another landing spot for Andrew Bogut, per source, after getting him, Justin Anderson, 1st from Mavs for Nerlens Noel.

• Nets pick has entered the conversation between the Pacers and Celtics for Paul George. BOS is worried about George's opt out after 17-18.

• Cavaliers are "eyeing" Bogut from 76ers as a potential buyout candidate, while Boston may make a move for him.

• 76ers pushing hard to move Bogut by today's deadline. Teams involved are Cleveland and Boston, Cleveland would prefer buyout.

• Thunder have shown interest in Taj Gibson.

• Suns are looking to move P.J. Tucker and Brandon Knight today. Raptors inquired about Tucker. Mavs inquired about Knight

• The Mavericks would like to do a long-term deal with Noel in the summer.

• Suns have offers on the table for Tucker.

Kings begin life without Cousins versus Nuggets

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When the Sacramento Kings scattered for the All-Star break, the players were looking forward to the fresh start that would come Thursday with the start of the season’s unofficial second half, as well as the possibility of trying to end the franchise’s 10-year playoff drought.

They had no idea they’d be christening a new era.

Life without foward DeMarcus Cousins begins for the Kings on Thursday when they host the Denver Nuggets at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings ended their nearly seven-year relationship with the big man Sunday, trading him to the New Orleans Pelicans for guards Buddy Hield, Langston Galloway and Tyreke Evans.

The Nuggets (25-31) are 1 1/2 games ahead of the ninth-place Kings in the Western Conference standings for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Portland, New Orleans, Dallas and Minnesota all are within 3 1/2 games of that spot.

“To try to go to the playoffs, that’s our goal,” Nuggets center Nikola Jokic told the Denver Post. “We are the eighth seed, so we’re in a good spot to do that.

The Kings (24-33), who won four straight before getting blasted by Golden State to close the first half, are taking on an optimistic view, too, at least publicly.

“I think we’ve got enough guys that’s in it for the right reasons that I don’t see why we couldn’t make the eighth seed,” center Willie Cauley-Stein told the Sacramento Bee. “For me, that’s my mission, the next 25 games.”

Cauley-Stein figures to get a heavy share of the 34 minutes per game the Kings must replace with Cousins is gone. It won’t be so easy replacing Cousins’ 27.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, even if the Kings won’t miss his NBA-leading 17 technical fouls. With Rudy Gay gone for the season, guard Darren Collison leads Sacramento in scoring (13.7 points per game) and center Kosta Koufos is its leading rebounder (5.4).

Sacramento, which also waived forward Matt Barnes over the break, won its final three home games before the break, one of them a 108-92 dusting of the Boston Celtics without Cousins on Feb. 8. Boston closed the first half with the East’s second-best record.

“I think with us, we have to literally play team basketball,” Collison told the Bee. “It sounds like such a generic statement, but that’s how we have to try to win games.”

The Nuggets, who closed the pre-break schedule with an 11-8 stretch, may be getting healthy. Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (17.2 points, groin injury), fellow forward Kenneth Faried (ankle) and point guard Emmanuel Mudiay (back) may return after missing the final four games before the break, and forward Wilson Chandler (illness) also should be back.

“I think everybody’s available to play,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone told the Denver Post. “All those guys were able to participate” in a Tuesday night practice.

Malone also said the Nuggets must improve their defense in the second half. Denver was eighth in the NBA in offensive efficiency in the first half but last in defensive efficiency.

Jokic, averaging 16.3 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds, scored 99 points and tallied 57 rebounds in his final four games before the break.

Clippers look to end Warriors’ series dominance

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OAKLAND, Calif. — The Los Angeles Clippers will be seeking to salvage one win in their season series with the Golden State Warriors when the top two teams in the Pacific Division clash for the final time in the regular season Thursday night.

And they could be getting some help in their quest to end a nine-game losing streak against the two-time Western Conference champs.

The Warriors have thrashed their rivals from the south three straight times this season, averaging a 25.3-point margin of victory.

The Clippers were without standout point guard Chris Paul (surgery on left thumb) in the two most recent meetings — a 133-120 home loss on Feb. 2 and a 144-98 shellacking in Oakland five nights earlier.

Paul, who had surgery on Jan. 18, returned to practice Tuesday and is expected to be a game-time decision in the second-half opener.

“The thumb is getting better,” he insisted to reporters before Tuesday’s workout. “I’m excited to get out here. I’m getting better.”

Clippers coach Doc Rivers was impressed with Paul’s first practice since the injury and announced after the workout that the eight-time All-Star had been cleared to play Thursday.

However, a formal decision on whether that happens or not will not be made until after pregame warmups, Rivers said.

With or without Paul on the court, the Warriors are 10-1 against the Clippers since they met in the 2014 playoffs, a series Los Angeles won 4-3 to reach the Western semifinals in Rivers’ first season as its coach.

Golden State has been extracting more and more revenge ever since, including the 46-point humiliation on Jan. 28 the last time the clubs got together in Oakland.

The Warriors (47-9) begin the second half of the season 12 games ahead of the Clippers (35-21) in the Pacific. If the playoffs were to start today, the clubs would be potential second-round opponents.

Golden State entered the All-Star break having won four of five, nine of 11 and 16 of 19. Then it got less of a “break” than most teams, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green having represented the team in the All-Star Game, while Steve Kerr coached the West squad.

The Warriors also hope to field a healthier team Thursday than in recent outings, with starting center Zaza Pachulia (strained rotator cuff) and backup power forward David West (broken left thumb) both possibly returning from absences.

As with Paul, no announcement is expected until shortly before tip-off.

Pachulia, signed in the offseason to replace Andrew Bogut as the club’s primary center, made 44 starts before suffering his injury against Portland on Jan. 29.

JaVale McGee, another free-agent signing, has averaged 9.0 points on 33-for-50 shooting as Pachulia’s replacement for eight games.

Kerr was noncommittal about his starting center going forward after watching Pachulia complete practice Wednesday.

“Everybody adds a little something different depending on who they’re playing with,” Kerr said of his center rotation, which now also includes rookie first-round pick Damian Jones. “It’s a center-by-committee situation.”

Pelicans begin Cousins era by hosting Rockets

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NEW ORLEANS — When New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis broke Wilt Chamberlain’s 55-year All-Star Game scoring record Sunday night with 52 points in the West’s 192-182 no-defense-allowed victory over the East, he was smiling so broadly he said he would keep the MVP trophy in his home rather than give it to his mother for safe keeping.

Then a few hours later, Davis and the Pelicans bagged a far bigger, big-game trophy — 6-10, 270-pound center DeMarcus Cousins from the Sacramento Kings, one of the NBA’s most talented big men — in a blockbuster deal.

No one could have imagined the fortunes of the 23-34 Pelicans changing so dramatically.

“Once I found out we got him, I was just up all night, thinking about how far we can go and what we can do on the court together,” Davis said, describing the sequence of events Sunday night when he won the All-Star MVP and found out the deal for Cousins was going through. “We were just texting back and forth about the team. We were both excited. I’m glad he’s here.”

The Pelicans get to unveil their new-look, frontcourt twin towers of Davis and Cousins on Thursday night against the Houston Rockets (40-18) at the Smoothie King Center.

Since news of the trade hit Sunday night, Pelicans fans have been gobbling up tickets.

“From what I hear from other people around the city, people are trying to buy tickets and the prices went up,” Davis said.

“I’m just as excited as you guys are,” said point guard Jrue Holiday, who has the primary job of getting the ball to Cousins and Davis in their comfort zones. “I’m ready for tomorrow to come.

“It really isn’t hard. Just get (Cousins) the ball and let him go to work,” Holiday said. “Pairing him with AD should be really fun to watch. It’s endless opportunity and possibility. I’m just excited to see what goes on tomorrow. It’s going to be tough for people. You have to pick your poison. If you want to double DeMarcus, AD’s open. If you want to double AD, DeMarcus is open.”

In the whirlwind deal, the Kings sent Cousins and swingman Omri Casspi to the Pelicans in exchange for rookie guard Buddy Hield, guard Tyreke Evans, guard Langston Galloway, the Pelicans’ first-round pick in 2017 and a future second-round pick.

In his first press conference with the Pelicans on Wednesday, Cousins said he was thrilled about teaming with Davis and also mindful he will have to do a better job of controlling his temper. Cousins picked up an NBA-high 17 technical fouls this season and has been suspended one game because of his transgressions.

“I’m excited, man,” Cousins said. “Regardless of what’s being said or what’s out there, I’m excited. I think it’s going to be a special thing. I’m ready to go.

“I’m the ultimate competitor. It’s the smallest things, even being in the gym first. I’m all about competing, and I want to compete at the highest level.”

Davis and Cousins are the only two players in the NBA to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds over the past four seasons. No team has had two players with those averages since the 1997-98 San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan and David Robinson).

“I haven’t had another guy, besides Jrue, who’s been one of the premier guys in the league,” Davis said. “(Cousins is) that guy. Now when you’re having a bad night, you’re not putting as much pressure on yourself. It’s going to be scary to see, when all three of us are rolling in one game.”

The Rockets come into the game healthy. Guard Pat Beverly will be available after straining his groin last week.

Houston coach Mike D’Antoni told the Houston Chronicle that the All-Star break provided a good rest for everyone.

“It’s good,” D’Antoni said. “You get recharged. Guys are ready to roll. We have 24 games left. We need to make a nice run down the stretch. We have to do better. I think we’ve fallen off a bit of late. We have to get back our juices and embrace who we are.”