NBA Roundup: 3-pointer on buzzer pushes Mavs past Lakers

March 18 (Reuters) – Kyrie Irving scored 38 points on his return from a foot injury and Maxi Kleber grabbed a 3-point buzzer as the visiting Dallas Mavericks clinched a 111-110 win on Friday and won for the first time in more straight games than a month.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Christian Wood each scored 12 points as the Mavericks won without Luka Doncic, who has missed the last four games with a hamstring injury but could be back against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

The Mavericks were two games ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference standings, winning the season series between teams 3-1.

Anthony Davis scored 26 points with 10 rebounds for the Lakers after missing Wednesday’s loss to the Houston Rockets due to load management. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Dennis Schroder added 15 as Los Angeles played its 10th straight game without LeBron James (foot).

76ers 121, Hornets 82

Joel Embiid accumulated 38 points and rested in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia won its seventh straight game by knocking out the hosts Hornets.

Embiid shot 16-to-21 from the field and provided five assists. He collected all of his 38 points with more than two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Terry Rozier’s 14 points, PJ Washington’s 12 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr.’s 11 points led Charlotte. The Hornets, who have lost their fourth straight game and are in danger of going winless in a five-game home game that ends Monday night, also received 10 points from reserve Kai Jones.

Falcon 127, Warrior 119

Trae Young scored 25 points and made an important defensive play in the last minute to help host Atlanta defeat Golden State.

The Hawks led by four points when Young Stephen Curry stole the ball and scored with 45.1 seconds left. Young then finished the game with two free throws. Young secured his 34th double-double with 12 assists and added six rebounds and a steal.

Curry led Golden State with 31 points and Kevon Looney notched his 12th double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. The Warriors have lost 10 straight road games.

Celtics 126, Trail Blazers 112

Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead Boston ahead of host Portland.

Jaylen Brown added 27 points for the Celtics. Marcus Smart had 15 points, six assists and four steals, Derrick White added 13 points and Al Horford had 12 points and 10 assists as Boston won for the fourth time in five games.

Damian Lillard scored 25 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter but couldn’t prevent the Trail Blazers from losing their fifth straight contest and 10th place finish in their last 13 games.

Cavaliers 117, Wizards 94

Darius Garland had 24 points, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley added 20 each, and host Cleveland led wire-to-wire in a win over Washington.

Caris LeVert scored 15 points and Mobley counted eight rebounds and four blocks for Cleveland, which ended a three-game Wizards win of the season. Garland contributed nine assists while shooting 11 of 19 from the field.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Kristaps Porzingis had 20 points and nine rebounds.

Bulls 139, Timberwolves 131 (2OT)

DeMar DeRozan had a season-high 49 points remaining with 14 rebounds and Zach LaVine added 39 points as host Chicago passed Minnesota.

DeRozan and LaVine combined 63 of their points after halftime, helping the Bulls win for the third time in four games. The duo finished the field 30-to-50.

Mike Conley sank eight 3-pointers while leading Minnesota with 28 points. Jaden McDaniels followed with a career-high 25 points. Minnesota, who lost Anthony Edwards to injury early in the game, produced six scorers in double figures, but it wasn’t enough to stave off the team’s fourth loss in five games.

Rockets 114, Pelicans 112

Jabari Smith Jr. drilled a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left and Houston rebounded from a 16-point deficit in the second half to beat the visit to New Orleans for their third straight win.

After the Rockets trailed a point after a wild back-and-forth, Smith went into a pull-up 3 after Houston secured possession with four seconds left. The Pelicans failed to fire a shot on their ensuing possession, falling to 3-8 since the All-Star break.

Jalen Green passed Houston by 25 points while Kevin Porter Jr. added 20 points. Alperen Sengun added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 31 points and six assists while Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points and 17 rebounds.

Grizzlies 126, Spurs 120 (OT)

Dillon Brooks had the crucial 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and added a key basket from beyond the arc late in overtime as Memphis defeated host San Antonio.

The Spurs led 84-55 after Malaki Branham’s 3-pointer with 7:50 to play in the third period. The Grizzlies then scored 26 of the last 35 points of the quarter and advanced to the fourth quarter within 93-81.

Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 28 points, Desmond Bane had 21 and Tyus Jones added a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Devin Vassell led the Spurs with 25 points and Zach Collins had 24.

– Field level media

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